Choirs at Buen Pastor chapel (Placeres)

 After being saved from demolition for a new building development and after being closed for almost 6 years, this last weekend this old tridentine catholic Buen Pastor chapel from Placeres in Valparaíso opened its doors for choir concerts, starting with the UTFSM university choir.

This church is unique in Valpo because of its tridentine plan as part of a former nunnery and parish school located where we see today tall apartment towers as well as its amazing acoustic, that it is a blessing when you listen a pro choir such as the USM  choir.

Instrument showcase at Esmeralda Street

Ethnic musical instruments such as mandolins, lutes, bandolas and the likes have been very popular through the ages in our port so this year we have recreated a showcase with some historic samples of some of these instruments as they were shown a hundred years ago, including some of the same instruments that were sold and played at this same spot a century ago.

Here you could see both images, located at the old Hotel Colón building.  The recent one at the top, with our showcase (now Fotocafé Esmeralda 1111) as compared  with the bottom one taken at this same spot (at that time Esmeralda 85) dated around 1905.

Yes, indeed, a hundred years ago, on this same spot there was a music shop called Kirsinger, which had a showcase pretty alike to the one we recreated for the IX Festival inmigrante de Valparaiso just 3 weeks ago, without the piano and acordeons to have it as it was around the turn of the century.

Ana Hicks, tuna founder

During the III PUCV international Tuna Festival where I was part of the jury team I visited to the founder of the first university tunas in Valparaiso, Ana Hicks, a 93 years old granny and former music teacher who lives next door of the UTFSM University, the place where the festival was held. She is a person who during over 50 years has been the founder director of university tunas and estudiantinas in the region. To pay homage to her, some of the tunas being part of the festival headed by the Arica's Tarapacá Univerity tuna went to her house to serenate her. That was a blast for her.... At her room I played some fado msuic for her... Really to share time with her is a blessing.... so any homage is small as compared with the work she has done for so many years.

 

Durante el  III PUCV  Festival international  de Tunas donde era parte del jurado junto a Ramón Andreu visitamos a la fundadora de la primera tuna universitaria en Valparaiso, Ana Hicks, una abuela de 93 años, ex profesora de música que vive al lado de la UTFSM, el lugar donde el festival se realizaba. Ella es una person quien por más de 50 years ha sido la directora de tunas universitarias y  estudiantinas en la región. Para homenajearla, algunas de las tunas del  festival encabezadas por la tuna de la Universidad de Tarapacá (Arica) fueron a su casa a hacerle una serenata. Eso fue emocionante para ella.... En su pieza, yo le toqué algunos pedazos de fado... Realmente compartir  tiempo con ella es una bendición.... de modo que cualquier homenaje es pequeño comparado con el trabajo que ella ha hecho  por tantos años por la música.

PUCV Tuna Fest 2012

Even though there are other older well known tuna festivals in Chile such as the latin american tuna festivals at Iquique and La Serena. The folks at the PUCV tuna every year organise the only international university tuna festival in Chile, rescueing this kind of spanish folk serenating tradition born hundred of years ago in spanish colleges.

Contesting tuna folk bands: Tuna del Distrito Universitario de Michoacán Morelia (México); de la Universidad de La Serena; de Ingenieros de la Universidad de Atacama (Copiapó); de la Universidad Autónoma de Temuco; de la Facultad de Artes de la Universidad de Playa Ancha; de Distrito de la Universidad Católica del Norte (Antofagasta) & the  agrupación de la Universidad de Tarapacá (Arica).  Place: Aula Magna USM, Nov. 1-2 19:30 hrs. 

FIMIV 2012- Oct. 12-15-2012

Our IX Festival inmigrante de Valparaiso is due for next October 12 to 15th

This time we will have bands from Danmark (Himmerland), Brasil (Olam Ein Sof)  and many others from different cities in Chile, plus we will have an ethnic fusion orchestra set after the Ethnos project we call the Ensamble Transatlántico de Chile directed by Nano Stern and Ernesto Calderon.

Galician Day in Viña

More info: http://noticiasccamigosdegalicia.blogspot.com/

Galician folk instruments in Viña

From July, Tuesday 24th to thurday 26th galician exhibition and showroom at Viña`s municipal theater.

