Volume 7 No. 3 - SegundaQuimbamba.org

iro y Maraca
Volume 7, Number 3
July 2003
A Publication of the Segunda Quimbamba Folkloric Center, Inc.
La Monoestrellada in the Lone Star State:
The Meteoric Rise of Austin's Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance
By Juan Cartagena
In the southern part of Texas, San Antonio and beyond, three flags with slow, undulating waves in a hot,
unforgiving Texan sun are prominent in airports and other locales. In the center, the stars and stripes hold court.
To the left, the unflinching waves of the lone star state flag of Texas is noticeable. To the right are the proud red,
white and green colors of the bandera de Mexico. The flags are a clear reminder of the profound relationships, tortured and at times complementary, between Texas and the land of Aztlan. About 70 miles north in Austin, Texas,
the impact of Mexican life and culture within the state capitol does not wane, despite the city's reputation as the
most diverse of Texas' communities. It is representative of the extensive and ever growing Mexican influence in
all things Latino within the United States; a growing influence that every Latina and Latino should recognize within the U.S. — that the Latinization of the United States is dominated by Mexico, no matter how prominent and commercialized Cuban and Puerto Rican images have manifested themselves in recent years. It is the music of Mexico
and its offshoots, banda and norteno music that is far and away the biggest selling music among Latinos in this
country. For decades now, Mexican Americans have composed approximately 60% of the Latino population of the
United States. In 2000 Mexicans were over 75% of all Latinos in Texas. And the lifeblood of Mexican American
influence is Texas first; California, New Mexico, second.
(over)
Adentro:
La Monoestrellada en Texas: La Subida Veloz del
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance (resumen), pag. 5
Resenas, pag. 11
Grupos de Bomba y Plena, pag. 12
Inside:
La Monoestrellada en Texas: La Subida Veloz del
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance (Spanish summary), p. 5
Reviews, p. 11
Bomba & Plena Groups, p. 12
So it was a welcome sight to see Puerto Rican
flags flowing in rhythm in a dance and music performance in July 2003 in the heart of Austin's downtown district, considering that Boricuas compose only one percent
of all the Latinos in the state. The monoestrellada
boricua flag was provided courtesy of Puerto Rican
Folkloric Dance and Cultural Center, a relatively new but
successful boricua dance troupe in the heart of Texas that
has maximized the power of the Internet, and a void left
by many Puerto Rican groups in the U.S. to present fullfledged dance and live musical performances of the
danza, seis, bomba and plena in a folkloric medium
joined annually by excellent musicians and dancers from
Puerto Rico and New York.
ed groups that are exclusively, or predominately, bomba
and/or plena based. In fact, we've always premised the
inclusion of bomba and plena groups in our listing on the
last page of each issue on the ability of those groups to
present bomba or plena in a live setting. It is a bright line
test that may exclude excellent dance groups who, for
lack of resources, cannot find the drummers and guitarists
necessary to present our music in its full power. In those
instances, recorded music often provides the bridge to
bomba and plena authenticity and many Puerto Ricans
learn the dances of their ancestors, nonetheless.
However, the energy of live Puerto Rican music, its cua
and its pandero is what separates many dance troupes in
the United States. Our criterion is thus a way of recognizing authenticity and promoting the drums, drummers
and drum makers of Puerto Rico. When Ana Maria
Maynard informed me a few years ago that her Austin
troupe was at that level, we were happy to include them.
Now after an eyewitness account of their work in Austin,
the story of Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance can be shared
with our bomba and plena fans.
