Los Guaraguao – falcon in aborigine-
is a Venezuelan folk group, formed in 1973 in Caracas, framed in the Nueva
Canción Latinoamericana movement. Famous
all over Latino America for their extraordinaire protest song “Las casas de
carton”, a song that denounced the infrahuman life-conditions of the buildings
where poor people lived and still lives today all over the continent.
Critical with their political
system, the band adopted the social commitment and activism messages and fused
them with great folklore music for being accessible to the citizens. Conspiracy
theories popped up when their main songwriter, Alí Primera, was found dead in a
car accident in the mid eighties. This led to a major loss for the group,
staying inactive during a substantial period, resurfacing in 1996 and being
active again since then.
Their first album is the main topic
of today’s update. As we said, this was their most famed LP, and despite being
projected more than 40 years ago, lyrics still have much effect nowadays.
“Perdoname Tio Juan” talks about unequal exchange between developed and
underdeveloped countries. “Gaita Margariteña” wonders how can live so many poor
people in a country so rich in natural resources, “Que pasa en el mundo” is
about difficulties young people find to progress, “No basta rezar” and “Yo
pregunto” postulates the activism and union as a complement of passive ways for
achieving peace and liberty.
Lyrics are a good reason to like the
record but it’s in the fusion with the musical approaches where the record
becomes remarkably upgraded: the sadness that evokes the lyrics is cleverly
balanced with the festive, warm and mellow acoustic instrumentation. This includes
the pleasant 4 string Venezuelan cuatro or the harp (“Gaita Margariteña”), an
instrument very popular in Venezuela. There are also good string and horn
arrangements in some tracks and enjoyable rhythm section with nice drumming and
double bass.
A good proposal for discover the
exotic folk world-music rhythms of Venezuela, even though the ones who
understand Spanish will enjoy it thoroughly.
Tracks
A1. Casas de Carton (Alí Primera)
A2. Otra Vez (Alí Primera)
A3. Gaita Margariteña (Juan Rojas)
A4. Perdoname Tio Juan (Alí Primera)
A5. Que Pasa en el Mundo (Eduardo Martínez)
B1. Jesus Caminante (José Guerra)
B2. No Basta Rezar (Alí Primera)
B3. Ire Cantando (José Guerra)
B4. Los Estudiantes (Violeta Parra)
B5. Yo Pregunto (Alí Primera)
Personnel
Eduardo Martínez: Soloist and cuatro
Jesus Cordero: Double bass; second voice; chorus
José Guerra: Drums; third voice; chorus
Ricardo Landaeta: Arrangements
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