Celebrando 2005 focused on the rich folklore of Loiza, a project which
started with a year-long
historic investigation into Loiza's rich traditions.
On Feb 16-20, 2005, we were honored to bring
William Cepeda and members of AfroBoricua (Maribella Burgos, Victor Fuentes)
to Austin for a week-long, master-level workshop on the Bomba dance,
percussion rhythms, and songs unique to Loiza,
including the Seis Corrido and Corbe.
We also learned about the celebrated Festival of Santiago Apostal
which brings to life Loiza's historic devotion to Santiago
Apostol (St. James the Apostle), a tradition first brought to the new world
by colonizing Spaniards and transformed into something uniquely
Puerto Rican with West African influences.
The Musicos enjoyed intense
rehearsals of original traditional and experimental music written by William
Cepeda, while the dancers had great fun learning the games
and songs of the Baquine, a tradition that celebrates the
death of an innocent child who will surely go straight to heaven.
This workshop built artistic material -- music and choreographies in
both traditional and experimental styles -- that
we performed together
when William and his team returned to Austin
for our project's culminating, joint performance
Celebrando 2005,
on June 25-26, 2005.
Enjoy these scenes from our fabulous workshop!
