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A Night for Serenading with Pablo Garzón by Noris Binet
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      On several occasions in the past, I have attended performances of Pablo Garzón's musical ensemble “Serenatta.” Each was a rewarding experience. At the Bean Central, the experience was extraordinary.
      When I arrived at the café, the group had begun to play. I walked into an atmosphere intimate, cozy and familiar. There I found an audience captivated by the old Latin songs, by the unfolding of South American culture. Although I did not know anyone in the audience, I felt warmly welcomed by those around me. I realized, then, the significance of Pablo's work: with his music he creates a community, and this reflects the core of the Latin culture, a fertile and generous soul that embraces and nourishes.
      In my Spanish class, I have an American student who lived for a time in Ecuador. One day he gave a report to the class. Its theme was that U.S. students who travel to South America are not the same when they return. Something fundamental changes within them. He spoke repeatedly of the idea of family, of the affection of the people, of the grandmothers who are in charge of everything and say: “My house is your house.” I told him he was describing a community. His eyes opened wide in recognition. This student, who had visited the countryside of Ecuador, observed that although people there do not have many material possessions, they give abundantly what they do have, they give of themselves. I told him he had experienced the spiritual values of those who live in contact with nature and who recognize that the material world is transitory. They have learned there is an element within that never dies, an essence that is the best gift we can share.
     Pablo is able to transmit this essence through the atmosphere his music creates. At my table, one person remarked that the melodies were so smooth the conversation flowed seamlessly with the music. As I sat and listened, I heard around me accents of Spanish, English, Portuguese, even French. Serenatta's performances attract an international community, and we all felt at home.
     Pablo's musical repertoire is enriching. He includes melodies and rhythms from all Latin American countries, and through them educates the audience about the wealth of our many Hispanic cultures. This part of the program is very important, because it opens a door for dialogue, a fundamental aspect of all intercultural processes. Pablo provides the lyrics of the songs in Spanish, Portuguese, and French, and teaches one or two. He then invites us to sing along. It was amusing and rewarding to witness the enthusiasm of the audience's participation! In addition, Pablo always invites everyone to dance. At several points in the evening, couples stood up to dance a tango, a bolero, or a waltz.
     I look forward to continued participation in this “Community of Serenatta” as it creates a space for connection between peoples. This space is indispensable at a time of increasing multiculturalism in Nashville. Serenatta offers a superb opportunity to meet and come to know other members of the community, to dance rhythmically, to learn together, and to savor the eternal romance.
     Last night, the night of Serenatta, was exquisite, full of surprises and possibilities. Through Latin American romantic music, I find myself standing at the threshold of what many of us -- Nashville natives, Latinos, and other internationals -- have been seeking: a place where creative social gatherings can occur, a space of artistry, soul, and passion, a place that lets us know that we do, indeed, live in community.

Noris Binet has a Ph.D. in Therapeutic Counseling. She is an artist, lecturer, and author, and has published one book, “Women on the Inner Journey.”  nbinet@aol.com

A Vanderbilt Research Paper by Karen Mathew
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            When I eagerly approached my World Music teacher with decision that I planned to study Columbian music, she referred me to a good friend and excellent musician, Pablo Garzon. He is the founding member of Serenatta, a Latin American Romantic Ensemble. We exchanged emails and phone conversations and then arranged to meet immediately following a Serenatta concert in November. So I would better be able to identify the music I would hear performed at the concert, I did some general preliminary research regarding Columbian and Latin American music. I then prepared a list of questions and noted certain aspects of the performance to look for.

            I attended a Serenatta performance at Bean Central coffeehouse in Nashville, Tennessee on November 15, 2002. I arrived early and was able to see the three-person ensemble set up their equipment and instruments. Although they usually have a violinist, two guitarists, two percussionists, an upright bassist and three singers, because Bean Central was a small performance, only three of the five group members were present that evening. One of the band members placed song books on each table so his audience would be able to follow along with Serenatta’s musical selection. At promptly 8:00 pm, Pablo Garzon walked on the stage to an audience of about 30 middle-aged, international individuals.  He introduced himself, the violinist and a Columbian native, as well as the other band members. Joey Butler, whom I also spoke with after the performance, was the guitarist, and Dean Miller was the percussionist. Then, Garzon briefly described Serenatta in general. He concluded his introductions by encouraging the audience to “please stand up and dance, whenever you feel like it, and you don’t need a partner.” The band seemed very inviting and the audience was very receptive in return.           