 Just after setting up 5 kinds of galician bagpipes in their showcases.....In the photo student bagpipes.

 C/G diatonic Melodeon

 Reeds or palletas, The double reed making the piercing sound of the gaitas.

 Bandurrias, mandolinas and laúd.... the traditional instruments of the urban folk tunas & estudiantinas along with the open pages showing galician lyrics of the classic novel, La Casa de La Troya. 

 Instrument infography of the exhibition.

 Videos on galician history, traditions, music & instruments (in Spanish and galician).

 Hurdy gurdy or zanfoña, the medieval traditional instrument...plus a boxwood gaita.

Poster at the gates of the Viña's municipal theater. More info & programme at: http://noticiasccamigosdegalicia.blogspot.com/ .

The passing of Nelson Schwenke RIP

 Today a great valdivian songwriter has just passed away. Nelson Schwenke is his name. Since the late seventies he has marked our chilean lifes with his social and landscaping story telling music within  the duet Schwenke Nilo.... a great musician and a better person... He lived just 30 miles from Valparaiso, and as Duet used to perform here in town at la Piedra Feliz,  and a few other joints in the past. We will miss him...

San Juan & Fiesta de la Música

 This coming weekend celebrates the changing season locally called Noche de San Juan, the mapuche new year We tripantu or internationally Fête de la Musique o Fiesta de la Música. The larger open public venues made before at squares in Valpo have been proposed to be moved for December 21th celebrating our longest day beginning our Summer. So this time everything will be indoors.

 So what we have today to celebrate..... tonight the Día de la Música  at the Alianza Francesa with Bossa Nova, chansons de France, celtic and galician music with Nova Galicia, & baroque Music with ensamble Alta Voce.

Tomorrow, as every year the local asturian community will celebrate from 9 pm onwards with local british, galician and asturian folk bands such as Tafechu la Nueche de San Xoan at the estadio español de Recreo (Viña), and finally late in the night chilean musician poets will challenge each other playing and singing décimas at the teatro museo at plaza Bismark (Valpo).

Celtic legends in Valpo

From Ireland an unique show with live music seldom seen in our city.... Saturday 28 19:30 hrs at Aula magna UTFSM

Bagpipe Gaita workshop/ Taller

During our VIII FIMIV we had several gaita workshops with prof. Kiko Montero de Muinheiros do Sarela de Santiago de Compostela (Galicia), who taught us many little tricks to start playing as we have to do the traditional galician gaita.

Now, with Paulo Bahamonde (Tafechu) and the Centro cultural Amigos de Galicia we are about to start a Gaita school/workshop for any one interested on saturday morning starting at the end of January.... So if you like this sound and you want to learn to play some tunes we ahve the way through our workshop..... Other kind of bagpipes in 440 as the asturian, french cornemuses, border pipes, some smallpipes etc. (see my collection bellow) are welcome too to do a sideline workshop if there is a minimun number of interested people.....

Ahora, junto a Paulo Bahamonde (Tafechu) y el Centro cultural Amigos de Galicia se abrirá un taller de gaita comenzando los sábados en la mañana a fin de Enero. Interesados contactarse con ccamigosdegalicia@gmail.com o festivalpo@yahoo.com.

Bagpipes/Gaitas from top to bottom/de arriba a abajo: Gaita Seivane con ronqueta y chillón en Do, Gaita da escola de Vigo en Do, Garvie Border pipe en La, border pipe practise set A, Lauriebeck D smallpipe set, German hummelchen en Do, Dunfion switchback smallpipe set en La.

VIII FIMIV 2011

World music festival at Viña´s Duoc UC theater December 28-29h 19 hrs. free.
More info: http://fimiv.blogspot.com

Galician Folk in Chile/ Instrumentos tradicionales galegos

We had a blast showing folk instruments with our singing and piping at the estadio Español de Las Condes. Some of it was published by the Estadio newsletter. We hope to do something alike here in Valpo pretty soon. Stay tuned...

