'It's been a very rich experience'
'Latinas' tour brings together three diverse talents
By Chris Nixon
November 4, 2004
San Diego Union-Tribune
Three different singers. Three different backgrounds. Three styles of music. For Mariana Montalvo (Chile), Belo Veloso (Brazil) and Toto la Momposina (Colombia), Putumayo World Music's "Latinas: Women of South America" tour represents a chance to connect with kindred musicians and share sisterhood with fellow Latinas.
"Between us, there is a very good exchange," says the 51-year-old Montalvo by phone in English, her third language after Spanish and French. Her tour bus hums in the background as it speeds between concerts during this current Putumayo tour.
"We spend a lot of time together on the bus," she said of the touring group. "There are 20 of us, with the musicians. The road is tiring. But sometimes we take out the guitars on the bus and we jam together. We learn from each other new instruments or songs. It's been a very rich experience."
Organized by the world music label Putumayo, this group of 20 musicians will hit 29 cities in six weeks in support of the compilation CD "Women of Latin America." The disc brings together the music of Lila Downs and Susana Baca along with Montalvo, Veloso and la Momposina, offering the listener a chance to hear the feminine perspectives of Latino music.
Montalvo's own story mirrors the experiences of many Latinas.
Born and raised in Chile, the assassination of Salvador Allende and the violent military coup of Augusto Pinochet forced Montalvo's family to flee the country in 1974 and resettle in Paris.
But the young Mariana carried with her Chile's traditions and music. She particularly connected with a music movement called nueva cancion or "new song."
Born in the 1970s during Pinochet's brutal dictatorship, nueva cancion combines traditional Chilean music with contemporary sounds. Like many artists living under dictatorships, the nueva cancion musicians were forced to compose lyrics using the language of allegory and metaphor, never condemning Pinochet by name but implying criticism by telling a simple story.
Montalvo identified with this form of lyricism and used her own version in her music.
"In nueva cancion, you compose your songs to say something," emphasizes Montalvo. "It's not completely traditional. It's 'new traditional' with words that are important. In the Chilean nueva cancion, nothing is more important than the words."
Montalvo also embodies one of Putumayo's core principles: Music can help us connect with and understand each other cross-culturally.
On her 2004 release "Piel de aceituna" ("Olive skinned"), she integrates music from all over South America, along with touches of Parisian wistfulness and African rhythms.
"I think that 80 percent of our music comes not only from Chile but from all over Latin America: rhythms and melodies," says Montalvo. "On the last album, I also translated some French songs into Spanish and I surrounded the words with traditional Latin American instruments.
"I also sang with an African singer and I translated the fado from Portugal. When I like something that touches me, I take it and I incorporate it."
Montalvo believes cross-cultural awareness may be our only hope for a peaceful coexistence worldwide.
"Culture is not about marketing or money," said Montalvo, who will perform at UCSD's Mandeville Auditorium with Veloso and la Momposina on Sunday. "For me, it's about music and the exchange with other people. You can do this really easily because every culture has music. You can meet singers from all over the world. In this Putumayo tour, there is really a musical exchange between the three different singers.
"For me, culture is the only thing that can save this world. When you put people together who don't like one another because of governments or other problems and you make them sing together or make music together or do theater together, there is no problem between them."
On the "Latinas" tour, Montalvo has felt the musical connection firsthand, feeling the bonds of sisterhood with her tourmates: "We have different backgrounds and different personal stories. And we sing our stories. We have different musical languages but the same soul."
Chris Nixon is San Diego writer.
Datebook
"Latinas: Women of Latin America," with Mariana Montalvo, Toto la Momposina and Belo Veloso
8 p.m. Sunday; Mandeville Auditorium, UCSD campus, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla; $22-$32; (619) 220-TIXS
A river runs through company's veins
About Putumayo
Stretching 980 miles from the hills of Colombia to the Amazon River, the Putumayo River cuts through the South American rain forests and remains a major transportation route for commerce.
Dan Storper traveled through the region in 1974. The entrepreneur was struck by the river's beauty and named his clothing company after it.
Started in 1991 by Storper, the Putumayo World Music label brings diverse groups of artists together on its compilations, often focusing on different parts of the world: "Brasiliero," "Congo to Cuba" and "Women of Latin America."
The label introduces mainstream America to international artists rarely heard on commercial radio, widening our musical horizons. The albums tend to favor artists who update traditional music, adding contemporary sounds to the world music genre while staying true to the essence of customs and culture.
While the compilations avoid music too challenging or noisy for the mellow listener, they try to give exposure to deserving artists such as Africa's Oliver Mtukudzi and Brazil's Chico Cesar and Mariana Montalvo.
The Artists
Toto La Momposina: Emerging from the Island of Mompos in Colombia's Magdelena River, the "Queen of Cumbia" melds sweet lyricism and the swaying rhythms of South America. One listen to her beautiful voice, her infectious traditional music and her amazing lyrics should help spread the word in this country.
Belo Veloso: Many words have been written to describe Brazil's bossa nova and tropicalia music: quiet, subtle, sensuous. Vocalist Belo Veloso embodies all of these words, and for good reason. She hails from one of Brazil's most celebrated musical families. Growing up the niece of Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethania, Belo Veloso comes by her smooth jazz-tinged vocal style and orchestrated compositions honestly.
– CHRIS NIXON