The ascent of Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance,
founded in 1997 in Austin, is impressive. It quickly
secured funding from the National Endowment of the
Arts in D.C., the Texas Commission on the Arts, the
Austin Arts Commission and the Institute of Puerto Rican
Culture in San Juan, among others, to establish a series of
artists-in-residence who eventually perform jointly in a
dance extravaganza in July. In 2001 Modesto Cepeda
and members of Cimiento Puertorriquetio came to
teach and perform in Austin. In 2002 it was Los Pleneros
de la 21 and this year it was Guateque — Ballet
Folclorico de Puerto Rico. It is important to note that
the residency programs last a week in some cases —
enough time for intensive instruction. How many U.S.
based Puerto Rican cultural dance groups can match such
an infusion of top-shelf artistic folkloric talent in so short
a period of time? How many bomba and plena groups in
this country amass the funds necessary to import veterans
of this caliber?
PRF Dance: A Treasure in Texas
Juan Gutierrez of Los Pleneros de la 21 called
them a "treasure," the Austin American Statesman called
them "cultural ambassadors" and a panelist for the Austin
Arts Commission noted how fast and far they progressed
in such a short time. Truth is that PRF Dance has
exceeded expectations. In just over five years, Ana Maria
Maynard has parlayed her incredible organizational and
leadership skills, along with her passion for Puerto Rican
arts, into a recognized dance entity. Her website
(www.prfdance.org ) alone receives 1,400 hits per month.
Our collaboration at Giiiro y Maraca with PRF Dance
goes back years and it started with introductions online to
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance is the product of find the best sources of information on dance, drums,
the leadership provided by its founder, Ana Maria groups, costumes, videos, for Puerto Ricans throughout
Maynard, of the Bronx and Caguas, whose employment the U.S. In short time, Maynard maximized the power of
at IBM took her to the center of Texas, of all places. This the Internet to create a network of contacts and support
leadership allowed the nascent dance group to position for her new dance group. Add to this the groundwork of
itself among the small universe of Puerto Rican cultural research she conducted in Puerto Rico with numerous
exponents in the U.S. in a way that maximized the power bomba, plena, jibaro and folkloric groups and you had
of the Internet through its website, parlayed its ability to the makings of a Puerto Rican performance group that
offer a full complement of Puerto Rican musical expres- would be noticed.
sion from the mountains to the coasts, and lastly, highlighted its location outside of typical Puerto Rican comAnother indicator of this meteoric rise is the annumunities.
al celebration in July hosted by PRF Dance that combines excellent professional Puerto Rican performers
For Giiiro y Maraca this is our profile of a per- with her growing dance and music company. These visformance troupe that offers bomba and plena in a sup- iting artists fill a gap in PRF Dance that will eventually
portive role. All of our previous profiles have highlight- be met: they provide live music accompaniment to the
2
dance troupe in limited situations. At present PRF Dance
can hold its own in plena and bomba but is still looking
for a cuatro player to complete the musicians for its
jibaro music. Texas is obviously not the Northeast or
Florida. What is clear is that this ambitious performing
company will be able to mee this and other challenges.
And there is no lack of ambition in Maynard's
troupe. The budget for the 2003 "Celebrando 2003 with
Guateque Ballet Folklorico de Puerto Rico" was $84,000
alone, a sum far exceeding the budgets of numerous folkloric groups in and outside of Puerto Rico.
Last year in July 2002 Ana Maria Maynard
launched a 5-year capital campaign to secure a physical
location for PRF Dance for its rehearsals and a school in
Austin to teach Puerto Rican folkloric dance and music to
people of all backgrounds. This year in February 2003
she opened the Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance &
Cultural Center more than four years ahead of schedule!
The stars were aligned when the director of the Tapestry
Dance Company, Acia Gray, offered a way to secure a
1,000 square foot space in their building for PRF Dance.
