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Montalvo relishes opportunity to perform her songs her way
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Arizona Daily Star, Montalvo relishes opportunity to perform her songs her way >>
QUICK TAKE
Putumayo: Latinas tour
With Mariana Montalvo, Belô Velloso, and Totó La Momposina
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Centennial Hall
Tickets: $18-$36 through the UA Box Office, 621-3341
By Gerald M. Gay
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Not a day goes by that Chilean songstress Mariana Montalvo doesn't miss her South American home.
The 51-year-old has spent the last three decades living in Paris, exiled from Chile in a 1974 coup that brought the military regime of Augusto Pinochet to power.
But Montalvo has never forgotten where she comes from. She holds ties by keeping up on the cultural expressions of her homeland, the art and poetry, often incorporating them into her own creations.
"The only way I stand to keep my roots is to sing my music and compose music that talks about my country and continent," Montalvo said in a recent interview from New Mexico.
Traveling the country as part of the Putumayo: Latinas tour that UApresents is bringing to Centennial Hall Saturday, Montalvo is thrilled to share the traditional music of Chile with the people of the United States.
"This is an important tour because the American people are used to listening to very few kinds of Latin music - merengue and salsa and commercial music like that," she said. "We are showing another part of our music. Our soul."
Her performance - billed alongside Brazilian songbird Belô Velloso and Colombian performer Totó La Momposina as part of a performance showcasing women musicians of South America - will cover the songs of her latest Harmonia Mundi release, "Piel de Aceituna" (Olive Skinned.)
Influenced by the Chilean protest folk movement genre, nueva canción, many of the album's tracks are based on poetry by South American poets like Gabriela Mistral, Alphosina Stomi and Joana de Ibarburu.
"I think the poetry speaks to us about what's behind life," she said. "It's a way to explain how life is so beautiful. It shows the real soul of the continent. That's how I keep from losing my soul and my roots."
Montalvo slips effortlessly between music styles on the album, providing flowing vocals over genres ranging from traditional Chilean melodies to reggae beats.
The singer believes it's her time in France that has allowed her to expand her musical repertoire.
"A lot of different musicians live in Paris," she said. "You can meet a lot of people in Paris. It's a real cultural place. Chile is like an island. It is very culturally isolated. You never hear African music or North African music in Chile. In France you can go to concerts for people from places like Africa or Mongolia."
Montalvo fans shouldn't expect to see exact renditions of the songs from "Piel" at the show. Though she finds the album versions beautiful, many of the pieces were arranged, in part, by producers. The singer plans to have more traditional instrumentation behind her at the performance to honor her native home.
"The music and the choice of songs I sing are completely mine," she said. "When I perform the songs on stage I like to do them my way."
Contact reporter Gerald M. Gay at 573-4137 or ggay@azstarnet.com 11/11/04 >> go there
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