As part of the Spanish footprint in Chile series of lectures the Centro cultural Amigos de Galicia invites you for a musical extravaganza celebrating the trad folk musical instruments playing & singing painderetadas, muiñeiras, pasos dobles, xotas, valses, fado & chilotan rhythms... Nov. 24th 2011. Estadio Español de Las Condes, Neveria 4855, Santiago, Chile. RSVP 09-98735003

Dentro de la serie La huella de España en Chile el Centro cultural Amigos de Galicia invita a presenciar una fiesta musical que celebra a los instrumentos musicales tradicionales gallegos al son de cantos y ritmos de painderetadas, muiñeiras, pasos dobles, xotas, valses, fado y ritmos chilotes.... 24 de Noviembre 19 hrs. Estadio español de Las Condes, Neveria 4855, Santiago, Chile. Acceso al estadio requiere lista invitados previamente. RSVP 09-98735003.

Samhain music session night at Pajarito

If you want to share Halloween night with folk music and conversation on (Samhain). We will have a traditional folk session at Pajarito expo-bar Salvador Donoso 1433, Valparaiso next October 31 at 20 hrs. Halloween costume dress code welcome.

Una folk session es esencialmente una reunión musical de amigos que tocan música folk tradicional con instrumentos acústicos. Esta costumbre nació hace siglos en pubs (public houses) de Europa y ha subsistido mayormente en la islas británicas.... Desde hace años hacemos estas folk sessions ya sea en el Irlandés o en el Pajarito del puerto.
Ahora, Halloween proviene de la celebración del Año Nuevo Celta, Samhain. Y es con esta excusa que amigos músicos de session folk de Santiago y Valparaíso nos juntaremos a festejar esta noche mágica del 31 a las 20 hrs. en el bar pajarito (S. Donoso 1433) con disfraces y música Celta en vivo, músicos y amigos, todos bienvenidos! Folk Irlandes, Escocés, Gallego......Gaitas. ENTRADA LIBERADA. Trae tu instrumento y tu disfraz, la idea es compartir cálidamente con ambiente grato, conversación, música y cerveza! Encuentra las partituras en: http://sessionsvalparaiso.blogspot.com/
Agradeceremos difusión de esta actividad y desde ya están cordialmente invitados

references ex libris

It is dificult to find good paper references these days. Even the libraries are outcasting the old encyclopedias and the like references for the new digital versions of the same subjects.

So what is better? the encyclopedic dictionary or the old monographic style encyclopedia?.... we have not solved the problem so we gather both.... and a third style the thematic encyclopedia....

At the end there is no space left for the paper and we trend to use the digital releases of the same books but it seems to have lower results as a learning tool.... what will have ahead in Valpo...... libraries are few and they are not usually use friendly...... chileans are known as a average poor readers.... our vocabulary also is poor..... lack of reading some say.....

The average chilean has less than 3 books at home..... no way it is going to have a reference work which reflect our current poor language skills....

Inmigrant tales around Valpo

The first who came across the sea...... It is a talk with those XX century witnesses who came from overseas to build their lifes in our cityport. Th. 18:30 hrs. CENTEX. Also a historical exhibition on this inmigration.

Those telling their lifestories at CENTEX: Sr. Luis Cabach Ostfan (arabe), Sr. Felix Merino Callejas (español), Sr. Carlos Moses J. (israelita), Sr. Jacques Lucas (franceses), Sr. Albino Misseroni (italianos), Sra. Ursula Holle de Rehren (alemanes) & Sra. Oenone Davies de Gray (Britanicos).

Those telling their lifestories at CENTEX:
Sr. Luis Cabach Ostfan (arabe)
Sr. Felix Merino Callejas (español)
Sr. Carlos Moses J. (israelita)
Sr. Jacques Lucas (franceses)
Sr. Albino Misseroni (italianos)
Sra. Ursula Holle de Rehren (alemanes)
Sra. Oenone Davies de Gray (Britanicos)
Los primeros que llegaron: ha sido denominada esta conversación abierta a toda la comunidad, como reconocimiento a aquellas primeras comunidades de inmigrantes que arribaron al puerto durante el siglo pasado.

More at:
http://consigliovalparaiso.blogspot.com/2011/05/invitacion-dialogos-abiertos-los.html