The new home of PRF Dance is located in an
environment where dance reigns. Multiple studios greet
the visitor with dance students seriously studying their
craft. The space reserved for PRF Dance is all polished
floors and mirrored walls. Puerto Rican flags and PRF
Dance memorabilia lined the other walls: T-Shirts, bags,
instructions on the care of dance costumes, and schedules
everywhere. The program schedule for 2003 — 2004
included "Traditional Dance &
Culture — Children,
Adults,"
Teens,
Dance
"Salsa
Class," " Music
& Percussion
Programs
Student thru
Professional,"
"Youth Choir
— Children &
Teens," and
"Workshops in
Puerto Rican
Studies." Posters
adorned the other
walls commemorating
the performances in
Sammy Lopez
Austin that PRF Dance
has had with various professional groups, such as, the
West African Drum & Dance Ensemble of Austin in
2000; Modesto Cepeda and
C i m i e n t o
Puertorriquerio in
2001; the chorus of
the Escuela Libre
de Miisica, and
Los Pleneros de
la 21, both in
2002; and
in
Guateque
2003.
All of this
started with the
vision of one woman,
Ana Maria Maynard in
1997 that grew to a nucleus of
three dancers in January 1998 that then grew to a full
dance and music troupe today. It started with a vision of
providing a view of Puerto Rico — the beauty of the
island, its traditions, and its culture — to the greater Austin
community. "It's a little piece of Puerto Rico right here
in Austin. And it is in a community that cares. There's a
sense of family in this community which is always there,
but especially when our children and teenagers perform,"
notes Ana Maria.
This sense of community is instilled in the performance company that currently counts on twelve
dancers and eight musicians, plus Ana Maria Maynard
who not only dances and choreographs but also plays
piano, guitar, cuatro, pandero, barril de bomba, and sings
chorus. About three quarters of the troupe is Puerto
Rican. All the musicians are Boricua but the dancers also
are African-American, Mexican, Venezuelan, Haitian,
Jamaican and from other mixed backgrounds. One such
dancer is Tony Merriwether, 15, a young AfricanAmerican dancer that has lived in Austin for more than 5
years and been with PRF Dance for more than two years.
Currently a sophomore in high school, Tony was invited
to audition for the troupe after participating in other
dance programs at a local dance studio. He learned his
first bomba dance moves through his participation in the
artist-in-residence program that brought performers with
Los Pleneros de la 21 to Austin, notably Roberto
Cepeda. It was his first contact with dance performance
to live drumming. "It is very special for AfricanAmericans in Austin to see and hear our Puerto Rican
dances. They are often surprised and proud of the contriI (cont. p.
4) I
girls, "Las Semillitas." Now in Austin for over four
years, Gladys has been in PRF Dance for three years.
Plena and jibaro dances were common in Chicago but
bomba dance is something she learned in Texas. "My
China Smith, 27, is now a senior dancer and prin- favorite dances are yuba in bomba, and then the dances of
cipal member of the dance company at PRF Dance. Her guinea, mazurka and polka from the mountains," she
experience with the group has made her really blossom notes. She considers the yuba more of a challenge
into a dancer, student and now dance teacher. "This because it isn't as common as sica and it's tempo allows
group is part of my life now and anyone who knows me her to fully develop her dance moves.
knows that they have to accept it because it's me. . . It has
Santurce born Maria Rodriguez, one of the lead
inspired me to do so much in dance, to learn ballet, modern dance and jazz," she says. The hard work has paid off singers with the company, has seen PRF Dance really
for China who this summer was the dance instructor and progress in the three years she has been with them. "It's
choreographer for a children's production of the Lion because we're not a group. We're a family. All of us
King. Growing up in Austin with family that traces its want to show the people of Austin what Puerto Rico is
roots to Haiti and Jamaica, dancing was always a part of about. We have the same goal in mind and we are here
her family. Salsa and merengue were constant rhythms because we want to be here, not for any profit." Maria
that she learned as well. So when she first heard Ana grew up in song in Puerto Rico playing guitar and singing
Maria Maynard announce the opening of a new dance in high school, joining la Tuna de Bayamon while there
group at a party for the arts in Austin, she jumped at the and continuing her singing in Texas first with Dario y su
chance and became one of PRF Dance's earliest mem- ComboRican in Killeen then with Ritmo Latino in
bers. It was her first exposure to formal dance instruc- Austin. For the Rodriguez's, PRF Dance is a family
tion. "Actually I'm never really nervous on stage. For commitment. Maria's husband, Roberto Rodriguez plays
me it feels more natural to be dancing on stage than to be percussion when needed, her son Roberto Rodriguez, Jr.
