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Mariana Montalvo Preview
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North Coast Journal Weekly, Mariana Montalvo Preview >>
by BOB DORAN
GROWING UP IN SANTIAGO, THE CAPITAL OF CHILE,
Mariana Montalvo [photo at right] was inspired by singers like Victor Jara and Violeta Parra, pioneers of a musical style known as nueva canción.
In its purest form nueva canción fused traditional South American music with the words of the nations' poets, often touching on social and political themes. It was music that served as a soundtrack for the democratic revolution that brought Salvadore Allende to power in Chile. When Allende was elected president of Chile in 1970, a banner behind him on the grandstand declared, "You can't have a revolution without songs."
"You could say that the nueva canción was born in Chile at that time with people like Victor Jara, who was killed by the military just after the coup, and groups like Inti-llimani who were politically engaged," said Montalvo, who is on her first American tour.
"[Jara's] music was dangerous; it was very important in the street [demonstrations] at the time. His songs were very important and a lot of songs have been composed since then about that time."
Like many musicians from Chile, Montalvo was forced into exile when General Augusto Pinochet took power in a military coup in 1973. Living in Paris, Montalvo keeps the nueva canción tradition alive.
"My music is special because the only way I had to keep my roots [in Chile] was in my music. I began to compose songs when I was 22 or 23, working with poetry by Latin American poets. I wanted my music to [connect with] women and with Latin America."
She notes that the music she makes is not always traditional, and she does not restrict herself to South American sources. An example is a song titled "Nacer en algún lugar" ("To be born some place") from her Putumayo album Cantos del Alma, written by a French songwriter and translated by Montalvo into Spanish.
"It's a French song about exile, that's why I appropriated it. It talks about all the people who went out from their countries to work or for other reasons. It says, we don't choose the country in which we were born, we don't choose our parents and we don't know what life will give to us. It speaks of birds: Some make their nest in their country, and there are birds that go away flying. It is about pride, pride in my roots, even if I go away."
She has returned to Chile regularly in recent years, and says her success overseas makes the Chileans proud that she "carries the banner" of their country, although she admits that people there sometimes find her music "very strange."
"I don't make pop or rock, I don't make salsa, I don't make traditional folkloric music. Some journalists don't understand, they think all the music of Latin America comes from the countryside, and we are all people who work the land. But we are also from the cities. I come from Santiago -- I'm not a country girl and I don't make country music.
"You can call all new traditional music nueva canción," she says. "But as I said, I come from the city. Since I was a little girl I heard what we now call world music, because my dad was fond of that kind of music. I heard music from Venezuela, from Cuba, from all over."
For Piel de Aceituna, her recent release on World Village, Montalvo adapted works by Chilean poets, setting them to music that draws on European and Latin American sources.
"I have a lot of influences," she explains, "because I arrived in France when I was quite young. I use accordion a lot -- not on this tour because I could only bring two musicians -- but I use accordion because it is a link between Latin American music and French music. In France it is very common to play accordion. And in all the folkloric music of Latin America you find accordion: in Chilean music, in Argentinean music, in Bahian music, Northern Colombian -- everywhere you find accordion. For me it is the link between all these cultures."
The new CD comes just in time for Putumayo Presents Latinas: Women of Latin America, a 28-city tour featuring Montalvo along with Totó La Momposina, who plays traditional music from Colombia, and the Brazilian singer Belo Vellôso, daughter of renowned musician Caetano Vellôso. The tour comes to Arcata Thursday, Nov. 18, heralding the release of Women of Latin America, a Putumayo disc featuring Montalvo, Momposina, Vellôso and eight other artists.
Montalvo is performing in places where there are few who speak Spanish. She says she has been taking time on stage to translate at least a portion of the lyrics so the meanings of the songs are not completely lost. "Even if you don't understand all the words, I hope that the music will touch people," she added. "People here tell us they have discovered a new kind of music, because in America and in Europe, the Latin American music they hear is dancing music; Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, salsa. Our music is less well known."
The idea behind the Putumayo album and the tour is to present a cross-section of contemporary and traditional Latin American music. The common thread? "We all talk about the same things. We have the same history, the same problems. The common point is that we share the spirit of Latin America, one continent. It's all one soul."
CenterArts and Putumayo present "Latinas: Women of Latin America," Thursday, Nov.18, at 8 p.m. in HSU's Van Duzer Theatre, with Mariana Montalvo, Totó la Momposina and Belo Vellôso. Tickets are $35, $30 for seniors and children, $25 for HSU students. Call 826-3928 for reservations.
Bob Doran 11/11/04 >> go there
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