The Mexican CCI Project Creates Artistic Collaborations · Tamaulipas, uses a trio with violin,...
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The Mexican CCI Project Creates Artistic Collaborations OVER A YEAR AGO, CTMD's Cathy Ragland began meeting with the Mexican Cultural Initia- tive advisory committee to discuss project goals and future programming. Since that time, the committee has chosen a project name, "Mano a Mano, Cultura Mexicana sin Fronteras" (Hand in Hand, Mexican Culture without Borders), conducted phase one of a survey to locate and document artists in the Mexican community, teamed up with the Union Settlement Associa- tion in East Harlem to implement the region's first mariachi education program, and planned its first concert performance for December 16 in the Fashion Institute of Technology's Haft Auditorium. A traditional Mexican Posada (Christmas festival) will be held in the audito- rium lobby prior to the concert celebration. Cathy's articles (below and on page 5) intro- duce us to the committee, the dynamic events they've planned, and the musical traditions driving them. T he Mano a Mano concert program reflects the project's name, bringing Mex- ican culture and artists together from both sides of the border and will feature Mexi- can musicians, dancers and visual artists collaborating with Mexican American artists living in New York. Local music group, Mariachi Real de Mexico, will lead a mariachi "super- group" of approximately twenty members who will support three guest ranchera vocalists from Mexico (Chavela) and New York (Yolanda Leti- cia and Alfredo Lima). A special program of regional Mexican string ensemble traditions (son) will feature two Mexico-based groups: La Negra Graciana (son jarocho), and Guillermo Velazquez y los Leones de Xichu (son arribefio). Each music group will collaborate with the award-winning New Rochelle-based dance ensemble Imagenes y Tradiciones, under the direction of Francisco Nevares. Finally, the performances will be enhanced by handmade 12-foot puppets (mojigangas) and masked characters constructed during a short work- shop residency with local artist Miguel Cossio and puppet-maker and visual artist Leopoldo Estrada, who will travel from his home in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico (also hometown to Cossio). The project's committee The committee, largely made up of local artists and active community leaders, has benefited greatly from its partnership with the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and committee member Carlos Gutierrez, the Institute's Director of Performing Arts and Social Sciences. He has provided a wealth of outreach support on behalf of the Institute, partic- ularly with the cultural survey, Photo: [above) After winning first place in a local ranchera singing contest, a five-year old Ramon Ponce Jr. celebrates by singing with his father Ramon Sr. in his birth- place of San Bernardino, Puebla, Mexico. The photo was taken in '9BO by Ramon Jr.'s mother Guillermina Martinez de Ponce. [right) La Negra Graciana, the only female harpist-bandleader of the son joracho tradition, will perform at the December , 6th concert event: Mana a Mana, Cultura Mexicana sin Fronteras. and the grantwriting and planning process associated with the concert program. The Insti- tute will also be a partner in the education proj- ect, a two-year pilot program expected to begin May 2002 pending funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The committee, along with CTMD and the Mexican Cultural Institute, recently welcomed the Union Settlement Association as a partner in the education project. The Settlement has agreed to give the project a home at its Youth Services site on 98th Street and Third Avenue. Abe Fernandez, Director of Youth Services, will supervise classroom space and site support. Advisory committee member, Ramon Ponce Jr., who is co-director of Real de Mexico, will be the project's musical director. Instrument and voice instructors include his father Ramon Ponce teaching trumpet along with other members of the ensemble: Mario Mota, violin; Ramon Ponce Jr., guitarr6n; Florencio Morales, vihuela and guitar; and vocal instructors Yolanda Leticia and Alfredo Lima. Like Ramon Jr. and his father, most musicians learn the music and instru- ments from other family members and at a very early age. However, with the growing population of Mexicans in New York, demand for mariachis has put a strain on the number of available pro- fessional groups. The Ponces and other musi- cians in the community have been teaching family members and neighbors on their own. Mariachi school On behalf of the community, Ramon Ponce Jr. asked CTMD and the committee to help them create a "school" to reach out into the larger Mexican youth population which is located in several neighborhoods throughout the city. Programs such as this have been in existence since the late-1960s in southwestern cities with Continued on page 8
Transcript of The Mexican CCI Project Creates Artistic Collaborations · Tamaulipas, uses a trio with violin,...
