The national instrument and the national symbol

All it takes is one curious tourist, one passerby who glimpses the rich, dark-wood instrument through the entryway. I dare you to step away from the bustle of La Antigua Guatemala’s Calle del Arco, for they are waiting for you—the marimba players of Hotel Posada Don Rodrigo.

If you just venture through the doorway you will instantly be rewarded with a merry burst of whimsical notes. Exotic rings and tolls will swarm around you in melodic cheer.

The hotel’s 10 marimba players have been sharing their talent with La Antigua’s visitors for 35 years. Ten men, 35 years of marimba music. Marimbista Javier Hernández says such unity is integral to their art.

“There are 10 of us and each one needs to understand the others in the group in order for us to stay in harmony,” Hernández says. “And this is something that we have to work at. This is something that is a part of the music, a part of the performance. It’s necessary in order for us to awaken with the music. We need to make the music with courage and strength because that is how we draw in our audience … without an audience you are not a true artist. We have to awaken them.”

The passion behind their fervor to share marimba music comes from the instrument itself, as marimbista Victor Manuel Chok explains: “It’s an emotional instrument and that makes us fight for it. It is something that you feel inside, lifting you. It’s our national pride.”

While historians still debate the origin of the marimba, cultural authorities agree that the marimba and its music is most celebrated in Guatemala. The country has officially woven the instrument into its identity, declaring it the national instrument in 1978 and the national symbol in 1999.

Marimbista Pablo Suy García affirms such rooted sentiment. “For me the music is beautiful because it’s our music from right here in Guatemala. I can perform whatever melody I want and the music rings out as the most beautiful music here in Guatemala.”

Hernández adds that it is the unique qualities of the marimba—the instrument’s special Hormigo wood—that provokes such national pride. “I think because it is made of wood. It is something that is not of metal and it calls to mind a tree or the earth. The marimbas produce sounds that make up a part of the heart of a Guatemalan. Those sounds comfort us.”

The sounds from these marimbistas are resonating notes that spill from two large sets of wooden bars. The instrument resembles a xylophone, only with long tubular or gourd-shaped resonators hanging down from the wooden keys. The marimba at Hotel Posada Don Rodrigo can ring out in 43 different tones.

The marimba players share their music twice daily, the first session beginning at noon and the second beginning at 7 p.m. Enthusiasts can purchase CDs at the hotel, so be sure to stop by and treat yourself to this musical tradition.

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The amp buzzes with a crackling hum through the speakers. Much of the young crowd is already alert and attentive, waiting for the first notes to drop. With a casual confidence he lifts the guitar to his waist and, before you can blink, his fingers launch into an erratic frenzy over the juiced strings, somehow producing a harmonious and enlivening rhythm through a blast of resounding madness.

Those who were still caught up in conversation suddenly have nothing more to say. With ears pricked to attention they turn to discover from where exactly the entrancing charge originated. Others are already hooting and whistling in encouragement. Though the crowd at Rainbow Cafe may be an intimate one, it is always an excited one. The restaurant’s flow of patrons—new and familiar—can never seem to resist the live music that’s showcased early every night. On each occasion, it is Luis de la Rosa who is invariably leading the show.

The electric charges spill from de la Rosa’s guitar as his left hand hops and skips over the long, slender fretboard. His notes are like bolts tumbling and bouncing throughout the audience. Wicho, as fans and friends alike fondly refer to him, seduces his fans from the first electric strum.

De la Rosa explains that his success comes from using music to connect.

“When the music starts to flow inside of you, you are touched because of that music,” de la Rosa says. “All of the energy that you discharge from your guitar connects you with the music, connects you with the guitar. The people receive all of this, you know?”

An important dynamic of that connecting energy also comes from the audience, he says.

“When you see that the people are moved, you flow more,” de la Rosa says. “Because I am transmitting their energy too and it is something very beautiful that comes out. You find another dimension of this world that perhaps you can only understand when you are inside the music.”

