Set to the melody of “La Piragua”
Listen to remaining songs below.
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In August of 2009, I was invited by La Vida Es Un Teatro to collaborate with these families in order to create something together. With the help from a grant from CCA Center for Art and Public Life, I was able to accept the invitation and travel to Colombia to start the work.
El Cancionero de Nashira is a book of original songs based on the oral histories and melodies that the people in Nashira shared with me. We wrote new lyrics based on their stories, then set these lyrics to the melodies and rhythms of traditional songs from their childhood.
This book addresses the importance of the individuals in the community, by collecting their stories and sharing them through music, a medium of communication that is essential to Colombian culture. It exhibits the community’s ecological approach to living and self-sustainable processes by printing the songbook on recycled paper that is made by the women in Nashira. This book hopes to act as an educational tool for people outside of Colombia who are interested in learning how 41 women and their families organized and built an Eco-village. It also aims to serve the future inhabitants of Nashira who are interested in seeing how far the community has come and how much the land has grown.
The songs were recorded by Moisés Eduardo Zamora and Nelson Benté of A Golpe de Marea. There was a performance and singalong in Nashira on December 5, 2009.
In the melody of “Lloran Los Guaduales”
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3. Two Little Ants (mp3)
In the rhythm of “Dos Caballitos”
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4. Little Quail (mp3)
In the melody of “El Mochilón”
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5. Ten Women Working (mp3)
In the rhythm of “El Pollito Pos”
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6. The Mother and Her Sons (mp3)
In the melody of “Pinochito”
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7. Our Nashira (mp3)
In the melody of “Los Pollitos”
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8. Offer Your Heart (mp3)
In the melody of “Los Pollos De Mi Cazuela”
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9. The Queen (mp3)
In the melody of “La Muñeca”
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10. Beautiful Nashira (mp3)
In the melody of “Sol Solecito”
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