The Mexican CCI Project Creates Artistic Collaborations
OVER A YEAR AGO, CTMD's Cathy Raglandbegan meeting with the Mexican Cultural Initiative advisory committee to discuss project goalsand future programming. Since that time, thecommittee has chosen a project name, "Mano aMano, Cultura Mexicana sin Fronteras" (Handin Hand, Mexican Culture without Borders),conducted phase one of a survey to locate anddocument artists in the Mexican community,teamed up with the Union Settlement Association in East Harlem to implement the region'sfirst mariachi education program, and plannedits first concert performance for December 16in the Fashion Institute of Technology's HaftAuditorium. A traditional Mexican Posada(Christmas festival) will be held in the auditorium lobby prior to the concert celebration.
Cathy's articles (below and on page 5) introduce us to the committee, the dynamic eventsthey've planned, and the musical traditionsdriving them.
The Mano a Mano concert programreflects the project's name, bringing Mexican culture and artists together from
both sides of the border and will feature Mexican musicians, dancers and visual artistscollaborating with Mexican American artistsliving in New York. Local music group, MariachiReal de Mexico, will lead a mariachi "supergroup" of approximately twenty members whowill support three guest ranchera vocalists fromMexico (Chavela) and New York (Yolanda Leticia and Alfredo Lima). A special program ofregional Mexican string ensemble traditions(son) will feature two Mexico-based groups: LaNegra Graciana (son jarocho), and GuillermoVelazquez y los Leones de Xichu (son arribefio).
Each music group will collaborate with theaward-winning New Rochelle-based danceensemble Imagenes y Tradiciones, under thedirection of Francisco Nevares. Finally, theperformances will be enhanced by handmade12-foot puppets (mojigangas) and maskedcharacters constructed during a short workshop residency with local artist Miguel Cossioand puppet-maker and visual artist LeopoldoEstrada, who will travel from his home in SanMiguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico (alsohometown to Cossio).
The project's committeeThe committee, largely made up of local artistsand active community leaders, has benefitedgreatly from its partnership with the MexicanCultural Institute of New York and committeemember Carlos Gutierrez,the Institute's Director ofPerforming Arts and SocialSciences. He has provided awealth of outreach support onbehalf of the Institute, particularly with the cultural survey,
Photo: [above) After winning firstplace in a local ranchera singingcontest, a five-year old RamonPonce Jr. celebrates by singing withhis father Ramon Sr. in his birthplace of San Bernardino, Puebla,Mexico. The photo was taken in'9BO by Ramon Jr.'s motherGuillermina Martinez de Ponce.[right) La Negra Graciana, the onlyfemale harpist-bandleader of theson joracho tradition, will performat the December , 6th concertevent: Mana a Mana, CulturaMexicana sin Fronteras.
and the grantwriting and planning processassociated with the concert program. The Institute will also be a partner in the education project, a two-year pilot program expected to beginMay 2002 pending funding from the NationalEndowment for the Arts.
The committee, along with CTMD and theMexican Cultural Institute, recently welcomedthe Union Settlement Association as a partner inthe education project. The Settlement hasagreed to give the project a home at its YouthServices site on 98th Street and Third Avenue.Abe Fernandez, Director of Youth Services, willsupervise classroom space and site support.Advisory committee member, Ramon Ponce Jr.,who is co-director of Real de Mexico, will be theproject's musical director. Instrument and voiceinstructors include his father Ramon Ponceteaching trumpet along with other members ofthe ensemble: Mario Mota, violin; Ramon PonceJr., guitarr6n; Florencio Morales, vihuela andguitar; and vocal instructors Yolanda Leticia andAlfredo Lima. Like Ramon Jr. and his father,most musicians learn the music and instruments from other family members and at a veryearly age. However, with the growing populationof Mexicans in New York, demand for mariachishas put a strain on the number of available professional groups. The Ponces and other musicians in the community have been teachingfamily members and neighbors on their own.
Mariachi schoolOn behalf of the community, Ramon Ponce Jr.asked CTMD and the committee to help themcreate a "school" to reach out into the largerMexican youth population which is located inseveral neighborhoods throughout the city.Programs such as this have been in existencesince the late-1960s in southwestern cities with
Continued on page 8
Hand in Hand. Mexican Culture without Borders
Festival of Music and Dance featuring Regional Mexican Son Ensembles incollaboration with local artists fram the Mexican American Community of New York.