At just 22 years of age, the San Lucas, Sacatepéquez native lives the life of a burgeoning rock star, weaving his way in and out of five bands while also performing acts solo. In Antigua, de la Rosa’s music is inescapable. His impressive antics with the guitar have been featured in various locales throughout the colonial city such as Rainbow Cafe, Panza Verde, and even at the chapel ruins of San José Viejo, just to name a few. He has also played at private parties, weddings and other events.
It is evident that people find de la Rosa’s music truly is electric, and it’s not just because he often plays the electric guitar, which is his passion. It seems as if the pitches he coaxes from his instrument really do evoke another dimension—a dimension where commanding the guitar looks as natural and easy as breathing. But, de la Rosa assures that achieving his level of expertise took time, dedication and drive.

“It seems easy, but there is a process in everything,” de la Rosa says. “I always wished that I could do more with the guitar… . Thus, I had to make myself listen to the music—a lot of music—and copy. Learn covers. Just begin to make the music.”

He certainly does more than copy. One of the five bands that de la Rosa plays with, La Raiz, is centered upon absolute improvisation.

“When we arrive on stage we are simply connected with the flow of the music and we begin to experiment,” de la Rosa says. “… We always find different ways to play the music.”
He says the improvisation and funk from La Raiz sends a message to the audience, “that music has no limits.”

De la Rosa and the three other members of La Raiz play every Sunday as the house band at Rainbow Cafe, delighting fans with favorite covers, original music and on the spot jamming and improvisation.
“For me, La Raiz is the band of the moment here in Antigua,” de la Rosa says, adding the band is working on its first album.

In the meantime, de la Rosa is rubbing guitar necks with internationally successful musicians through his heavy metal band Thor, which in February opened for Shaman, a heavy metal group from Brazil.
One of the most poignant experiences in de la Rosa’s music career though, occurred in June when Thor was among four groups that opened for the renowned heavy metal band Morbid Angel from the U.S.

“When we received the email that [Thor] could open in concert for a band of this level it was something very emotional for me,” de la Rosa says. “I realized that the efforts that I had been putting into my music were worthwhile. I was realizing the things that I had always been wanting: to be on the stage transmitting my music to my audience and showing them the music that we can make in Guatemala.”

Seeking to inspire national pride through music, de la Rosa has found a mentor—the well-established Guatemalan vocalist Giovanni Pinzón. Pinzón, who used to sing with Bohemia Suburbana, now sings in a band called La Cofradía de Sonido, with de la Rosa as one of the guitarists. De la Rosa travels throughout Guatemala and Central America to perform alongside the national icon.

Occasionally, de la Rosa can also be spotted reuniting with the first band he played with in La Antigua, Son de Antigua. With this band, admirers can catch him playing anything from Andean ballads to pop. Fans can also find him jamming with the likes of Mario Guerra, another artist whom de la Rosa describes as quite the talented musician.

De la Rosa’s work, however, goes beyond music. In June, he helped organize La Noche de Pintura Musical (The Night of Musical Painting) hosted by La Raiz. The event featured improvised music from the band that was meant to inspire paintings created live by five local painters. He describes the one-of-a-kind event as a beautiful success, something he says La Raiz would eventually like to host every month.

De la Rosa adds that he envisions the event creating a venue that generates more exposure for local musicians and painters because, he says, talent in Antigua is abundant. Furthermore, de la Rosa believes bigger projects can spring from La Noche de Pintura Musical.

“I want to have a special place for people, children or young adults who don’t have the opportunity to own a guitar or who don’t have materials to paint,” de la Rosa says.

Luis de la Rosa (photo: Laura McNamara)

l-r: Klay, Wicho and Choko

A collective music project, featuring the diverse songs, sounds and melodies of La Antigua Guatemala, began recently through a serendipitous meeting of one of La Antigua’s much-loved musicians and an Australian engineer.