off stage." China appreciates all of the dance styles with- plays and teaches bomba, her daughter, Sixmarie
in Puerto Rican culture and she especially appreciates the Rodriguez was the first one to enter the group as a dancer
musicians that make them look so good. Dancing bomba and has now returned. And it keeps going: her nephew,
is another one of her favorites because it allows her to be Sammy Lopez is a percussionist in the group and Felix
free, to be more expressive. She got her bearings in real Lopez, a singer, is her husband's brother-in-law.
bomba, that is, bomba to live drummers through the
And this sense of community is paramount withCepeda family, Brenda Cepeda, daughter of Modesto
Cepeda and through Nellie Tanco of Los Pleneros de la in the performance company. "Lots of love and respect
21. "She was so calm and cool on stage, and when she here," notes Ana Maria.
sang she was such an inspiration to me. She had us in
tears in the wings waiting to dance," she says of Nellie PRF Dance: Live in Performance with
Tanco, one of the bright spots of the
Guateque
New York based bomba and plena
Serenity filled the hall that
ensemble.
Saturday afternoon as the performers of PRF Dance gathered
"What brings me back to
on stage for last minute sound
this dance company, and makes me
checks and choreographic adjustproud, is the dancers that we have,"
ments. Ana Maria Maynard,
notes Gladys Cruz, another dancer
choreographer for PRF Dance,
in the group. "We have a family
and Joaquin Nieves Caldero, her
here and each one has something to
counterpart for Guateque, procontribute." Born and raised in
jected tranquility even during the
Chicago's Humboldt Park to Puerto
last minute instructions. As a
Rican and Mexican parents, Gladys
testament to the diversity of her
grew up surrounded with dance.
dance troupe, Maynard's crucial
Her mother, Natividad Perez,
instructions to her dancers were
Maynard & Guateque: Damian Morales, Ana Maria Maynard,
Irving Santiago, Joaquin Nieves Caldero, Eduardo Maldonado,
founded a dance group of young
in English amid the
Luis Pena, Mildred Alvarez, 2003
I (cont. p. 9) 1
4I
butions that Africa has made to Puerto Rican culture.
And they're happy that we Puerto Ricans are proud to
show it," notes Ana Maria.
La monoestrellada boricua en Texas:
La subida veloz del Puerto Rican
Folkloric Dance (resumen)
de mexicanos en los Estados Unidos tenemos que
empezar con Texas primer°, y despues, California y
Nuevo Mexico.
Por eso es que la apariencia de la bandera
boricua, ondeando al ritmo de plena, en el centro de
La parte sureila de Texas, de San Antonio pa'
Austin en Texas en julio del corriente, fue algo inesperabajo, goza de una influencia mexicana que se puede ver
do considerando tambien que los boricuas son solo un
hasta en las banderas que adornan sus aeropuertos
por ciento de la comunidad latina en el estado.
y otros lugares gubernamentales. A
Esta plena en Austin, junto con la
veces hay tres banderas ondeando
monoestrellada boricua, llegaron
en un sol inmisericordioso. En
cortesia del Puerto Rican
el centro la estadounidense
Folkloric Dance & Cultural
ocupa la posicion priCenter, un centro con poco
mordial. De un lado la
anos de trabajo que ha
monoestrellada de
hecho un trabajo buenisiTexas evidencia su
mo debido a su capaciresistencia. Y de
dad de recalcar al
otro lado se ye el 01-maxim() el Internet, de
rojo, blanco y
atraer folcloristas y
verde orgulloso
mfisicos puertorde Mexico riquenos de la
prueba inconprimera para
fundible de la
Austin, y de llenar
presencia perun vaci6 en la diasmanente del
pora para grupos de
pueblo mexibaile capaz de precano en Texas.
