La Nueva Canción Latinoamericana y del Caribe: Sudamericanto Quintet in Concert

Come celebrate the rich cultural legacy of Nueva Canción that elevates the spirit, grounds the mind and speaks to the heart! Madeleine Zayas’s ensemble Grupo Sudamericanto and Special Guests present: La Nueva Canción Latinoamericana y del Caribe and a special warm ¡Hola to Pablo Milanés!

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INSPIRATION & HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

After years of poverty, social inequalities and political unrest, the election of Chilean Salvador Allende was seen as a beacon of hope by the lower and middle classes both in Chile and throughout the region. As the new president-elect took center stage to greet cheering citizens in 1970, a banner above his head read, You Can’t Have a Revolution Without Songs. It was a energetic statement about the role of music and cultural work and a powerful mission statement that turned this embryonic new song movement into the continental music whirlpool, this new genre that we all know.

With its anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism firm stance, La Nueva Canción Latinoamericana (or La Nueva Trova in the Caribbean) has become a musical tradition and art form that aims to educate about culture and denounce pressing social issues.

Rooted in the vast richness of the continent’s popular music and cultural traditions, this genre is characterized by its honest and direct message, well-crafted lyricism and a variety of music. It is a truly cultural resistance against the dominance of market-ridden cultural expressions, cultural mercantilism and commercial music. New singers and songwriters took up nueva canción as a means to express collective struggle in a time of violent repression. NewSong lyrics spoke explicitly to issues such as poverty, hunger, imperialism, democracy, human rights, and religious freedom.

In the United States and in the Bay Area, La Peña has been one of the most important centers in promoting the most important exponents of the new song and has been very important in making North American audiences aware of the music that is coming from much further south, the music that to this day very few know, the music of deep South America.

THE CONCERT:

This concert will feature fresh arrangements of some of the best examples of La Nueva Canción/Nueva Trova from Chile (Victor Jara), Cuba (Pablo Milanés, Silvio Rodríguez and Pedro Luis Ferrer), Puerto Rico (Roy Brown) and Brazil (Milton Nascimento). It will also provide a window into the vast variety of Latin American folkloric influences from Venezuela, Perú and Puerto Rico. Some of the influences include afro-peruvian landó, zamacueca, marinera, Brazilian samba and maracatú, puertorican plena and bomba, joropo Venezolano, son Cubano and boleros – tied together in harmony with rhythmic precision and intertwined with jazzy flavors.

Original songs by: Marcos Silva, Jackie Rago and Madeleine Zayas. Music from Chile, Perú, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Music by Sudamericanto Quintet:

• Madeleine Zayas (Puerto Rico) vocals, percussion
• Marcos Silva (Brazil) keyboards, arrangements and musical direction
• David Pinto (Perú) bass, arrangements and musical co-direction
• Michelle Goerlitz (US) percussion
• Daniel Oñate (Chile) flute, quena and vocals

And Special Appearance by:

• Jackie Rago (Venezuela) on cuatro venezolano, percussion and vocals
• Ito Carrillo (Puerto Rico) on drums
• Members of La Peña Community Chorus who will open the event