FTX-938 - MI BUENAVENTURA

Music from S Colombia & Ecuador

Recordings by Bernard Broere & Sylvia Moore, made 1978-9, mainly in the dept.of Narino in the S.W.,next to Ecuador. This highland sierra is home to numerous groups of Indians. Popular rhythms of the campesino are bambuco sure¤o, pasillo and the Ecuador albaza and bomba. Conjuntos (ensembles) use 12-string tiple and 16-str.bandola. Afro- Colombians use the Marimba (xylophone).

1. LA GUANE¥A (bambuco sere¤o). Trio dir.: Archimedes Buesaquillo Rosero. Bandola/ tiple/ guitar. Rec. Santa Barbara, Pasto, January 1978 - 1'59"

2. NAVIDAD NEGRA (cumbia - song) Dir.:Abelardo Muniaries y su trio. Ann.: Don Pacho Mu¤oz in progr.:"Fiestas Dominicales". 2 guitars/ scraper (guiro)/ 2 singers. Rec.:San Gaetano, Pasto, December 1978 - 3'35"

3. MI BUENAVENTURA (currulao, performed as a bambuco sure¤a). Recuerdos de mis Antepasados. Dir.:Miguel Rivero Paso/ Comp.M.Burbano. Transv.flute/guitar/ small drum (caja)/ big drum (bombo) Rec. Guachavez/ Santa Cruz, Pasto - 3'54"

4. ERRANTE DE UN AMOR (bolero) Trio Ecos del Guaitara. Comp. as above - 2'43"

5. EL MOCHILERO (the harvester); Coreguajes Indians. Dir.:Aquiles Bola¤os. 3 men and 3 women. Rec.:Aguas Negras (Caquet ). Rec. October 1978 - 0'57"

6. CANCIONES SOBRE PAJAROS (about birds) as previous - 0'34"

7. TENTE (juvenile feast) As #5. 3 panpipes/ 3 small drums - 0'59"

8. LA CHEPITA (bambuco sereno) Coaiquieres Indians. Dir.:Juan Casonova Pai. Marimba/ cununo/ guas . Rec.: Altaquer, Pasto 27.10.78 - 1'45"

9. CARANITO (bambuco costeno) followed by demonstration of scale. As #7 - 1'49"

10. Demonstration of ascending & descending scale - 0'26"

11. GUAZNAR (bambuco sere¤o) Conjunto "Chaimanarakuan". Comp. & Dir.:Omar Salcedo. Transv.flute/ guitar/ bombo/ military drum (redoblante)/ Donkey's jaw(qui jada). Rec.: Guachevez/ Santa Cruz, Pasto, rec Dec 1978 - 3'33"

12. TORO BARROSA (bomba) Banda de Jenoy. Clarinet/ saxophone/ trumpet/ drum/ bombo with attached cymbal (platillos). Rec.:Jenoy, Pasto, rec Oct 1978 - 3'19"

13. JUANAMBU (Peruvian wayno) Conjunto focl¢rico "Amanecer". Kena (Peru. notched-end flute/ charango (mandolin)/ guitar/ bombo. Rec.:Pasto - 2'48"

14. CHULA QUITE¥A (Ecuador pasacalle) Conjunto "La novia azul". Dir.:Abraham Tulc n. Violin/ baritono (small tuba)/ tiple/ drum. Rec.: Obonuco rec Dec 1978 - 3'26"

15. ANTEPASADOS (Carnival) Kamentxa Indians. Dir.:Alonso Pujimuy. Transv.flutes (flautugjua)/ 2 bombo. Rec.:Sibundoy (Alto Putumayo) rec Oct 1978 - 3'00"

16. OFRENDA (Offertory music) Inga Indians. Dir.:Hip¢lito Muchavisoy. 2 transv. flutes (flauto de capuchenda)/ bombo/ redoblante/ 4 dancers with fruit sheep rattles fixed to their ankles. Rec.:Yunguillo, Putumayo, Pasto - 1'54"

17. NOCHE BUENA (Christmas bambuco) 2 Guambianos Indians. Dir.:Avelino Yalano Pillimu,.2 transv.flutes(loos)/ 2 bombos.Rec.:Silvia (Cauca), Pasto - 2'37"

18. CANCION DEL NINO. As B4. Paeces Indians. Conjunto caucense "chirim¡a". Dir.:Avelino Yonda Pis. 4 transv. flutes/ cajita/ bombo/ triangle. Rec.:Yaramal, Pasto - 1'03"

19. EL AGUARDIENTE (albazo/song) Pastos Indians. Conjunto "Yaramal en marcha". Dir.:Alfonso Quem . Violin/ 2 guitars/ tumba/ 2 maracas/ 2 singers. Rec.: Yaramal, Pasto - 2'14"

