Weeks 7-8: Dos Fuentes

Manuel Álvarez Bravo

El jueves pasado: Many of you also spoke so openly about things that matter to you--all good--somos compañeros en esto--and I think we began to see how don Octavio can play the role of guide in this--not in what to feel--but in how to clarify (enclarecer) those feelings. More important still, las canciones--y de donde vienen. La Llorona in a way is the most mysterious--because everyone (in different ways) senses its roots in something deep, from the past--and at the same time, we all realize that these feelings will always remain (at the same time) unexplained-- sin explicación.  "los útiles nunca son misteriosos..."

Where we're going. I posted Canciones Viejas for week 7. It's really two parts--the "consolidation" of the canciones as "México" through musical figures like Manuel Ponce. And--at the same time--the first recordings of the what Batalla might call "las canciones profundas..."--del pueblo mismo, in this case Cuarteto Coculense. I want you to follow BOTH streams--which is really two weeks work, especially if you follow up on my suggestions as to reading (now is a good time!) some Yolanda Morena Rivas. (See Download Links on my blog for her book.) For Cuarteto Coculense you can find background material on line. And (strangely?) Gloria Anzaldua writes about the meanings of  "estas raices"--for which the music offers its own parallels...  

Weeks 7-8:

MUSICA. For the canciones viejas, Cancion Mixteca is one we can sing por cierto. You'll see that some of the others are also in the cancionero (Adios mi chaparrita, La borrachita. Cielito Lindo would fit here too, because Ponce did the arrangement. For the canciones del pueblo (i.e., Cuarteto Coculense) let's see where you take it...

PROJECT. I want you to do TWO projects, over the two weeks 7 & 8:
1. Canciones Viejas, empahsizing a theme in one of the songs of your choosing
2. Canciones del Pueblo-- the early mariachi recordings being an example--where do these mysterious recordings take you. How do you identify with them? Si esta música puede abrir puertas...?

READING. Don Octavio, Conquista y Colonia. The ideas here continue his thematic journey, now in terms of these two key events/epochs from Mesican history--and how they've continued to resonate (haunt?) lo mexicano... Make your notes as I showed you in class so that our discussion can stay specific to the book!

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Pedro Infante, Irma Dorantes, Trío Calaveras

 SUPPLEMENT: Here's a Pedro Infante film video--a beautiful older song--letra anónima--and the visuals address our question spot on. Con Trío Calaveras:

PEDRO INFANTE - LA BARCA DE GUAYMAS - YouTube
(de la película, También de dolor se canta)

Y mientras voy esuchando la letra, me parece que esta canción habla mas que ninguna de la tristeza en sentido que usa don Octavio en su capítulo de esta semana (Conquista y Colonia)...