As the music began, I noted many individuals belted out the traditional lyrics to the upbeats song, as they nodded their head, and tapped their feet. The younger audience members and older audience members seemed quite familiar with the lyrics and meanings of each song played, although some individuals used the song books on their tables for reference. A few additional individuals entered Bean Central after the performance began, but were forced to wait until the end of each song because audience members were using the entrance of the coffee shop as a dance floor (for lack of other space)! A few couples danced together, as well as a group of women, whom shook their hips and moved their hands in the air as they spun in circles. 

            A personal treat occurred when Pablo Garzon acknowledged my presence during the concert among the audience and briefly described my fieldwork project based on Columbian music, as well as his Serenatta ensemble. During another break between songs, Serenatta described how they had worked with the Nashville public school system the week before in a local elementary school for their celebration of Spanish week. The latter interested me because I began to receive the impression that Latin American music was, in fact, popular in Nashville. My premonition was later confirmed when I interviewed Mony Shohadaee, an audience member at the Serenatta concert, and learned that a very large (50,000 person) Latin American population does exist in Nashville itself. As described by Shohadaee, many bars and popular teen dance clubs which specialize in Latin American music, such as salsa and Latin jazz, can be found in Nashville. In addition, there are even two complimentary Latin American newspapers in Fido.

          After the entertaining, two-hour performance at Bean Central, I interviewed Pablo and learned more about the history of Serenatta. He defined Serenatta as “romantic Latin,” music with “soft and melodic [tunes] from many different countries in Latin America, particularly Columbia and Brazil, but also including Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina and Paraguay.” He told me he and others view Serenatta Romantic Ensemble s unique to the Nashville music scene, because the ensemble plays such a diverse collection of Latin American music. Still, he used a plethora of “Colombian rhythms, such as bambuco, pasillo, cumbia, and caña, and Brazilian rhythms, such as bossanova and samba.” “The old and traditional styles of music” found in the ensemble’s repertoire are “challenging [for him] to play and pleasant [for him and others] to hear.” Serenatta was established three years ago and has evolved three times since then, to this date. The first Serenatta included the following instruments: violin, flute, Paraguayan harp, guitar and upright bass. The second Serenatta included: violin, piano, two guitars, upright bass and percussion. The current Serenatta includes: violin, two guitars, two percussionists, upright bass and three singers. A variety of instruments are used by the percussionist, including but not limited to: castanets, tambourine, African drums, congas, claves, cajón, and symbols.

          I had written out questions that I wanted to ask Pablo Garzon on paper, and brought those questions to our interview following the Serenatta performance on November 15, 2002. I recorded his answers by hand. If I had later questions, he entertained them through email and/or phone. He also gave me a CD recording of Serenatta, entitled “Al Romance Eterno,” or “To the Eternal Romance,” to accompany my fieldwork project and for my listening pleasure (please refer to Serenatta Romantic Latin Ensemble’s “Al Romance Eterno”).

RESEARCH

            After I attended the Serenatta performance, I continued research on Columbian music. I learned that Columbia is a powerhouse country comprised of both indigenous and foreign elements, composed of Spanish, African and Native American elements. The country is almost 2000 km north to south and over 1000 km east to west. The demographics of Colombia are as diverse as the musical culture. The Andean highlands are renowned for bambuco, the Atlantic coast is renowned for its accordion led vallenato, the plains dominated by llanera music, led by harps, and the Pacific coast is known for its champeta and curralao.

Black influence is clearly evident in Columbian popular music by the percussive rhythms, performance methods and musical instruments. Bambuco is arguably the most representative of Columbian dance songs and is indigenous to Africa. It is typically in ¾ of 6/8 meter and begins with an upbeat of thee eighth-notes. The tiple, a five-stringed guitar, and bandolas, the Latin American lute, complement and accompany bambuco. Considered a ‘pursuit dance’, the male courts the female until they embrace at the end of the song.  

Native American influence is evident in the melancholy feeling in Columbian songs. The Torbellino has Native American elements, with unrelenting, powerful beats in ¾ meter.

