It's been a long time since we've updated this blog, which makes us utterly ashamed. We are now back, however, with good news, changes, and many awesome things to come. Since the beginning of 2011, we've been working hard and have seen some nice things coming our way. But first, news that are not so good: after almost seven years of playing, singing and, most of all, dancing with Radio Jarocho, Cecilia has decided to take a break from the band and follow a new path. Ceci is still our dear friend and this was an amicable separation. We wish her all the luck in the world on this new adventure and hope she will still come to the fandango and hang out with us frequently.
The remaining members of RJ, Gabriel, Julia, Carlos and Juan Carlos are now hard at work to release original material. With sones like Los Jaraneros, Café Café, Malhaya el Sueño and La Conga Libre, RJ is going a step further from playing traditional sones. We hope you come see us soon and hear the new songs.
On February 9, our friends from The David Wax Museum invited us to jump onstage for their Joe's Pub performance and accompany them for Colás and Carpenter Bird. The crowd went wild with the jarana and leona playing, as well as with the solos of zapateado. We're sure that this is the beginning of a very successful road for all of us.
Last but not least, don't forget to watch Radio Jarocho's new YouTube videos, with some from Jalopy Theater, Terraza Cafe and, of course, our CUNY documentary. One from our participation at Joe's Pub is coming up!
Thank you for reading and remember to keep sonando la jarana and taconeando la tarima at our upcoming events: Terraza Cafe on February 26 and Zebulon Cafe Concert on March 24.
It was long overdue for me to congratulate "el maestro" Gabriel and the whole crew, for the new works!! I had the chance to be in Terraza Cafe's last fandango of 2010, and it was a lot of fun; besides, it was a great surprise to have heard new sones like Cafe Cafe, and Malhaya el Sueño.
ReplyDeleteComing up with new compositions within the boundaries of traditional music is a great challenge, and a goal few bands achieve with some sort of success. In my country (Colombia), bands dedicated to keeping and promoting traditional music and cultural values have been increasing with time. Yet, after they burn out the resource of traditional songs, most of such bands fade and eventually disappear since their new ideas are far removed from the language and style they hail to represent. Radio Jarocho's new material, on the other hand, is living music breath through verses, zapateado, vibrant voices, and spontaneous syncopation almost impossible to put in musical notation; this is a manifestation of culture, of the lifestyle and the way of thinking of a whole region. had I not found out that day, I would have laughed at the idea such sones were composed by a jaranero fom New York.
Thanks al maestro Gabriel, and to all the members of Radio Jarocho for such good music. All my affection and admiration!
Me estaba tardando en enviar mis felicitaciones al Maestro Gabriel y a todos los muchachos del grupo por los nuevos trabajos!! Tuve la oportunidad de escucharlos en el Terraza Café, en el último fandango del año anterior, y fue todo un placer; ademas, tambien fue una gran sorpresa escuchar nuevos sones como Café Café y Malhaya el Sueño.
Componer dentro de la música tradicional de cualquier país es un gran reto y un objetivo que pocas agrupaciones logran con éxito. En mi país (Colombia), las agrupaciones dedicadas a mantener viva la música y manifestaciones culturales de diferentes regiones se han multiplicado. Sin embargo, después de agotar el recurso de los temas tradicionales, casi todas ellas se marchitan y mueren por que sus nuevas propuestas están alejadas del lenguaje y el estilo al que pretenden pertenecer. El nuevo material de Radio Jarocho es, por el contrario, música viva que se respira a través de los versos, el zapateado, las voces brillantes y las síncopas casi imposibles de escribir en notación musical; es una manifestación de cultura, de la forma de vida y pensamiento de toda una región. Si no me entero ese día, no me creo el cuento de que son composiciones de un Jaranero de Nueva York.
Gracias al maestro Gabriel y a todos los muchachos de Radio Jarocho por tan buena música. Todo mi afecto y toda mi admiración!.