Hot times for Tierra Caliente: once-dying calentano music form reborn in music festival. (Spotlight).A renaissance of violin, guitar and tamborita music in a remote part of Guerrero and Michoacan is putting Tierra Caliente Tierra caliente (Spanish for hot land) is a term used in Latin America to refer to those places within that realm which have a distinctly tropical climate. The Tierra caliente forms at Sea Level to about 3000 ft. on the map. Many Mexicans haven't heard of this region where the Balsas River
The Balsas River is a river in south-central Mexico that drains the large Balsas Basin (a graben). At 771 kilometres long it is one of Mexico's longest rivers. divides the two southwestern states and cradles a sophisticated traditional style of music. However, calentano did gain some national exposure six years ago when then President Ernesto Zedillo awarded violin virtuoso Juan Reynoso For the musician, see . Juan Máximo Reynoso Guzmán (born December 28, 1969 in Lima) is a retired football defender from Peru, who obtained 84 international caps for his national team, in which he scored five goals. the National Prize for Science and the Arts. Evidencing its attraction, traditional musicians from the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. as well as Mexico City's top music schools--courtesy a grant from Mexico's National Fund for Culture and the Arts--will travel to the calentano region to honor the maestro and his music next month. Musicians participating in the seventh annual Encuentro de Dos Tradiciones (Encounter of Two Traditions) will put musical styles unique to both Mexico and the United States Relations between the United States and Mexico are among the most important and complex that each nation maintains. They are shaped by a mixture of mutual interests, shared problems, and growing interdependence. on display in concerts in Mexico City Mexico City Spanish Ciudad de México City (pop., 2000: city, 8,605,239; 2003 metro. area est., 18,660,000), capital of Mexico. Located at an elevation of 7,350 ft (2,240 m), it is officially coterminous with the Federal District, which occupies 571 sq mi and several provincial towns of Guerrero and Michoacan. Ninety-year-old Reynoso, the festival's headliner since 1997, still plays with tremendous energy. However, his age, as well as the age of most other fiddlers who specialize in this style, has caused many calentano music fans to worry that the style could disappear soon. The great calentano composers who lived in the early part of the 20th century have already passed away, and most young people in the region gravitate grav·i·tate intr.v. grav·i·tat·ed, grav·i·tat·ing, grav·i·tates 1. To move in response to the force of gravity. 2. To move downward. 3. toward more modem styles. The Encuentro de Dos Tradiciones, which will be held March 3-11, is an event that began in 1997 to promote and preserve calentano music as well as to encourage cultural exchange between musicians in different regions. While several calentano groups have participated in past events held in Guerrero, this year other calentano groups will perform in Dos Tradiciones' Mexico City concert for the first time. Angel Tavira, a dedicated musician and music teacher who relearned to bow after losing his right hand in an accident many years ago, will perform with his sons, Luis and Daniel. Serafin Ibarra, who at age 45 represents the best of a new generation, will play with his group, Los Caracuaros. The Mexico City concert will also feature a traditional music style from the United States that underwent a renaissance several decades ago. The music of Appalachia, once considered a dying art, is now played all over the United States following the folk revival of the 1960s and '70s. Two of the key figures in that revival--Alan Jabbour and Betram Levy--will perform on the same stage as the calentano artists during the Encuentro. Jabbour says he once feared the traditions of the Southern Appalachians were endangered. However, popular movies such as "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou'?"--in which the Appalachian style fueled a hit soundtrack--as well as traditional music groups across the United States have put his fears to rest. Sometimes what appears as a decline in a cultural tradition ends up being "just a low tide in the larger rhythms of culture's ebb and flow the alternate ebb and flood of the tide; often used figuratively. See also: Ebb ," according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Jabbour, the founding director of the American Folklife Center The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife" (see Public Law 94-201 [1]). The Center incorporates the Archive of Folk Culture, which was established at the Library in 1928 as a at the U.S. Library of Congress. Given the international festivals in Mexico and Reynoso's warm reception at such events as the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in the US. state of Washington, some observers say the music of Tierra Caliente is on the rebound. RELATED ARTICLE: VII Encuentro de Dos Tradiciones March 3-5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Conferences, workshops and films at the National Center for the Arts in Mexico City. Admission: Free. March 5, 8:30 p.m. International concert with Juan Reynoso, Angel Tavira, Serafin Ibarra, Alan Jabbour Alan Jabbour (born 1942) is an American musician and folklorist. Jabbour was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and was educated in Jacksonville public schools and at the Bolles School, where he graduated from high school in 1959. and Bertram Levy at Blas Galindo Auditorium, National Center for the Arts. Tickets: 00 pesos. March 6-11 Dos Tradiciones excursion to Michoacan and Guerrero. Registration fee of 4,000 pesos covers transportation, food and lodging and the following evening concerts: March 7 Zitacuaro, Michoacan March 8 Tlapehuala, Guerrero March 9 Arcelia, Guerrero March 10 Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero Lindajoy Fenley is the director of Dos Tradiciones, a non-profit organization A non-profit organization (abbreviated "NPO", also "non-profit" or "not-for-profit") is a legally constituted organization whose primary objective is to support or to actively engage in activities of public or private interest without any commercial or monetary profit purposes. based in Mexico City that promotes traditional music and cultural exchange. For more information, check out www.laneta.apc.org/DosTradiciones or write lindajoy@laneta.apc.org. |
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