sentar, con masica en
A no mas de
vivo, la panorama
setenta millas al "-N.%
musical de la isla con
norteAusi,la
la danza, el seis, la
capital, la influenbomba y la plena.
cia mexicana sigue
vibrante en esta ciudad
Esta subida veloz del
considerada la mas variPuerto Rican Folkloric Dance,
ada en Texas. Pero la influque apenas se fund() en 1997en
encia mexicana en este pais va
Austin, es algo impresionante. Ya el
mas ally que Texas hasta llegar a
grupo puede contar con la aportacion del
dominar todo que tenga que ver con latiNational Endowment for the Arts,
Rut Gonzales, Sixmarie Rodriguez, 2000.
nos en los Estados Unidos. Es
el Texas Commission on the Arts,
decir, la hispanidad que va arropando poco a poco a los
el Austin Arts Commission y el Institute de Cultura
Estados Unidos es propulsada por Mexico - y por
Puertorriquena. En 2001 compartieron talleres y preLos medios noticiosos exhiben frecuentemente imagenes
sentaciones con Modesto Cepeda y Cimiento
cubanas y puertorriquecias en el mundo comercial, espePuertorriqueno. En 2002 hicieron lo mismo con Los
cialmente en estos altimos arzos del "descubrimiento" de
Pleneros de la 21 y este alio repitieron lo mismo con
hispanos o el "Latinization" del pais. Pero la verdad es
Guateque Ballet Folclorico Nacional de Puerto Rico.
otra cosa. Es la mfisica mexicana, rancheras, banda y
A veces los talleres de estos folcloristas de Puerto Rico y
norterw que domina las yentas de masica hispana. A la
Nueva York, duraron una semana en un adiestramiento
misma vez la proporcion de mexicanos entre los latinos
intensivo al principio del an o. Despues, Puerto Rican
en este pais, es aproximadamente 60 por ciento, y por
Folkloric Dance seguia sus ensayos en preparacion para
decadas. En Texas, mexicanos llegan a 75 por ciento de
una presentaci6n culminante en julio de cada
todos los latinos en el estado. Pues, cuando hablamos
(cont. pag. 6) I
111111.4
►
-
an o. Cucintos grupos puertorriquen os de baile en este
pais han llegado a este punto de tener los recursos necesarios para atraer estos folcloristas por tantas semanas
de estadia? Y cuantos grupos de bomba y plena podrian
hacer lo mismo?
empezar su aprendizaje en varias regiones de la isla la
ayudaron tremendamente en lograr el establecimiento de
este grupo de baile en Austin. Por varios anos, y hasta
hoy dia, Puerto Rico ha sido su lugar para hacer investigaciones sobre los bailes y la masica folclorica de la isla.
Asi llego a recibir clases con lideres como Modesto
Ana Maria Maynard
Cepeda en su Escuela de bomba y plena Rafael Cepeda,
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance es la culmination
con Joaquin Nieves
de una labor herCalder() y Guateque —
mosa por su directoBallet FolcMrico de
ra y fundadora, Ana
Puerto Rico, con J
Maria Maynard,
Emanuel Dufrasne y
criada en Caguas y
Nelie Lebrun Robles de
en el Bronx. Su
Paracumbe y con Eric
madre es Maria
Gonzalez y Raid de la
Mercedes Velez y su
Paz de Gibaro de Puerto
padrastro es Joseph
Rico.
Ana Maria es
Capestany. Masica
directora y coreografa
en vivo siempre
de
Puerto
Rican
acompanaba las
Folkloric Dance y tamfiestas y eventos
bien es bailarina y musiespeciales en la
Performing Company, 2003
ca en el grupo (tocando
familia de Ana Maria.
piano, cuatro, guitarra, pandero, barrile de bomba y canEn esas ocasiones siempre llegaban congas, bongos, tando coro). Ademcis ensena clases de baile y mtisica, y
guiros, maracas y guitarras para extender el festejo. de cultura puertorriqueria, para adultos.