Featuring:Guillermo Velazquez yLos Leones de Xichu (son arribefio)La Negra Graciana (son jarocho)Asociaci6n de los Mariachis de NuevaYork con Yolanda Leticia,Alfredo Lima, and Chavela(modern mariachi and son jaliscense)Imagenes y Tradiciones(regional son dances)12-foot puppets (mojigangas)and masks by Miguel Cossio andLeopoldo Estrada
religious, and cultural issues. In Velazquez'shometown of Xichu, a small village atop theSierra Madre Mountains, there is an annualcompetition between two chosen poet-singers(also known as trouvador campesinos) andtheir ensembles who sit perched on a scaffolding platform, facing one another from bothsides of the village plaza. Locked in verbal andmusical combat from midnight New Year's Eveuntil llAM the next morning, a collective ofvillage elders decide the winner, often choosingVelazquez. Naturally Velazquez is the bestknown representative of this rich literary andmusical tradition, which is becoming extinct inthis region.
Likewise, due to Velazquez's efforts to reachout to audiences beyond his region in Mexicoand in the US, he is well-known among ruralcommunities in Mexico and abroad for he usesthe son tradition to speak out as the voice of thecampesino and migrant underclass. Writingalong very contemporary themes Velazquezsings about a range of topics from the indigenous struggle in Chiapas, to the impact ofmigration on rural Mexican communities.
Son jarochoSharing the stage with Velazquez will be LaNegra Graciana (The Black Graciana) a wellknown harpist from the ancient port city ofVeracruz, which shares many musical and cultural influences with Cuba. Though GracianaSilva can be seen strolling with her harp in theportales, the heart of the touristy old towncenter of the city, she has also been invited toperform in Europe and Australia. Graciana is
Sunday, December 16 at Spm,Haft AuditoriumFashion Institute of Technology,27th Street and 7th Avenue(entrance on 27th Street)Admission: $8 adults$5 CTMD members. seniors Et students,children under 6 free
preceded by:Posada, Traditionalpre-Christmas CelebrationSunday, December 16, 3:30pm-4:30pm.Haft Auditorium LobbyAdmission: Free
without Borders) two of Mexico's most celebrated son ensembles will be featured: GuillermoVelazquez y los Leones de Xichu from Guanajuato and La Negra Graciana from Veracruz.
Son arribeiioVelazquez's style of son, called son arribefio,features the group's leader, an accomplishedpoet who composes elaborate verses accompanied by two violins, requinto (small five-stringguitar), and a six-string guitar. These verses(mostly in ten-line decimas) entertain as wellas comment about current social, political,
the Mexican Son Tradition
Guillermo Velazquez y Los Leones de Xichu performthe son arribefio tradition, which uses elaborate poetic verses.
Mention the words "Mexican music" andthe first thing that comes to mind formost people is the mariachi. Few
Americans realize that other traditional Mexican music styles can still be found throughoutthe rural regions of the country. The Mexicanson tradition covers an extensive repertoire ofrural Mexican music and is distinguished by itsgeographical distribution and stylistic features.Son grew out of the encounter between theindigenous population and the conquerors whocame from Spain and became a string ensemblebased, musical hybrid. Son primarily belongs tothe Mestizo culture, yet over the years someindigenous communities call this traditiontheirs as well. Distinct son ensembles and theirmusical styles are associated with at least nineethnic and geographic regions. SOil jaliscenseoriginated in the states of Jalisco and Colimaand formed the traditional string ensemble coreof the modern mariachi, which later expandedto include brass instruments in the 1920s inurban Mexico City. Son huasteco, found in thestates of Hidalgo, San Luis Potosi, Puebla, andTamaulipas, uses a trio with violin, jaranahuasteca (small four-string guitar), and the huapanguera (larger six-string guitar) as well asrich, three-part vocal harmonies and falsetto.This tradition is one of the most popular andbest known of the son ensembles and, in theearly part of the 20th century, influenced trioensembles throughout Latin America as well.
As part of the upcoming December 16thconcert event, Mana a Mana: Cultura Mexicanasin Fronteras (Hand in Hand: Mexican Culture
