PYRAMID CLUB BROADCAST: SIERRA JUÁREZ
The recordings in this podcast were made by Misha Marks in 2015 and 2016 during several visits to the mountainous region of the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca, in southwest Mexico, in the towns of San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Santa María Tavehua and Villa Hidalgo Yalálag.
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Sierra Juárez (Misha Marks)
Saturdy 31 October
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Roughly structured in the order of the time of day in which each recording was made, the recordings in this podast offer an idea of the extraordinary sound-world and music of these villages throughout the course of a day during the fiestas patronales (festivities in honour of the patron saint). Plus a few recordings from non-fiesta times, and ending with funeral music recorded during a wake in Villa Hidalgo Yalálag.
“Gani llwya yel goxken'ke Misha ben'za gayolen, ba'benhaw'e da'wlhall'kechho, Ka nhen ga'llechj'da'chho ka bell'ne' badao'yix llaa gan lla'chhon,ka nhen wakoell katen llak lni, kat ga llayoll'nhall bene, kakse benhe bzenhaye kan nhia kan llak nhollnho llake xtill'chho banhe, nhollnho llwelhao'chho len, nha ba' benhe badegak'ten xtill'gake.”
“I am infinitely grateful to Misha for having compiled part of the music from a fiesta, the sounds of nature, the coexistence of the people of Yalálag, the funeral music of my beloved homeland, his recognition of our culture is admirable, from where I invite our countrymen to strengthen our mother tongue, because if our language dies our culture will die. Misha has translated this into his language and it will transcend as it is the same problem that many languages suffer in the world.”__
– Ana Chino Miguel
List of recordings in order:
Students in San Bartolomé Zoogocho warming up before rehearsal, early morning.
From 00:07
Mid morning sounds in the hills around Zoogocho.
From 02:45
Drum and whistle music, with clarín de alba (dawn bugle’) played by the late Leobardo García Dominguez, 85 years old, in Villa Hidalgo Yalalag.
From 04:42
Excerpt from interview with Ana Chino Miguel, native of Villa Hidalgo Yalálag and promotor of the Zapotec language. In this interview Ana responded in Zapotec, her husband then translated into Spanish and finally the translation of the translation was made into English. The spanish is spoken by Lucas Ruíz, and the voice in English is Ana Paula Santana.
From 06:04
Music during the fiesta patronal in Yalálag. Celebrated in the month of June, the fiesta is an offering to Saint Anthony of Padua, patron saint of Yalálag and bringer of the first rains.
From 14:16 Sounds from the jaripeo (rodeo) in Yalálag and Santa María Tavehua.
From 11:12
Advertisement for jaripeo
From 14:48
Unidentified band during jaripeo, Santa María Tavehua
From 15:35
Students at Bachillerato Musical Comunitario (Community Musical High School) Zoogocho, during an improvisation workshop I gave there in May 2015. The exercise was to try to imitate the sound of the clarín de alba, as played by Leobardo García Dominguez, in a group of about 30 musicians.
From 19:00
Songs sung by Joaquín “el Chalino” on the street in Yalálag. Joaquín is a baker from Santo Domingo Albarradas, who is known as an excellent imitator of the singer Chalino Sanchez.
From 20:50
Pyrotechnics with jarabes yalaltecos in the background in Yalálag.
From 23:18
Banda Nube from Zoogocho playing sones y jarabes Mixes, and part two of interview with Ana Chino Miguel.
From 25:07
Religious music in the church of Sainth Anthony, Yalálag.
From 28:33
Funeral march over town loudspeaker, Yalálag
From 32:50
Funeral march recorded during a wake in Yalálag, played by Banda Autóctona de Yalálag, late evening.
From 34:45
Dios nunca muere (God never dies) by Macedonio Alacalá, the unofficial hymn of Oaxaca, played by Banda Autóctona de Yalálag.
From 38:46
Nocturnal sounds, Yalálag.
From 44:05