Archive for January, 2010
Rain Prophets
It drizzled as I drove to the annual meeting of the “rain prophets.” Farmers from around the northeast of Brazil gathered in Quixadá, a town in the interior of the state of Ceará. The prophets, who learn from the time they’re young how to predict when and how much it will rain each year, make their forecasts by observing nature. Some listen to birdsong, others measure honey inside dissected bees. The stars, the leaves, and the behavior of ants all suggest how much rain will fall, and the prophets share their predictions so farmers will know when to plant their seeds. The organizer of the meeting, João Soares, is the president of the Instituto de Pesquisa de Violas e Poesia Cultural Popular do Sertão Central (the Institute of Research of Ten-String Guitars and Cultural Popular Poetry of the Central Sertão), and he sees the two-day event as a way of preserving regional culture and traditional ways of knowing.
Check Out Those Shoelaces
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The Search for Abdellah Pt. Deux
9/20/2009- We spent almost all day looking for M’Alem Abdellah El-Gourd’s Dar Gnawa, which, believe it or not, turned out to be right next door to our hostel! Personal Legend! The universe conspiring! Need I say more? When he opened the bronze door to his home we inquired as to weather he was the “bearded one”, to which he shot back: “I know who I am, but who are you?” Already I felt like I was in the presence of a Yoda-like master. Tangier is my Dagobah.
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Fulbright Jam at Café Detroit & The Search for Abdellah
9/20/2009 – The following morning (still Ramadan on account of a shy moon), the Fulbright crew put on a live concert for a thrilled audience of exactly 2 Spanish tourists. The venue? Café Detroit in the Kasbah. How it happened? I’m not sure, but like all great adventures it started by stopping to ask a man wearing a Fez for directions. We were looking for a Gnawa Master known as Abdellah El-Gourd, also known as Abdellah “the bearded one” by the locals. (You’ll never believe how we found him in the end). Anyhow, we were invited in, and after a quick demo in 6/4 time, Kendra Salois and Catherine “Second Wind” Skroch (both newly inducted members of Moroccappela) took us on a mint-tea induced musical journey.
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Up to four awards will be available to pursue projects around an aspect of international contemporary or popular music as a cultural force for expression. Preference will be given to creative projects that are conveyed in a dynamic fashion and are accompanied by a feasible plan. In addition to presenting unique projects on music as a global force for mutual understanding. Deadline to apply is March 1, 2012.