Dark nights light up in fire
like a feast that enchants.
The beating of the drums,
the black race rises up,
and the Indian, passively
with his melodic gaita,
interrupt the silence
when a bonfire dances,
and I feel through my veins
a fire that goes unquenched.
It is the fire of my cumbia;
It is the fire of my race:
A fire of pure blood,
Sung in laments.
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto has been the most important gaita ensemble (conjunto de gaitas) in Colombia since the mid 1950s. Gaita is a term used to name a Colombian musical instrument, various musical genres, and an ensemble (the conjunto de gaitas), all from the Caribbean region of Colombia, from where much commercially available Colombian traditional and popular music comes. Today, gaita is primarily performed in the Serranía de San Jacinto, the hilly region that embraces the municipalities of San Jacinto, Ovejas, El Carmen de Bolívar, San Juan Nepomuceno, San Onofre, and María la Baja in the departments of Bolívar and Sucre, all in the region known as Montes de María.
Before the 1940s, conjuntos de gaita performed in what the elder musicians refer to as rondas de gaita-nightlong feasts, at which the musicians would sit at the center of a circle, taking turns playing and surrounded by dancers. They also used to be performed at funerals-which is why some of this music is associated with laments. These rondas no longer occur in community life; today, the music is performed primarily in folk-music festivals, theaters,and discotheques, especially in Cartagena, Barranquilla
and Bogotá, and in Colombia’s Caribbean region.
The founder and initial leader of the Gaiteros de San Jacinto was Miguel Antonio “Toño” Fernández (1912–1988).Today, the elders of the group are Joaquín Nicolás Hernández (male long gaita and maraca), Manuel Antonio “Toño” García (female long gaita), and Juancho “Chuchita” Fernández (voice), who trace their direct lineage and heritage to the founding members. The other members of the group are Rafael Castro (voice), Fredys Arrieta(female long gaita), Gabriel Torregrosa (short gaita and pito atravesao, percussion), Joche Plata (percussion), Gualber José Rodríguez (percussion), and Adolfo Rodríguez (percussion).
The fact that the group has persisted and includes several generations of musicians speaks to the vitality of
this tradition. Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto are a musical icon in San Jacinto and Bogotá and a reference point for other gaita musicians throughout Colombia. Through their own new compositions and through
teaching young musicians, they are a crucial link between traditional gaita music and its contemporary renewal. Thanks in great part to them, gaita music has become one of the most influential traditional musics in contemporary Colombian popular music today.
from the notes
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Gaiteros in space
Un fuego de Sangre Pura
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