CIMARRON PROGRAMME
11th – 23rd February 2008
11th Feb - 6pm - 9:30pm
Festival Launch
@ Canning House:
6.30pm Lecture and discussion
‘Music, Race and Nation in Colombia: Musica Tropical in Colombia’
Peter Wade, Manchester University
@ Canning House
Long a favorite on dance floors in Latin America, the porro,
cumbia, and vallenato styles that make up Colombia’s música
tropical are now enjoying international success. How did this
music-which has its roots in a black, marginal region of the
country-manage, from the 1940s onward, to become so popular
in a nation that had prided itself on its white heritage?
Peter Wade explores the history of música tropical, analyzing
its rise in the context of the development of the broadcast
media, rapid urbanization, and regional struggles for power.
Using archival sources and oral histories, Wade shows how big band renditions of
cumbia and porro in the 1940s and 1950s suggested both old traditions and new
liberties, especially for women, speaking to a deeply rooted image of black music
as sensuous. Recently, nostalgic, "whitened" versions of música tropical have
gained popularity as part of government-sponsored multiculturalism.
8pm - 9:30pm
Reception - Live Colombian music @ Canning House Library
From 12th Feb to 16th Feb
Library. Times: 2pm – 6pm
Photographic Exhibition: ‘The Colours of Cacarica’ Iona Hogendoorn@ Canning House Library
Iona Hogendoorn’s exhibition pays homage to the courage of an Afro-Colombian
peace community in their struggle for survival amid the violence they experience
regularly in the rainforest, near the Pacific coast. Cacarica, designated a Peace
Community, is situated exactly in the spot where they plan to complete the
Pan-American Highway, this and other mega-projects: an inter-oceanic canal,
wood, palm oil (bio-diesel), make this a very valuable stretch of land for various
powerful groups, including the National Army, who fight over its control and
ownership.
12th Feb 6.30pm
Book Launch, lecture and discussion.
The Gangá Longobá: The Forging of an Afro-Cuban Religious Community
Alessandra Basso Ortiz, UCL
@ Canning House
The Gangá Longobá is a kin related community of African descent settled in the
town of Perico, in the county of Matanzas in Cuba. They practice a religion that
n many aspects resembles other Afro-Cuban religions but which they claim to be
idiosyncratic. Alessandra Basso Ortiz, examines how religious tradition and group
identity were forged among the Gangá Longobá, and what enabled an ethnogenic
process to take place.
8pm VIDEO:
Esclavo, "Cimarron y Guerrero"
@ Canning House
Cuba 2000
Spanish (no sub-titles)
27 minutes,
Ernesto Daranas& Rolando Almirante
The story of Esteban Montejo the last cimarron in Cuba, 105 years old in 1963
started recounting his life to Cuban writer Miguel Barnet, who in 1966, published
"Biografía de un cimarrón". The film describes how Montejo was brought from
Africa as a slave, how he ran away and lived as a ‘cimarron’ and later was part
of the Cuban liberating Mambi Army.
13th Feb - 6.30pm
Lecture and discussion
‘The Abolition of Slavery in Brazil: Memory and Historiography’
Matthias Rohrig Assuncao (University of Essex)
@ Canning House
The public perception of the Abolition of slavery in Brazil has changed dramatically
over he last twenty years. The older historiography described it as a generous act
of philanthropy by princess-regent Isabel or as the result of an urban, middle-class
led abolitionist movement. The Brazilian Black Movement, in contrast,has
emphasized the enslaved own struggle for freedom, and has elected the maroon
eader Zumbi as the symbol of Black resistance.
The more recent historiography has also
highlighted the importance of slave ageny
in the process that led to abolition. Yet at
the same time the growing visibilityof
Afro-Brazilian culture has brought to the
foreground the songs of blackcommunities
of the interior that praise princess Isabel
and insist in celebrating he 13th of May,
date of the Golden Law she signed in 1888.
The lecture will introduce those complex
and fascinating developments, where
history and memory of Abolition are subject
to permanent re elaborations.
8pm - VIDEO
@ Canning House
‘Memorias do Cativeiro’ (Memories of captivity)
Hebe Maria Mattos, Ana Maria Lugao Rios – Brazil 2005, 42 minutes
(Canning House)
18th Feb- 6.30pm (t.b.c)
Afro-Venezuelan music workshop with Wilmer Sifontes.
@ Bolivar Hall
7.30pm VIDEO (t.b.c)
‘Los Dioses del Futuro’ Cuba 1992, 55 minutes, Spanish (no subtitles) T.V.C.
@ Bolivar Hall
Documentary about different traditional and folk music and dance celebrations in
various Latin-Caribbean countries: Venezuela, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti.
Dance groups and performers from different countries including Conjunto Folklorico
de Cuba.
18th Feb – 7PMLecture and discussion
The Latin Origins of Jazz: Latin or Ango-Saxon?
Juan Carlos Malagón - Cuban musicologist
@ S.O.A.S. University. Room G3
Within the context of musicological studies, the roots of jazz and its Anglo-Saxon
and African influences have been profusely studied and documented. However, the
Latin influences in the emergence and shaping of this genre has not been analyzed
in depth, and are virtually unknown. They are only mentioned with respect to Latin
jazz, and the process of transculturation which took place during the forties, where
Latin-Caribbean musical influences, as well as influences from other parts of Latin
America, were mixed with jazz in the USA. In this seminar, J.C. Malagón will focus
on the strong impact of the Latin community on jazz since the XIX century,
specifically referring to ballroom dances in New Orleans and (parallels with) other
cities in Latin America, and the consequences which gave way to the development
of the different jazz styles.
