Cabildo!

Nada by Carlos Pezoa Veliz

Julio — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 04:29:36 +0000

Carlos Pezoa Veliz was a Chilean poet who lived at the turn of 20th century and Most of his work only got to be known posthumously. He was also an educator and a journalist working for publications in Santiago and Vina del Mar.
There is in his body of work a concern for social issues and it is said influenced by the work of Gorki and Tolstoi.
There are two of his poems that I was taught in school, I don’t know actually when, that moment got lost in the hidden corners of my memory: “Tarde en el hospital” and “Nada”.
We have been working on arranging this last one. Here are the words in Spanish:

Era un pobre diablo que siempre venía
cerca de un gran pueblo donde yo vivía;
joven, rubio y flaco, sucio y mal vestido,
siempre cabizbajo… Tal vez un perdido!
Un día de invierno lo encontraron muerto,
dentro de un arroyo próximo a mi huerto,
varios cazadores que con sus lebreles
catando marchaban… Entre sus papeles
no encontraron nada… Los jueces de turno
hicieron preguntas al guardían nocturno:
éste no sabía nada del extinto;
ni el vecino Pérez, ni el vecino Pinto.
Una chica dijo que sería un loco
o algún vagabundo que comía poco,
y un chusco que oía las conversaciones
se tentó de risa… Vaya, unos simplones!
Una paletada le echó el panteonero;
luego lió un cigarro, se caló el sombrero
y emprendió la vuelta…! Tras la paletada,
nadie dijo nada, nadie dijo nada!.

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CINCO DE MUSTACHE (MAYO) AT HOPCAT!

cabildo — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:30:58 +0000

A emparejarse los bigotes! or draw them on your face or go to your favorite custom rental store and get some. We will be there and we will try to make you dance. There is no experience required, that’s right! Just like some of us, you might feel intimidated by Caribbean rhythms and though we are influenced by salsa, we are closer to rock and cumbia. So, don’t waste your precious money on dancing lesson, and give it a better use by- like for example- hanging out with us at HOPCAT this coming Thursday. Let yourself loose to the beats of ska, funk, rock, meringue, cumbia and more.
It’ll be also one more opportunity you’ll have to say good bye to our friend Victor who’s moving to the east coast. Here are more details about the event.

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Some known Peñas that became centers for the promotion of the arts.

Julio — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:53:28 +0000

In the eighties in Chile, Peñas became itinerant events where artists had an opportunity to share their work and interact with an audience hungry to establish a connection between the social movements and the arts.
Their itinerancy isn’t intrinsic to them. In fact the most iconic of them, La Peña de los Parra, was for many years an institution with a permanent location that became the epicenter of the cultural-artistic and social movement brewing in Santiago in the 60′s. Founded by Violeta Parra, it hosted the most important musical artists of that time including Victor Jara, Inti-illimani, Quilapayun, Patricio Manns, Angel e Isabel Parra among many others.
Not to say Peñas are an exclusive Chilean institution, they are not. But sure many of the Chileans forced into exile, took the idea of the Peña and founded institutions for promoting the arts all over the world. Here are some of them:
La Peña, de Berkeley, CA.
La Peña del Bronx, NY.
La Peña en Sidney, Australia.

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Morena La Besadora (original poem)

cabildo — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:26:04 +0000

These are the words of the original Poem by Pablo Neruda from the book “crepusculario” we now perform as a song.

Morena, la Besadora

Cabellera rubia, suelta,
corriendo como un estero,
cabellera.

Uñas duras y doradas,
flores curvas y sensuales,
uñas duras y doradas.

Comba del vientre, escondida,
y abierta como una fruta
o una herida.

Dulce rodilla desnuda
apretada en mis rodillas,
dulce rodilla desnuda.

Enredadera del pelo
entre la oferta redonda
de los senos.

Huella que dura en el lecho,
huella dormida en el alma,
palabras locas.

Perdidas palabras locas:
rematarán mis canciones,
se morirán nuestras bocas.

Morena, la Besadora,
rosal de todas las rosas
en una hora.

Besadora dulce y rubia,
me iré,
te irás, Besadora.

Pero aún tengo la aurora
enredada en cada sien.

Bésame, por eso, ahora,
bésame, Besadora,
ahora y en la hora
de nuestra muerte.
Amén.

