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A Cumbe of Peace: San Agustin Celebrates Venezuelan Music and Culture

By Ricardo Vaz

The popular barrio of San Agustín held a festival to honour its musical roots.

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    San Agustín held a music festival honouring the barrio's musical heritage. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    An exhibit called "Caracas ciudad de son" kicked off the music festival on Thursday. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    Grupo Madera is one of the main musical references of San Agustín. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    "Democracy and salsa" - an exhibit in the Alameda Theatre traced the musical evolution in San Agustin in the different historical contexts of Venezuela. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    A board honouring some of the greatest San Agustín musicians during the 20th century. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    Reinaldo Mijares opened the festival by lauding the collaborativr work behind it. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    Local group "Caribe, Tabaco y Ron" gave an impromptu concert on Thursday morning. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    Friday saw a roundtable on the different musical influences that played a role in San Agustín's recent history. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    Alfredo Naranjo and Nené Quintero gave a master-class on Friday morning. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    Percussionist Nené Quintero, one of the main musical references from San Agustín, was honoured in the festival. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    Legendary Grupo Madera closed the concert on Saturday evening. (Ricardo Vaz)
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    Grupo Madera were joined on stage by several other musicians, dancers and even audience members. (Ricardo Vaz)

The popular barrio of San Agustín was the stage for a recent “Cumbe Music” festival.

Held in the iconic Alameda Theatre last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the event featured a host of concerts by local musicians, seminars, master-classes and an art exhibit devoted to the diverse musical expressions that can be found in the largely Afro-descendant Caracas barrio.

“We organised this festival to pay tribute to the musical history of San Agustín,” Reinaldo Mijares told Venezuelanalysis. He is the director of the Alameda Theatre and one of the people responsible for the event, which was entirely run by volunteers from different cultural organisations in San Agustín.

The music festival will be followed by dance, film and theatre festivals in the coming months as part of a project called “100% San Agustín 2025.” The long term goal is to turn the neighbourhood into Caracas’ main cultural-touristic hub.

“Besides the festivals, we are also going to have a host of other activities, for example in schools,” Mijares explained. “We are a joyful, hard-working, hospitable people, and it is important that we recognise ourselves as such,” he added.

Mijares also pointed out that while state institutions, and the Caracas city council in particular, are allies, this event and the forthcoming ones are organised by the barrio and for the barrio. He also lauded the collaboration from several private companies who provided sound, lighting, screens, stages, etc. for free. Likewise, over 150 musicians, grouped in 18 bands, did not charge for their participation.

While he appreciates the solidarity and collaborative work, Mijares stresses that one of the immediate goals is to have these self-managed cultural projects become more financially sustainable, so as to not depend exclusively on voluntary work.

The festival kicked off with an exhibit called “Caracas, city of son,” a reference to the Cuban genre which had a big influence in this neighbourhood. As explained by its author, Alejandro Calzadilla, the different boards chart the recent history of Venezuela alongside the history of San Agustín and its culture and music in particular.

The Cuban son played a key role in the barrio’s musical development, with young up-and-coming artists heavily influenced by Cuban musicians who came to play, and sometimes ended up staying, in Caracas. In due time, the local groups took the Cuban sounds to create their own original Venezuelan styles.

In addition to paying tribute to the musical heritage of San Agustín, this year’s festival honoured local legendary percussionist Nené Quintero. He is described affectionately in San Agustin as “the best percussionist in the world.”

Quintero gave a “master-class” alongside keyboardist Alfredo Naranjo in which he guided the audience through his percussion set. In addition to an assortment of drums and cymbals, he also wears small rattles around his legs which bring even more life to his performance.

The closing concert was left to perhaps the most emblematic band from San Agustín, the Grupo Madera. The band skyrocketed into the spotlight in the late 1970s with their youthful assortment of sounds and rhythms, before a boat accident in the Orinoco River claimed the lives of 11 of its members.

But Madera regrouped and has been ever present in the hearts and ears of San Agustín residents. They were joined on stage by other musicians and dancers and closed their set with one of their most famous songs, titled “Compañeros.” “Your machete is your dignity. It shall never be oppressed, if your struggle is for bread, work and land,” the lyrics read.

The very name “cumbe” is no accident. Cumbes were the names given to the liberated territories set up by enslaved Africans who freed themselves during Spanish colonisation (known as “palenques” in Colombia or “quilombos” in Brazil).

“We assume San Agustín as a cumbe, a cumbe of peace and freedom,” Mijares concluded. Peace, freedom, solidarity and plenty of rhythm.

Tags: Music FestivalsMusicCulture
Topics: Bolivarian Project Culture
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