Antonio Jueves, who recently returned to La Antigua from a year of festivals and tours in Europe, and Corrina Grace, who recently moved to La Antigua to start a nonprofit project on climate change in Guatemala, found they had much in common as they struck up a conversation at Café No Se.

They quickly discovered that they shared the same passion and vision for music—and a dream to take the diverse range of music from La Antigua and share it with the rest of the world.

Their love of music sparked the creation of La Tortilla, not-for-profit collective music project, supporting and promoting the work of Antiguan musicians and providing assistance for new and emerging musical talent in and around La Antigua.

For the past several months, Jueves and Grace have been working on La Tortilla’s first CD—the Antigua All Stars, a compilation of work by featuring the musicians of Antigua. The CD has the potential to spread local music from the Panchoy Valley to elsewhere in Guatemala and beyond.

The vision of the CD, Jueves and Grace said, is to “create a compilation of original music from selected artists that sing in Antigua by which the music, like a seed, will travel to many places and create an exposition, individual and collective, of this musical vortex in which we live: La Antigua.”

The Antigua All Stars is a high-energy, low-budget project. In a living room-turned-studio in the hills of Santa Ana, a small group of enthusiastic people have been gathering each morning to record the artists—many of whom are recording for the first time.

As with any project, this has its challenges, including blocking out the noise of the numerous dogs, chickens and trucks that pass by while artists are recording. However, these sounds are the flavors of Guatemala and an integral part of the “handcrafted” essence that the CD is trying to capture, the producers explained.

The CD launch is soon to be scheduled at a live concert in La Antigua. (For details stay tuned to REVUE NEWS TWEETS, www.revuemag.com) The concert will be a celebration of music, featuring all the artists on the album. A night not to be missed, the event will blend music and dancing, community and friends.

For more information about The Antigua All Stars limited-edition CD, visit the La Tortilla page at www.myspace.com/latortilla

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text and photos by Michael Sherer

Haunting sinuous melodies interwoven with cañas and Peruvian pan pipes, punctuated by a perfect blend of voices backed by guitars and 10-string charangos, peppered with conga drums and a professional quality home-made bass drum fill the green-and-white room at the La Peña de Sol Latino restaurant and bar five nights a week in La Antigua Guatemala. The band, Grupo Sol Latino, starts nightly at 7:30, except Sunday and then it’s 7 p.m.

The ceiling in the patio is a shiny green-and-white, broad-striped canvas awning, covering what was the atrium, sided by reddish adobe/rubble, ivy-covered brick walls and decorated with five white-trimmed arches. A beaming two-foot high religious statuary sits in a niche behind the band as if to bless its efforts. Could it be Proud Mary? No … it’s Maximón … the perfect patron saint for this venue.
This is Sol Latino’s musical territory, and the four, usually five, first-class professional musicians play Wednesday through Sunday, normally joined by Bill Harriss, who plays percussion, congas and drums. If he’s not there, one of waiters may step in for a few licks. Some evenings the room is scattered with music lovers, sometimes it’s packed, depending on the ebb and flow of visitors and locals who enjoy this blend of Central and South American harmony. This is toe-tapping music, one of a kind, original melodies artfully created.

The older, bearded, distinguished-looking Paco, aka Francisco Mendoza, is the leader/improviser and maker of much of the band’s instruments, and he sits to the right, next to the conga drums. He usually plays the self-made bass drum while keeping a deep breath and flow through the five-foot-long flutes/pan-pipes that almost reach the floor. To his right stands David Hernández; he also plays two instruments simultaneously, a guitar and another set of smaller wooden flute-pipes. To his right, eye-glasses set firmly in place, Hector Gómez is usually strumming a 10-string charango. The question is how did they fit 10-strings on such a narrow neck? The answer: very carefully. When Hector is really warmed up, about 10 minutes into the set, his fingers are a moving blur. This is EXTREME strumming. You have to see it to believe it. And finally, again on the right, moving to the left and last is Paco’s nephew, Chilo. With a degree in music he tops off the mix of guitars, piccolos, charanangos and bombas—overlaid with five-foot-long sabayones wielded by Paco or David.

