©
La Calaca 2009.
Once upon a time in the Southwest (of France), when others were indulging in their afternoon siesta, four dusky Mexicans without a pistol or sombrero between them reinvented the traditional music of their land with the help of two gringos, one Ecuadorian, one French, who fell under the spell of the quartet's reverence and quest for their musical roots.
These musicians shunned the more popular Mariachi style of playing with the usual tired attempts at exoticism through frenetic Fiestas. They chose the road less traveled, playing traditional, authentic music of the provinces and rural regions, not always an easy path.
Believing that a universal chord is struck by a return to one's roots, they recreated music that went straight to the heart of musicologists and a variety of audiences alike. Which is why the Putamayo label was only too happy to include two of the groups's tracks in their "Mexico" compilation, alongside such well-known artists as Lila Downs and Los Lobos.
The group's name, "La Calaca" derives from the tiny toy skeletons Mexican children play with on the Day of the Dead. The grinning dolls remind the descendents of the Mayas, the Aztecs, the Toltecs and Zapotecs that "Happy Death" does not detract from life, but acts as a reminder to live it joyously and as fully as possible in one’s time on this earth.
With its prehispanic melodies, its 'sones jarochos' or 'abajenos.' its 'huapangos,' La Calaca’s music transports us to the deepest emotional heart of Mexico, evoking the unique sensibility found in the roots and the soul of the Mexican people, "los de abajo."
Many world-class musical groups have played at our festival but few have won over our audiences as unanimously as has "La Calaca".
François Lassabe
Festival CulturAmérica - Pau - France
The group profits from the Assistance to the Creation of the Spectacle Living
of the SPEDIDAM.
© La Calaca 2009
calgu08@alsatis.net
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