By Marina Baldo
After the harangue and the hymn to Cosquín, the group “La Callejera” opens the night, the folkloric group led by Chaco Andrada and recognized for having a wide danceable repertoire and making known musical expressions from all over the country. This year “La Callejera” celebrates its 20th anniversary and that was felt in the Plaza Próspero Molina, the spectators received this group very well, which warmed it up at the opening of the second day of the 63rd Edition of the National Folklore Festival.
Tucumán is present on stage at the hands of Sofía Assis, the singer-songwriter who won the Revelation Award in 2022. The artist was presenting her new album “September”, a fresh and colorful proposal with songs that have to do with everyday life. Little by little Assis is making a place for itself in the festival that catapults many folklorists to success.
Also read: PRIMERA LUNA: Between new proposals and the usual classics
The time has come for the Tribute to the Argentine poet Hamlet Lima Quintana in the year that marks the 100th anniversary of his birth. Lima Quintana wrote more than four hundred songs and poems that -according to they commented in a press conference- this year will be compiled in a book. The tribute was very emotional and made it possible to highlight and publicize the figure of this committed author. Some of the musicians who participated were Enrique Llopis and Marián Farías Gómez together with children and a grandson of the honoree. Right decision to recognize, remember and “keep alive” great poets who forged the music of our country.
There was also space for the provinces of Tucumán and Catamarca to show on stage “Atahualpa Yupanqui” music and dance that represents them. An important segment within each moon because it allows viewers to learn more about the customs of each region of Argentina.
There was room for the new: The “Dúo Heredero” – a leading group of the Peña Oficial de Cosquín 2022 – made up of two brothers from Santiago del Estero had their minutes on stage. Like the group “Vale el Trago” a group that stood out in street shows last year and the malambo ensemble “El capataz” winner in that discipline in this year’s pre-Cosquín. The possibility of being in the Plaza “Próspero Molina” is very valuable for these artists because it gives them visibility and prestige -and it gives the spectators the chance to discover something new-.
We take another walk through Tucumán with Belén Herrera, an artist who was participating in 2018 in a tribute to Horacio Guarany and on this second moon he was able to return and with his own musical space. She marked her presence touring some songs from her album “Tucumana” and was very well received by the people.
The end of a cool night is approaching, but one in which the spectators feel like dancing. And so “Orellana-Lucca” arrives, a duo from Santiago that stomps the stages betting on their own compositions and summoning a large young audience. The group presented their latest record material “Sendas” and also gave themselves space to play their own classics such as the zamba “Milagro del tiempo”. It was not exactly “the time” that the duo had on “Atahualpa Yupanqui”. Although the people danced and chanted their songs asking them to stay a while longer, the announcers presented “Los Carabajal” in the same way.
The end of the night was in charge of a folklore institution such as “Los Carabajal” who never lose their validity and who always make the square dance with their classics such as “La estrella azul” and “Enter a mi pago sin hiter”.
Saying Carabajal is always synonymous with folklore and songs that will never be erased from the popular songbook. However, it is important to give way to new composers, new musicians and those who are encouraged to mix different musical genres and get out of the traditional.
This was a moon with room for people who hadn’t stepped onto the big stage yet and that’s valuable. Also with the presence of a classic with more than 50 years of history and with a duo that hopefully little by little will gain more time on stage because the audience requires it.