These are musicians with a capital M. Bill Harriss was a session musician in Nashville, TN, for 30-odd years, playing with Dolly Parton, Jimmy Dean, Buck Owens, just to name a few. He has been with Sol Latino for over five of the group´s 25 years.

Back to the music: Paco might say a few words of welcome and then they launch immediately, belting out Peruvian-style rhythms in the sweetest harmony of voices, strings and wooden one-of-kind flutes while the hand-crafted deep sound of the bass drum keeps a mesmerizing backbeat. The congas add a nice touch, yet another flavor-dimension to their music. All eight Sol Latino CDs offer different musical styles, while at the same time, their sound is unmistakable. This group never coasts, cruises or limps through any of its material. These musicians have two switches, off and ON. One speed: FULL ahead. In other words, they rock.

There is always enthusiastic applause. Go hear them. Go see them.

Ed note: La Peña de Sol Latino, 5a calle poniente #15-C, features a delicious international menu; the 3-Chocolate Brownie is on the “Ten Delicious Desserts in Antigua” list. Group reservations and special events, tel: 7882-4468.

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The Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra

by Jack and Joy Houston

Dubbed ‘Musical Ambassadors’, 55 members of the all-male University of Notre Dame Glee Club of Indiana will sing again in Guatemala, in joint concert with 25 members of the co-ed Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra. Concerts will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at Iglesia San Francisco El Grande in La Antigua, and 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at the Cathedral in Guatemala City, both offered free of charge.

Performances are sponsored in part by the Notre Dame Alumni Club in Guatemala, with some three dozen members. Alumnus Philip (class of ’89) and Christina Wilson of La Antigua, who will host the group for lunch, emphasize, “In addition to a great opportunity to hear beautiful music, one of the motives is to encourage more Guatemalans to apply to Notre Dame.” An additional concert will be given for school groups.

The current tour includes concerts in Mexico. The University of Notre Dame Glee Club, formed in 1915 and recognized as one of the finest collegiate choral groups in the United States, has toured around the world. Director Daniel C. Stowe said after the 2005 tour, “In terms of hospitality and consistently large audiences, Latin America was the best trip we’ve ever had.”

Stowe also directs the Symphony Orchestra and recently teamed the two groups in joint performance. The versatile repertoire has Russian and German music, American spirituals and barbershop harmony, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner and a lot more. Undoubtedly, the program in Guatemala will bring rousing applause for Luna de Xelajú and another sure crowd-pleaser, the Notre Dame Victory March.

The Glee Club regularly performs two hours before home games of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, but for their part, “They’d rather sing than fight.”

Donations will be accepted for repairs on the Metropolitan Cathedral and Iglesia San Francisco El Grande.

The Notre Dame Glee Club

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Cantores Finlandeses is a mixed-voice choir of 22 singers

Cantores Finlandeses is a mixed-voice choir of 22 singers under the leadership of conductor Sören Hakola and accompanied by Martin Segerstråle on the piano. Specially put together for the trip to Guatemala, the choir represents the amateur music life of Finland’s Swedish-speaking population and belongs to the country’s largest Swedish-language association for amateur music. All the singers belong to choirs in their own regions and have extensive experience.

The aim of the concert tour in Guatemala is to give a taste of Finland-Swedish music in a part of the world where Finland is probably not well known. The repertoire offers a wide range of Finnish, and especially Finland-Swedish choir music, including both classical music from earlier periods, folk music and music written in our own time. Light music and entertaining hit-songs are also part of the program. Even if the native tongue of most of the singers is Swedish, the choir also sings in several other languages as well.

Featured composers include Edvard Grieg, J.S. Bach and Sibelius. Other Finnish composers featured are Juice Leskinen and Martin Segerstråle. There is also a song from the mediaeval song collection Piae Cantiones, which was written in 14th century Åbo.

