BAHIA SOLANO: A MUSICAL TRIP TO AFRICA AND BEYOND

My name is Emilio Sánchez. I won’t describe what you already know about me (you all know I’m tall, I wear glasses, etc.) I will directly talk about the one thing that has always marked me: music. But I won’t speak about any music…I will refer directly to the music whose roots lie in Africa. I believe that most of the music that I like to play, dance to or listen to comes originally from Africa. And every time I get involved with it, I feel like I am coming close to the mother of most of the wonderful music that has graced my life. Bahia Solano was an approximation to these roots which I am very proud of; through the Chirimía music, I danced and I played, giving homage to Africa and to the musical formation that it has given to many. I am not the only one who has embraced his African roots through music. Countless artists and musical styles have directly experimented with them.

I. AFRICA AND ITS GLOBAL MUSICAL INFLUENCE

I’d like to begin with a kind of music that our grandfathers have told us about. It is Jazz, a music that was invented by African-American slaves in the United States, through the sad, melancholic songs that they would sing while working in the cotton plantations in Georgia.

Next comes a musical name that has been very popular for years. It is Salsa – actually a term that was used to revise all Cuban music outside of Cuba after the Castro revolution. (Cruz 118) It is through percussion that salsa has an African root. In the song “Qué Rico Suena Mi Tambor” by the Fania All-Stars, the singer Ismael Miranda attributes the groove of percussion to all Latin American countries and to Africa: “A todos los paises latinoamericanos… ¡África, por poco se me olvidaba!…aquí va mi tambor.” (“To all Latin American countries…I almost forgot Africa! Here goes my drum!”) In his tune “Marruecos”, Colombian singer Yuri Buenaventura says: “Gracias por lo que me enseñas, Africa…la salsa en nuestros corazones para ti.”(“Thank you for what you teach me…the Salsa in our hearts for you.”)

These are some of the musical styles that are African in their origin. However, there are several non-African artists who have approached African music and fused it with their own particular styles. Here are a few of them:

The first clear example lies in the music of legendary Rhythm & Blues/Funk band Earth, Wind & Fire , users of the Kalimba , an instrument that is actually a kind of piano played with the thumbs, being an adaptation of the elder Mbira ("Kalimba"). The instrument was discovered by the group’s founder Maurice White, who talks about his discovery in the song “Kalimba Story”.

Stevie Wonder has also had contact with Africa through his music. Perhaps the clearest example lies in a song that was written in three languages, “Ngiculela-Es Una Historia-I Am Singing”, in which the first part is written and sung in Zulu. Wonder has also initiated other artists in African music, especially through the tune “A Time To Love” , written and sung as a duet by India.Arie and himself, with a massive percussion finale, also featuring a soft guitar played by Sir Paul McCartney.

There are artists who have been influenced by Africa even through the music that it gave to the region of Chocó. Venezuelan singer Maria Rivas has experimented with the popular rhythm of Mapalé through a song named after this dance, which is always performed by a man and a woman, using erotic movements, very African in their origins. In the lyrics, Rivas sings to these movements by saying: “Por eso yo pido que, y cada vez que quieras tú, y pal’ baile’el Mapalé, sea siempre con marido, y el hombre con su mujer.” (“For this I ask that when we dance the Mapalé, the dance always be with [my] husband and the man with his woman”).

But there is one artist to whom I owe the inspiration for this project. It is the great brazilian singer and songwriter Djavan. Born in Alagoas, he was always close to Africa. In 1980, he travelled to Angola for a closer contact with his roots – this trip was actually what gave me the main motivation for this project – and later returned to Brazil to record the 1981 album Seduzir, where his journey is clearly present in three tracks: the original composition “Luanda” , and a medley of two songs from Angola, “Nvula Ieza Kia” and “Humbiumbi” . In 1986, Djavan recorded South Africa’s national anthem, “Nkosi Sikelei’ I-Afrika” - or “God Bless Africa” in English - and “So Bashiya Ba Hlala Ekhaya”, an anthem of South Africa’s youth.

So, keeping in mind those who have been influenced by Africa, and Djavan’s trip to Angola, I decided to do something similar in Bahia Solano.


II. MY WORK IN BAHIA SOLANO

In Bahía Solano, I was exposed to a local music known as Chirimía. It came to my attention that the band playing it was quite simple: just a saxophone and a few percussion instruments (most notably the tamboura and the snare drum). The music gave out good energy in the tradition of African Music. After the first performance, I interviewed Bismark Lopez, the band’s tamboura player.

INTERVIEW WITH BISMARK LOPEZ

1) Which do you consider the most important rhythm of this region, historically or musically, and why?

Note: When I asked him this question, by “rhythm”, I actually meant genre, so he answered differently to what I was expecting, and then I asked him the question using the word “genre” itself. Here are both of the answers he gave me.

A: The rhythm of dance. It is very energetic and it makes you happy.

B: The most important musical genre is chirimía. It is the region’s music.

2) If you were to define the musical heritage that Africa gave us through one instrument, which one would you cheese and why?

The maracas. They are an instrument that expresses a lot of feeling when well played. They practically say things clearly and they make you feel that you want to express a lot.

3) Do you think there is currently an artist who represents the roots that are from Chocó and the afro-colombian roots through his music?

There was one who they used to call “Chano”. He was a Chirimía singer.

4) Which are your main musical influences?

In terms of music to dance to, my influence is Chirimía for being the music that is proper of this region. In terms of music to listen to, my influence comes from ballads and soft, sentimental music.

5) In your years as an artist, do you think that you have had one or more opportunities in which you – in your own style – have been able to show the African roots in Colombian music?

I have been to regional dance exchanges. In those exchanges, the dances are exchanged but the cultures are not so there I feel that the (African) traditions have not been lost.

6) If you were to compare the African heritage in Chirimía with the African heritage in Salsa, which would be the main differences?

You cannot compare them. Salsa is very recent and I feel that ancient African music was better, since more feelings were expressed.

7) If you had to represent the heritages that Africa gave to Colombia, through something other than music, how would you do it?

Through ancient customs. I would not like to do it through what is recent since everything has now been altered very much. There are people who do not have clear where we (the Afro-Colombian race) come from.

III. CONCLUSION

I think that the previous pages and Lopez’s final answer have proven my point. We all like to listen to music nowadays, as a matter of fact, “Nothing is more singular about this generation than its addiction to music.” (Bloom) But the music we like, comes directly or indirectly from Africa.

WORKS CITED:

1) Cruz, Celia. Celia. Mi Vida. 1st Ed. Barcelona, Spain: Ediciones B, S.A., 2004.

2) “Que Rico Suena Mi Tambor”. Fania All-Stars. Live At Yankee Stadium Vol.1 Fania Records Inc. , 1975.

3) “Marruecos”. Yuri Buenaventura. Salsa Dura. Mercury France, 2005.

4) "Kalimba." 29 Jan 2007 .

5) “Mapalé”. Maria Rivas. Mapalé. EMI-Rodven S.A. , 1993.

6) "Nkosi Sikelel'iAfrica - South Africa's National Anthem." anc.org. 4 Feb 2007 .

7) Lopez, Bismark. Personal Interview. Bahia Solano, Colombia. January 24th, 2007.

8)"Allan Bloom Quotes." BrainyQuote.com. 2007. BrainyMedia.com. 4 Feb 2007 .

Copyright 2007 (renovado en 2009), Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.