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News
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Latino Invasion |
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The
sonority of neighboring countries at the VI Cultural
Market
By Luciano Mattos
Latin America is one of the largest global cellars
of music and rhythms. Spanning from Mexico to
Patagonia, it is a unique continent of impressive
musical diversity where Spanish is spoken with
diverse accents. The traditional rhythms, very
ancient and originating with indigenous peoples,
stand out but are not alone: they mix with re-created
and contemporary sounds; the traditional and the
modern interacting harmoniously. This Latin American
musical wealth will be one of the highlights of
the VI Cultural Market, with representatives from
three countries with particularly strong and unique
musical traditions, Cuba, Colombia and Argentina.
Traditional Cuban music will be represented by
one of its true “institutions”, the
composer, singer, arranger and pianist Adalberto
Alvarez. At the age of 57, he is one of the most
important names in the history of Cuban music,
keeping alive and adding to one of the most traditional
rhythms on Fidel’s island, the Son. This
helps to explain his nickname, “El Caballero
del Son”. The rhythm is considered to be
the island’s first, and originated from
the mix of Afro rhythms and percussion with melodies
and instruments coming from Spain. Alvarez, with
vast international experience, masterfully creates
a dance-friendly environment laced with Cuban
rhythms. Known for his unique style favoring harmony
and melody, he has recorded more than 20 records,
a seasoned performer whose name stands as one
of the highlights in Latin American music.
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Los hermanos portenhos
What about Argentine music? There are groups,
like 34 Puñaladas, that put a contemporary
spin on tango, the most famous of the Argentine
rhythms. Formed in 1998, they don’t use
accordions, violins or pianos; it’s the
authentic ballroom tango executed in a contemporary
format by four guitars and complemented by Alejandro
Guyot’s beautiful voice. One of the interesting
aspects of their work is that they revive themes
from the 1920s and 1930s Buenos Aires underworld
such as violence, drugs, prostitutes, and love
lost. Irreverent commentary by Guyot further spices
up the group’s presentations
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that include
guitarists Edgardo González, Juan Lorenzo, Augusto
Macri e Nicolás Varchausky alternating between
songs that include singing as well as instrumentals, with
room for occasional performances of classics by Astor
Piazzola.
There will be tango, but not only tango. Another porteño
group, Puente Celeste use instruments such as guitars,
bass, percussion, accordion, berimbau, clarinet, flutes,
cajón, piano and a transverse flute to make music
that reflects influences from around the globe, from Argentine
folklore to jazz. Their arsenal includes a mix of songs
that include singing as well as instrumentals, with melodies,
solos, combinations of timbres and original improvisations.
Formed in 1997, the group is composed of musicians Edgardo
Cardozo, Luciano Dyzenchauz, Marcelo Moguilevsky, Lucas
Nikotián and Santiago Vazquez and present poetic,
energetic, and sensitive original compositions.
Silvia Iriondo is a singer-songwriter that plays a
wide range of traditional porteño music, mixing
traditional and contemporary, starting with indigenous
music and ancestral chants and traveling through their
timbres and sounds. Accompanied sometimes by a piano,
other times by a guitar or by non-conventional instruments,
or even singing a cappella, she has developed her own
technique for execution. She is known for her vocal
experimentation, giving each song a singular format.
Her technique includes moments where she talks, or stays
silent, or whispers, or sings the rustic and ancestral
song typical of the Argentine Indians. With performances
in several European countries and three albums recorded
since 1972, the last of which produced by the Brazilian
Egberto Gismonti, Iriondo sings about man’s relationship
with the earth, beliefs, myths, landscapes and the city.
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Colombian
music
Instrumental music boasting unique sonority and
resulting in an unconventional format of traditional
Colombian music; this is the music of Guafa Trio,
an experienced group that uses instruments such
as the bass, flute, and the cuatro (a type of
folk guitar used in many countries in Latin America)
to draw from Colombian rhythms such as Bambucos,
Joropos and Pasillos, Andean music and even Brazilian
music, but always with a jazzy arrangement. With
experience
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presenting in many parts of the world, such as Europe
and the United States, the group has already recorded
three albums and for the first time bring their music
to Brazil.
Puerto Candelária is a quintet made up of instruments
such as the bass, drums, trombone, saxophone, piano
and flute. The group delivers up a youthful music, with
elements that create a new form of Latin American jazz.
The influences come from past Colombian music, from
Andean and mestizo rhythms to Afro-Antillean culture
to modern composition and jazz. The result is a modern
genre mixing humor and crudity, revealing the contrasts
in Colombia itself.
The singer Lucia Pulido is another one who explores
the wealth of traditional Colombian music, using her
versatile singing to incorporate the strength and subtlety
of the traditional genres and rhythms. A New York resident
since 1994, she seeks new possibilities from the original
rhythms from her country, updating and giving a new
context to them. Another Colombian to present at this
Cultural Market is Carlos Jaramillo, who will perform
with Kiko Klaus from Pernambuco state. Jaramillo are
seasoned performers with various projects recorded in
Mexico and the United States, some of them for David
Byrne’s label, Luaka Bop. The duet tends to update
traditional rhythms, such as samba, the baião
and bossa nova, modernizing them with electronic elements.
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