18th Feb to 23th Feb
2pm – 6pm
Photographic Exhibition
‘Mask making and Los Diablos Danzantes de Yare in Miranda,
Venezuela’ Lenin Arvelo.
@ Canning House Library
Arvelo’s work deals with mask making and the importance of the devil in
Venezuelan folkloric culture. ´The Dancing Devils of Yare´ is the name of a
religious festivity celebrated in San Francisco de Yare, Miranda state, Venezuela,
at the Corpus Christi day. Its origins are traced back to the 18th century, every
Corpus Christi, a ritual dance is performed by the so called "Dancing Devils",
who wear colorful garments (commonly all red), layers of stripped fabric, masks
of grotesque appearance and also Christian religious accesories.
The fraternity of the devils is divided in hierarchical order, represented in their
masks.This popular ritual is a clear example of the syncretic process in
Latin America.
20th Feb - 7pm
Lecture and discussion, The development of Samba between 1910-1940:
Transformation or Emergence? A Re-evaluation of The Bantú Contribution
in The Form of Time Lines as a Rhythm Concept. Bosco de Oliveira
@ S.O.A.S. University Room G3
Samba’s roots come from Africa, mainly
Angola, where the dance semba was a
predecessor of samba, and as importantly
from Portugal and Europe, which made it
possible for the relatively intricate
harmonies found in samba to be developed
out of European tradition.
In his lecture, Bosco de Oliveira will argue against the myth that the development
of samba in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the 20th century, was centered
around the immigrant black population from the state of Bahia in Brazil.
21st Feb
6.30pmAfro-Peruvian Evening
@ Conway Hall
6.30pm
Afro-Peruvian dance workshop with Flavia Chevez
7.15pm
Afro-Peruvian percussion workshop with Jim Le Mesurieur
´Musica negra´ is a type of Latin American music initially developed by black slaves
in South America, in particular Peru, where it is known as musica criolla.
´Musica negra’s influences are largely West African music and Spanish music.
Notable artists and groups include Lucila Campos, Pepe Vásquez, Susana Baca
and Perú Negro. One of the more famous songs in the genre is Peru’s "Toro Mata."
8pm
VIDEO ‘Zapateo con clase’ Documentary about Afro-Peruvian tap dancing
Flavia Chevez
Danced to the sound of the cajón (box drum), the zapateo peruano with its fancy
"hard shoe" footwork reminiscent of Spanish dance and its unique rhythms is an
Afro-Peruvian dance form that is found along the coast of Peru where Africans
were brought as slaves beginning in the 16th century.
"Zapateo con Clase" is a film about "Zapateo"Afro-Peruvian tap dance, including
performance,classes and interviews, presented in the context of Afro-Peruvian
culture and the teaching of black dance in Peru.
22nd Feb
Afro-Colombian Evening
@ Conway Hall
6.30pm
Room 1 - Afro-Colombian dance workshop with Miriam O. Patino
6.30pmRoom 2 - Afro- Colombian percussion workshop with Emeris Solis
Afro-Colombian dance workshop with Miriam O. PatinoAfro- Colombian percussion
workshop with Emeris Solis
7.30pm
Room 1 - Lecture and discussion: ‘Abosaos, Lumbalús and Patacorés:
Afro-Colombian Musical Practice at the Fringes of the Diaspora’
Michael Birenbaum Quintero, New York University
Although Colombia has the third largestblack population in the Americas, the cultural
expressions of black Colombians are largely unknown. This talk will describe the
varied musical practices of black communities across Colombia, including the
Caribbean coast, Chocó province, the runaway slave community of San Basilio
de Palenque, and the Cauca Valley, with particular focus on the music of the
southern Pacific coast.
This talk will examine the historical processes of retention and syncretism that
have formed traditional Afro-Colombian practices and linked them to Colombian
music in general, extending this discussion into the field of the newer popular
musics that have been created and/or embraced by black Colombians. Finally,
the presentation will touch on some of the reasons for the marginalization of
Afro-Colombian musical forms both in Colombia and abroad, and the ways this
marginalization is being resisted and counteracted.
23rd Feb 6pm – 12pm
MUSIC AND DANCE FESTIVAL CELEBRATION
Free entrance
@ Conway Hall
Music and dance showcases by UK based Afro-Latin American groups representing
Cuba, Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela, starting with an Afro-Cuban dance
workshop in the main hall and an Afro-Cuban percussion workshop in room 3 at 6pm.
In addition, there will be videos, arts and crafts and Latin American food
and drinks.
PROGRAMME
(TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
6pm - 6.45pm Main Room
Afro-Cuban dance workshop
6pm - 6.45pm Back Room
Afro-Cuban percussion workshop
7pm - 7.30pm
´Manos Negras´ - Peru
7.45pm - 8.15pm
Venezuela
8.30pm - 9.00pm
Colombia
9.15pm - 9.45pm
Cuba
10pm - 10.30pm
Brazil
10.30pm - 11pm
DJ
11pm - 12pm
Vallenato band -´Fuerza Vallenata´
- 12pm CLOSE -