A Review of the 2nd Annual Cuatro Festival by Ed Martinez
Roberto Rivera
Have you ever felt that you were missing out on something from back
home? That's exactly what you felt when you left the 2nd Annual
Festival del Cuatro held on September 1, 2007 at the remarkably
beautiful San Gabriel Civic Auditorium in downtown San Gabriel. First
of all, they could not have chosen a more suitable location - it
almost felt as though we were inside the Ateneo Puertorriqueño in San
Juan. To say that the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium is a beautiful
structure does not do it justice - let's just leave it at that.
I know that some will say (complain, perhaps), that it was too hot
inside - however, my purpose is to review the entire package, not just
focus on one or two negative aspects of the festival.
The evening started out with Roberto Rivera, the quite understated
(tremendously talented and well educated individual) emcee and
unofficial guiro player, who also happens to be the President of the
Festival del Cuatro - he introduced the lovely ladies of the NACOPRW
(National Conference of Puerto Rican Women), who came on stage and
sang an "Aguinaldo" parranda style - a lovely way to kick things off.
Immediately thereafter, Alvin Medina on the cuatro & his wife Elsie
as the primary vocalist was a tremendous way to open the show. I've
heard the words "exciting," "virtuoso," and "prodigy" used to describe
Alvin Medina's talent on the Puerto Rican cuatro - there has got to be
a better word! His flawless technique, precise and blindingly fast
notes (which probably reached 64th notes!) - there's just no way to
describe how well this young man plays his instrument - actually, I'd
say he "feels" it more than he plays it. His entire group was
enjoyable, and his wife's voice was very pleasant and melodic. I also
want to mention that Alvin has vocal chops as well. The moment that
made my heart stop was Alvin's rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach's
Prelude #6 in D Minor - it was always a given that the cuatro is
a beautiful instrument - Alvin Medina's renditions, especially the
classical music, left absolutely no doubt about the cuatro's
versatility in the right hands.
Next up was the world-renown "salsero" Yomo Toro. Now, it's obvious
that Yomo has slowed down quite a bit - he's not nearly as flawless
and fast as Alvin, and this is the consequence of what happens as we
age. However, Yomo is still a "tartaro" on the cuatro - he came up
with some very cool little riffs that just brought us all back to the
glory days of Fania, and he also transported us back to the 1800's
style beauty of Puerto Rican country music. The biggest show-stopper
was his vocalist Dhalia Silva - who steals her own part of the show
with her emotive renditions of songs by La Lupe and other great Puerto
Rican folk music - her body movements and facial expressions matched
the powerful songs she expertly interpreted.
The crème de la crème came with Edwin Colón Zayas - a masterful,
artful, and well-studied cuatrista. His renditions brought many of us
who were partly raised in Puerto Rico back to the days of Tony Croato
(of Nelly & Tony fame), and the old trovadores who made the seis con
décima a national staple on the island. His group Taller Campesino is
impressive enough - especially with his vocalist, former child prodigy
Luis Daniel Colón - but the truly impressive moments of the evening
came when Edwin's daughter Nelian joined him on stage. The memorable
moments included Nelian having to remove her shoes because they made
her taller than her dad (he couldn't cradle behind her to play their
numbers unless she came down a little), and their masterful
interpretations on the combination cuatro con tiple and the "cuatro
manos" piece on the cuatro - absolutely amazing!
The grand finale included the three principal performers on the
cuatro - in a "dueling cuatros" - if you will, but they were more
friendly than dueling; they were a cornucopia of freestyle and
improvised riffs that dazzled the senses.
All in all, a fabulous evening, and a reminder that Puerto Rican
culture is alive and well, and that we can never forget where we came
from. It was also terrific to witness so many of "mi gente" dressed in
diverse outfits - from casual Californian to typical traditional
Puerto Rican outfits, and everything in between. If you weren't able
to attend, you missed a tremendous opportunity to reinvigorate your
internal PR spirit - I felt connected to everyone there, despite the
fact that I hardly knew anyone personally.
Make it a point to attend next year's concert, which will feature an
all-female cuatrista ensemble - all the performers next year are
women! (Nelian Colón, Edwin Colón Zayas' daughter will be one of the
performers) - I'm not going to miss it!
As always, this review is strictly my own, and does not reflect the
views or opinions of the Festival del Cuatro, or the National
Conference of Puerto Rican Women. I hope this helps those who were
there remember the names of the performers, and make those who missed
it feel sorry they did. Feel free to pass this review along to anyone
you think it will help. Also, if you find there are any inaccuracies
with this review, please send me any corrections so that I can post
these and forward them on.
Sabor,
Ed Martinez
... Espera el Café...