Desde su nth' ez Ana Maria estudiaba el piano, y eventualmente empez6 a experimentar con la guitarra. Su
"Es bien luchador para todo que tenga que ver
maestro en el cuatro fue William Rodriguez. En Nueva con la cultura de la isla," dice Maria Rodriguez, una de
York y en Austin, llego a estudiar baile de distintas for- las cantantes del grupo. El compromiso de Ana Maria es
mas incluyendo baltan profundo que
let con Arletta
Rodriguez opina que
Howard-Logan y el
muchos de los jovenes en
bailes folcloricos
el grupo saben mas de la
mexicanos con Chuy
cultura y la historia de
Chacon, Raymundo
Puerto Rico que muchos
Guzman y Jaime
jovenes en la isla. "Ana
Guerro en
Maria empieza cada clase
Monterrey, Mexico.
de baile con una clase de
En Texas formo
historia. De ese modo,
parte del Ballet
antes de tira un paso, los
Folclorico de Texas
bailadores saben de donde
de Rudy Lozano y
viene el baile y como se
del Austin Dance
desarrollo. De esa manEnsemble.
era los puertorriquenos en
PRF Dance, Modesto Cepeda & Ci miento Puertorriqueno, 2001
En 1997 fund6
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance. Todo empezo cuando su
primer hijo tuvo seis meses y Ana Maria se encontro en
un festival en Austin con bailes folcloricos y se dio cuenta que Puerto Rico brillaba por su ausencia, y la realizacion de que su hijo no iba a vivir su niii ez como ella lo
disfruto, le call6 encima. Sus viajes a Puerto Rico para
los talleres llegan a ser
puertorriquen os," concluye Maria.
Ana Maria tiene un doctorado y una maestria en
ingenieria eMctrica y computerizada de la Universidad
Carnegie Mellon en Pittsburgh, y un bachillerato del
Polytechnic Institute en Brooklyn. Presentemente, es
p-
Directora de Programacion del IBM Austin Centro de "Celebrando 2003 with Guateque Ballet Foklorico de
Estudios Avanzados. Su esposo, David Maynard, tam- Puerto Rico" el presupuesto llego a $84,000 &Mares —
bien es un administrador de sistemas computerizados y le una suma mucho mans del presupuesto de varios grupos
presta servicios tecnicos al Puerto Rican Folkloric folcloricos dentro y afuera de Puerto Rico.
Dance. El matrimonio tiene dos hijos, William Pascual
de 7 anos y Maria Mercedes de 3 anos.
El alio pasado, en julio del 2002, Ana Maria
Maynard anuncio una campaha especial de cinco anos
de duration para recaudar fondos. Su meta era establecer una escuelita para tener un lugar fijo paraPuerto
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance:
Rican Folkloric Dance y asi establecer una permanencia
Un tesoro en Texas
para
sus ensayos y una escuelita de baile y masica folUn "tesoro" que merece apoyo fue la conclusion
de Juan Gutierrez, director de Los Pleneros de la 21. clorica de Puerto Rico en Austin donde participantes de
"Embajadores culturales" fue la description que le cualquier nacionalidad podrian aprender algo de Puerto
otorgo el peri6dico Austin American Statesman. Y el Rico. Este alio en febrero 2003 celebraron la apertura
hecho que Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance llego a progre- del Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance & Cultural Center
sar tanto en tan poco tiempo fue una observation com- icuatro anos adelantados!
partido por muchos incluyendo a un panelista de la
El nuevo Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance &
Comision de Arte de la ciudad de Austin. En poco mas
Cultural
Center es parte de un centro artistic° donde los
de cinco anos, Ana Maria Maynard ha logrado bastante.