Columbia can be subdivide into four regions, reflecting geographic features and cultural traits, including the mountain heartland, Pacific coast, Caribbean coast, and Llanos (eastern plains). The mountain heartland includes the Andean highlands, Cauca and Magdalena valleys, as well as the three largest cities of Columbia, Bogotá, Cali and Medellin. The tiple, which is also Columbia’s national instrument, is a small, 12-stringed guitar played in the mountain heartland. Bambuco, which is also Columbia’s national dance, is prevalent in this region. Many annual festivals reflect this region’s music and dance. Some of these include: La Fiesta del Campesino (the first Sunday in June), Fiesta del Bambuco (late June), Festival Folkórico Colombiano (late June), Fiesta Nacional de la Guabina y el Tiple (early August), Desfile de Silleteros (August), and Las Fiestas de Pubenza (shortly after New Year).  

The Pacific Coast is comprised of some of the most African-sounding black music in South America. The intertwining relationship of marimbas, multifaceted layering of vocals, and strong beat of the drum are representative of their African origin. Call and response vocals, typical of African music, are also evident. African percussion instruments, including the upright cununo drum, bombos and redoblantes are used in the region, in addition to the marimba.** Sung during fiestas or holiday gatherings, many attend celebrations such as the Festival Folkórico del Litoral (July) and San Francisco de Asís (August 4) to hear the African sounds of this region.

‘Música Tropical’, part of the Salsa repertory, became popular in the Caribbean coast about three decades ago, when Discos Fuentes made the first Columbian attempt at salsa. Salsa originated from Cuba and is another example of the Spanish influence on Columbian music. The brass sections had low tones, were principally played in minor keys, and emitted melancholy vibes.

Cumbia was grown from a following in its regional birthplace, the Atlantic Coast, to a national level. Columbia’s unofficial national anthem is “La pollera colora,”

Two types of music found in this region are the Cumbia and Vallento. Cumbia is a musical dance form highly influenced by African music. Men create an outer circle and hold bottles of rum and women create an inner circle as they hold espermas candles, while the gaitas, flutes made from cactus with beeswax heads, or flautas de cana de millo, smaller flutes, were played with drums. Cumbia has evolved as part of the Vallenato repertoire and is frequently played with guachara rasps, caja drums and the accordion. The Paseo and Merengue are the most popular rhythms of the Caribbean coast. A popular festival in this region is the Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata in April.

The Llanos, or great eastern planes, are situated between the two republics of Columbia and Venezuela. The latter region is known for its own musical genre: the llanera: music with swing, rhythm and bounce for most parts yet is still sentimental. The harp is the principal instrument of the region, but is supported by the cuatro, bandola, bandolin and tiple. The maracas rhythmically and texturally enrich llanera, but may be substituted by the accordion or violin by country bands. The tempo of llanera can be both quick, such as the Corrido and Zumba que Zumba, and slow, such as the romantic Pasaje. The lyrics usually describe daily life and habits, and provoke regional or national pride. The region’s major musical festival, Festival Nacional del Joropo, is held in December.

INSTRUMENTS

The tiple, a small guitar with five strings, and bandola, are used to accompany the bambuco. Other instruments typical of Columbian music are the vihuela, a seven-stringed guitar, the drum, and the cuatro, a four-stringed guitar. The guache, is a percussion instrument made from a hollow pipe of hardwood and containing bamboo thorns in the interior.

Natives of Columbia still use the musical instruments of the pre-Columbian era. For example, the bombo, a drum with membrane covers on both sides, manguare, and cununu, the latter two of which are jungle drums, are examples of percussion instruments still used by Columbian musicians.

 COMPOSERS and ARTISTS

Guillermo Uribe-Holguín (b. 1880) is revered as Columbia’s best known musician composer, violinist and conductor. He has composed a plethora of written chamber, piano and written orchestral music.

Pedro Morales Pino, the greatest bandula player in history, added a 6^th string to the instrument and was the first individual to compose guitar and bandula books. Until Pino, the melodies, rhythms and texts of bandula had been passed down orally. Pino became popular in Columbia, Central America, South America and the United States through his performances in Columbian popular music, as well as American classical music, and classical works by Columbian composers. His works included patriotic themes as well as folkloric materials. In addition, Pino taught Emilio Murillo (1880-1942), popular for his Pasillos and other short piano works, at the Academia Nacional.

POPULAR MUSIC

E-mail comments:
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Pablo,

I love your work and always feel at home with you and the band playing and everyone singing along with so much happy energy that brought me tears of happiness and love. This is the energy that is missing in the world.Thank you and please continue doing what you are doing! -- Massood Taj www.massoodworks.com

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