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About music, happiness, charangos and my first Peña

Julio — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:28:23 +0000

When I was 13 years old my Tata (grandfather) bought me a brand new guitar, and after a few months I was ready for my first performance. I remember buying a small wood cut print portraying Victor Jara that included a short quote by the singer (canto que ha sido valiente siempre será canción nueva). Armed with some carpenter’s glue I managed to stick it on my new guitar’s body - a la Woody Guthrie. The Peña took place in the nearby town of Puerto Varas, a known tourist destination in the southern part of Chile. The occasion was a political campaign kick – off event for Humberto Lagos, the candidate then representing the left. People were excited. “Chile la Alegria ya viene“, Chile happiness is arriving a political ad of the time described. Things were changing, we could somewhat publicly manifest our opinions, gather without fear, in the eve of being able to elect parliament in Chile after 15 years of dictatorship.

I got there invited by Humberto himself. Unlike other events I attended later on in my life, this Peña was kind of fancy; not a dark and abandoned place, but a well decorated, small hotel dining room owned by one of the organizers and located in a residential part of town. The room had been arranged with clothed tables, centerpieces and candles on them. The walls displayed the works the owner’s son, a now known and important artist in the region. The smell of empanadas and warm wine with oranges and cinnamon spread throughout the hall enhancing the festive feeling. It brought some much needed coziness to combat the cold winter hitting the windows from the outside.

And I got to open the event. I remember being so nervous, shaking as I always do. I remember singing a couple of songs, probably all of them by Victor Jara. The warm wine started pouring out, warming up not only patrons but the environment. I was followed by poets, speeches, and other bands; among them the “Amarantos” six guys playing charangos, guitars, zamponas, quenas and singing lyrics that called on workers and “pobladores” to organize themselves giving detailed instructions on how to put together a strike or how to block a road.

It was also my first time holding a charango. Marcelino, the band leader, taught me my first chords and right then I fell in love with the sound of the little stringed-armadillo carcass.

At the end of the night Humberto gave my aunt and me a ride back to our town. Strangely, as soon as we left, a car started following us. Our driver began getting nervous. Since he wasn’t from the area, he asked us for info on alternative routes. As soon as we entered town, we lost sight of that car. I don’t know if we were actually being followed but the situation describes how unsafe many Chileans felt at that moment in our political history. Things were changing, but happiness was a fragile thing.

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May Day Peña at Red Hydrant Press, April 30th

cabildo — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:13:48 +0000

This is a very special event Cabildo and Red Hydrant Press are putting together for all of our friends. In a few words, we expect it to be an evening of music, singing and dancing, conversation, food and something to help the food find its way faster down the throat. So, we are not charging per se, we are asking everybody to pitch-in, because really there is no profit being made here. Your contribution is being accepted HERE or by contacting Julio (julioacano gmail . com) or Josh: dizzyjd at gmail . com . Bring your guitar, your poem or your sole dearest presence.

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Cabildo at WZZM13

cabildo — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 22:37:02 +0000

Cabildo at WZZM13 back in 2006. We should probably upload some newer videos, but they are hard to come by. Hopefully someone out there can help us get some vids for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRF7tv_tusQ

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Cabildo at Mezze

cabildo — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 22:34:43 +0000

“Toro Mata” – Cabildo at Mezze (September 2006). Upd

This one is an old classic for Cabildo. As you can see from the video, it always gets people out on the dance floor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJE4vXfzNDE

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Welcome to Cabildo’s Official Page

cabildo — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:34:42 +0000

Hello, and welcome to Cabildo’s Official Page

A Cabildo literally means “Town Hall” in Spanish. This place also doubled as a place where black slaves where permitted to play their traditional music and where chants and drum parts were passed on from generation to generation during the Spanish colonization of the Carib and Latin America. Cabildo is a Grand Rapids based collective that performs in the West Michigan area. Founded around 2003 the group has played at the Tulipanes Film Festival in Holland MI, The Grand Rapids Hispanic Festival, Fiesta Mexicana, Aquinas College, Wealthy Theater, The Eastown Street Fair, Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts (UICA) , Muskegon Art Museum, Muskegon Summer Celebration, The Intersection, Rockys, The Radio Tavern, St Cecilia Music Society, WYCE, Bioneers Conference, etc. for booking info drop us a line at cabildomusic@gmail.com

Thanks,

Cabildo

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