Cantores Finlandeses will be giving three concerts: in Guatemala City, in La Antigua, and in Monterrico. The choir will also be performing together with local choirs, including the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) Choir. See below for details.

Founded by Dr. Dieter Lehnhoff in the early 1980s, the UVG Choir has performed at educational and cultural institutions and festivals in Guatemala, México, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Spain and Ecuador. Its repertoire includes works by Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Bruckner; composers from North America and, of course, Guatemala. It has also participated in community projects with organizations and institutions promoting human and cultural values, education and a peaceful society through music.

Cantores Finlandeses Performs For Guatemala

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From the Renaissance to the late Baroque era (1534-1773) Santiago de Guatemala—present-day La Antigua Guatemala—was proud of its intense music life, rivaled only by Lima, Mexico City, and probably Bogotá. Beginning in 1524, early clergy had introduced Gregorian chant and choral polyphony for the different liturgical celebrations of the year, held in the first parish church built at Almolonga. From 1534 on, Bishop Francisco Marroquín established musical practice according to cathedral standards, with a fine polyphonic chorus, often supported by the pipe organs, which he had the organ builders construct for the cathedral. This choir sang in alternation with the Gregorian chant of the clergy during the numerous liturgies held in the cathedral and the churches of the beautiful city.

By 1570, the chapel master was Hernando Franco (1532-85), a Spanish musician trained at Salamanca. His duties were to conduct the choir at daily practices and liturgies, to teach the choirboys and to provide church music whenever it was needed. By 1574 Franco left for New Spain, where he was appointed chapel master of the Mexico City Cathedral. Music in Guatemala was then put in charge of Juan de Gamboa, a singer with a fine bass voice.

The last years of the century brought renewed brilliance, when composer Pedro Bermúdez (1558-1605) arrived to work at the Guatemala Cathedral. Bermúdez was one of the most prolific composers of Spanish America: he composed a collection of Vesper hymns for the entire year, plus two Masses, passion music, a series of invitatories for Christmas Matins services and numerous motets. By 1598 he was joined by Gaspar Fernández (1566-1629), an organist and composer who also compiled a collection of manuscript choir books. When Bermúdez left for Puebla de los Ángeles in New Spain in 1604, lured by a doubled salary, Fernández stayed in charge of music at the Guatemala Cathedral.

However, the elder musician died soon after arriving in Puebla, and Fernández as the most capable master in the area was invited to succeed him. He accepted, holding the position of chapel master in Puebla for the remaining 24 years of his life.

In Guatemala, the music contained in the choir books assembled by Fernández was sung year-round until the high Baroque, when other great composers such as Manuel de Quiroz and Rafael Antonio Castellanos were chapel masters. The music provided by the Renaissance masters, Franco, Bermúdez and Fernández, never lost its appeal and only had to be shelved when the great earthquake of 1773 brought enormous changes to the people of Santiago. When the capital was moved to its present day location by King Charles III’s orders, new churches were built. The ancient heavy choirbooks were repaired and recopied, being used only for services of great solemnity. They were shelved again during the 19th century, waiting to be rescued by scholars only in the latter part of the 20th century.

When I first viewed the ancient manuscripts in the early 1980s, I was surprised at the beauty of the music and decided to devote efforts to its revival. Thus, many long-forgotten works could come to life again, enchanting present-day audiences with their serene beauty as they did the dwellers of the City four centuries ago.

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This celebration marks the arrival of the first Garífuna to Belize in 1832 and is celebrated throughout Belize and Central America.

Produced by Planeta en Ritmo, the event will pay tribute to the Garífuna culture and their musical ambassador, Andy Palacio. In Belize, Mr. Palacio was nationally known as both a musician and an advocate for Garífuna culture.

The performances will include the Garífuna Collective; Umalali, featuring Garífuna women from Guatemala; and Los Chupacabras. Additional bands will perform, and fireworks will light up the sky. Proceeds will benefit the NGO Niños de Guatemala (www.ninosdeguatemala.org)

For more information contact Wendy Wever (502) 4387-0516

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