20. LA BOCINA (albazo) Pastos Indians. Conjunto "Aires de San Diego". Dir.:Delf¡n Ojada. Violin/ 2 guitars/ pr. of bongos on stand/ 2 maracas/ 2 singers. Rec. Muellamus - 1'27"

21. TOLERO (currulao) Agrupac¡on Folkl¢rica "Danzas del Litoral Pac¡fic" Dir.:Francisco Tenorio. Singing/ 2 marimbas/ 2 cununos/ 2 bombos/ 4 guas s. Rec. Tumaco, April 1979 - 4'34"

22. EL PATACORE (healing dance) As previous. Marimbas/ 2 cununos (drums with macho & hembra sounds/ bombo (large drum) - all played by men/ several guas s (bamboo shakers filled with gravel or seeds) - played by women. Rec.Tumaco, Nari¤o - 8'38"

Recorded by Bernard Broere & Sylvia Moore 1978-9. Edited by Peter Kennedy and first published on Folktrax cassettes 1987.

The department of Narino, situated in the South West, borders Ecuador. The Centre & East are dominated by the Andes. To the West the mountains slope steeply to the Pacific lowlands, part tropical rain forest.

The highlands (sierra) are the home of numerous groups of Indians now reduced to two main groups: Quillacingas, to whom the Kamentxa (#15) & Pastos (#19 & #20) belong. The latter still live in the higher western parts (Coaiqueres) and further south in Ecuador.

From the beginning of the l6th Century the Spanish colonised this area and founded the capital, Pasto, now a city of some 300,000.

The mestizes are those of mixed Indian & Spanish descent. Most of the campesinos having some Indian blood, but have lost part of their original culture including the Indian languages

The Spaniards brought African slaves to the hot lowlands of the coast to work in the gold mines of the interior. These Afro-Colombians form the biggest group, working at fishing, timber & docks at the harbour port of Tumaco (100,000).

The combination of geographic & ethnic diversity has resulted in a considerable cultural diversity, which represents, on a small scale, most of the elements which are characteristic of Colombia as a whole.

Indian music (musica indigena) is represented by groups from Narino as well as from the dept. of Cauca & the intendencia of Caqueta.

The majority of these recordings were made during the Primer Festival of Musica Indigena del Sul (26-28th October 1978) in Pasto.

The campesino music resembles that of Ecuador and Peru. Although flutes & drums prevail, European instruments, violin & guitar are also popular.

The conjuntos (ensemble groups) use stringed instruments such as the tiple (12-stringed guitar-like instrument) & the bandola (mandolin-like instrument with 16 strings) as well as the Spanish guitar. Popular rhythms are the bambuco sureno, pasillo, and the Ecuadorean albazo & bomba.

Popular music, represented here by the "Banda de Jenoy" (#12) is sometimes notated and arranged for brass and other instruments.

Usually composers are well-known and the bands will play both popular and typical music in different styles.

Afro-Colombian music,of the Black culture of the coast. Descendants of African slaves,also brought here as contraband by the British, were mainly from Ghana, of Ashanti,Fante origin.

The Ashantis have a tradition of elaborate filigree work in gold, and in the Black communities of S.Colombia, master craftsmen work gold in a similar fashion.

Characteristic of the area from the port Buenaventura, south to Esmeraldas in Northern Ecuador, is the tradition of marimba or xylophone ensembles performances. They play for both secular & religious occasions: births, marriages ,funeral, wakes, arrullos for saints, social dances and ritual healing dances.

The ensembles consist of the marimba (22 wooden slabs arranged over resonating guadua or bamboo tubes) and played by two men. The leader, tiplero, and the bordonero, who plays the main melody on the lower end.

Two sound qualities are preferred: macho, deep,muffled, "ma1e" sound, and Hembra, a clear "female" sound. The instrument is suspended between two stands or hung from the roof, thus resembling the xylophones of the Central African Republic.

The rhythms of the two marimba players are crossed with those of the drums played by two men: 2 cununos, hollowed-out tree-trunks, covered with hide on one side and played with both hands; 2 bombos, big drums covered with hide on both sides, played with 2 sticks, and quasas, bamboo shakers filled with gravel or seeds, and played by women.

Folklore music: Indian traditional or typical music is played, out of context, by people who do not belong to the socio-ethnic groups (See #11). They play music from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador using kena (panpipes) and charango, which are not native to Nanino.

It is not unusual for melodies to travel from one repertoire to another. An example is El Guanena, Narino's national hymn (#3), which can now be heard in all except the Afro-Colombian.

A special case is that of the Coaiquer Indians, who also play the marimba, cununo and the guasa

played by a man (#8). They combine their own musical expressions with highland and coastal melodies.

NOTES copyright Bernard Broere & Sylvia Moore, 1982.