Audio: Todos Vuelven

Newsletter - Colombia, Your Other Music

Hello camara!
What great reviews I have received with my updated website. Some ask, Why the hat from the coast? Here in this country there are many people who use the cowboy hat, especially in the west (you’ve seen the movies). There are also many from different nationalities  who strut by, showing off their hats from their own homelands-all very nice. My Stetson or my Pelo É Guama from far away cannot be distinguished from other hats and this is why I use the hat from the coast , the vueltiáo, since from far away it can be distinguished as a colombian hat. Walking with my harp and with my sombrero vueltiáo I feel very comfortable; since I did record with Silvio Brito llanera music with harp in the vallenato style (which by the way I do not have that CD) in 1989. Here and everywhere I go, I represent Colombia, I represent being  Hispanic. Yes, I am jealous of my Pelo É Guama, because they are not easy to find; since at one time these hats were imported from Czechoslovakia. Now as we say, this is the hat I wear only on Sundays.

Vocabulary
Guama - Is a fruit that comes from the plains that hang from the tall trees and from far away they look like the Tamarindo -only green ansd five times as big/wide. You open the fruit as if it were a bean pod and you see a white bed of cotton. Once you grab that sweet cotton puff in your mouth you take out a big black oval pit that you throw out, and continue on with the next 5 or 6 puffs more and you discard the open pod shell. The summer is the best time for guama.

The name of the hat Pelo É Guama  is used as a description of the texture of the hat that looks like the Guama fruit when opened like a cotton puff, but it is not used for hats. It is an expensive hat and us worn proudly by the llaneros.

Vueltiáo- Is a derivation of the word vuelteado, shortened in the regional language.
This term describes the black loops around the hat made from the fiber of a palm  from the northern coast of Colombia. The number of black vueltas (tuns-rings-loops) and the artisan’s handcrafted quality are used in determining the price.
The most commonly sought after vueltiáo’s have 22 vueltas though the most expensive sombrero vueltiáo has 24 vueltas.

The Sombrero Vueltiáo is perhaps the popular and representative hat of Colombia that athletes, artists, and writers sport abroad; and is one of the best gifts you can receive.

Corner Note June
Thank you for your birthday wishes. In truth, in May I was in Portland, Oregon at the Newmark Theater participating in the production ¡Entusiasmo! Directed by Robin Lane. It is a musical of hope that deals with colombian village Gaviotas whereby Paolo Lugari begun to regenerate the world with wind and solar energy 40 years ago! This arduous task was developed with the collaboration of scientists, artists, musicians, former street juveniles, and indigenous people. For several years we have performed in this musical that is filled with acrobats, information, news, and song.  Accompanied by the group Los Llaneros you can enjoy three of my  llanero instrumental compositions along with a theme I recorded from the Colombo-Venezuelan folklore:

La Voz Del Viento
Cuando La Llanura Despierta
Siguiendo La Huella
San Rafael Y Los Diamantes.

For many, it is the first time they listen to llanera music or learn something about the plains of Colombia

Monthly Question

Who can get a copy of the llanera movie “Septimo Paralelo” directed by Elia Marcelli (1961)?

Answer to Monthly Question

Unfortunately there was no answer to last months question about Town Hall, In truth there were two Town Hall concerts with Rene Devia y Los Vaqueros and the question remains open.

This And That
It was a pleasure meeting Paolo Lugari in Portland. He is a very energetic man and a great teacher. His scientific and social contribution is outstanding despite having been kidnapped by the guerillas several years ago according to Alan Weisman, author of the book “Gaviotas”. We shared memories about the llanos and the department of Meta in the 1960’s. His visit in Portland was primarily to see the show ¡Entusiasmo! About Gaviotas. It is truly a dream to bring this musical to Broadway or to Colombia.

 

Here And There
Finding a llanera harp here is difficult for there is nowhere  to purchase and even less places to repair one when it collapses. The llanera harp is very delicate and fragile. It weighs less than 15 pounds. Since it is acoustic, the climate affects it. The wood opens or expands, it shrinks and gets debilitated. With each bump- I suffer more. On stage the instrument looks good and if it is played well, it sounds good; yet little credit is given to the artisan who makes them. Again with my persistence I set out to manufacture my own harps.

In Colombia, Juan Marin who is now retired made harps in our workshop in my academy where I would help with the finishing.

In Orlando, I found the workshop of the famous Velazquez Guitars where Alfredo alongside his father Manuel Velazquez fills orders worldwide.

Here in San Antonio, I learned of the workshop of the Guitarras Macias, guitars well known throughout Mexico whereby Armando Macias with his son Jorge manufacture bass guitars and repair acoustic instruments. The idea was to make a smaller and lighter harp easier to travel with and the harp they helped me reconstruct was the harp that I displayed  in Portland in the show ¡Entusiasmo!

Classifieds

Cuerdas Sonora
tel. Plutarco Toloza
(718)353-0616
Strings for all instruments

Donations

Please send your donations, honorariums or gifts that are very appreciated and needed to promote culture and folklore to

Rene Devia
PO BOX 761492
San Antonio TX. 78245

 

 

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