Su capacidad como lider, su conocimiento de organizar salones son dedicados a estudiantes serios de baile de
tareas complejas y su pasi6n boricua llegaron a un lugar varias formas. El salon de Puerto Rican Folkloric
de convergencia donde lo mejor de Puerto Rican Dance es una cuadra de una pista de baile con espejos
Folkloric Dance pudo ser realizado y reconocido. Por alrededor. Las paredes anuncian las actividades del cenejemplo, el website de Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance tro — horarios para sus talleres, instrucciones para los
bailarines, etc. — igual que promueven los articulos de
(www.prjdance.org) recibe mas de 1,400 vistazos (hits) al
mes. Las primeras colaboraciones entre Puerto Rican yenta como camisetas y bolsos repletos con la insignia
Folkloric Dance y esta publication, Gairo y Maraca, se del grupo. Para el 2003-2004 ofrecen talleres en baile
relacionaban a la basqueda de information en cuanto a tradicionales (nil) os, adolescentes y adultos), salsa, masibailes, tambores, grupos, vestuarios, videos, etc., de los ca y percusion, coro para nilios y adolescentes, y clases
tantos boricuas por todo los Estados Unidos que llegaron en estudios puertorriquenos. Otra pared se encuentra
a visitar su website. En poco tiempo, y obviamente por adornada con carteles de promotion para la celebration
medio de mucho trabajo, Ana Maria Maynard utilizo el anual. Aqui encontramos la promotion en un estilo senInternet para establecer una red de contactos para su cillo, de la colaboracion entre Puerto Rican Folkloric
nuevo grupo foklorico. Esta red incorporo personas Dance y el West African Drum & Dance Ensemble of
claves e instituciones de Puerto Rico que ella pudo culti- Austin en 2000, con Modesto Cepeda y Cimiento
var en sus viajes a la isla. Todo esto garantizo que Puertorriqueno en 2001, con el coro de la Escuela Libre
muchos iban a conocer el nombre, el sello, es decir, de de Mfisica y despues con Los Pleneros de la 21 en 2002,
y con Guateque en 2003. Estas paredes simultaneamente
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance.
anuncia el logro de un suefio de una mujer, Ana Maria
Maynard,
que empez6 en 1997, llego a tener solo tres
Otro sepal del ascenso rapid° de este grupo de
baile fue la celebration anual en julio de cada ano aus- bailadores en enero de 1998, y llego a dirigir un ballet
piciado por ellos que combina fokloristas puertor- fokMrico completo en 2003. "Es un pedacito de Puerto
riquelios con este grupo recien nacido en Austin. Con Rico aqui en Austin. Y esta es una comunidad que se preestos artistas de la isla y Nueva York, PRF Dance logra ocupa de todos," observa Ana Maria.
tener masica en vivo para la gran mayoria de sus bailes
en su presentation anual. En Austin ya tienen la capacidad para montar presentaciones en bomba y en plena
pero estan buscando un cuatrista para rellenar sus presentaciones de musica jibara. Con todo que han logrado
hasta el momento, etamos seguro que este reto tambien
sera cumplido. En esta altima presentation en 2003
7
Este sentido comunitario es parte del grupo tambien, compuesto por dote bailadores y ocho masicos,
mas Ana Maria. La mayoria, casi tres cuartas, es puertorriquefia. Todos los masicos son puertorriquefios pero
los bailadores incluyen afro-americanos, venezolanos,
jamaiquinos, y personas de raza mixta. El joven, Tony
I (cont. pag. 8) I
Merriwether, de quince ailos, es uno de estos bailadores.
Hace mas de cinco anos llego a vivir en Austin y por mas
de dos arios ha participado con Puerto Rican Folkloric
Dance. Aprendio sus primeros piquetes de bomba por
medio de los talleres que ofrecieron Los Pleneros de la
21, Roberto Cepeda en particular. El baile de bomba es
el favorito de Tony: "Es el baile que permita expresion,
y siempre quiero expresarme en los bailes." El baile de
bomba fue el primer baile que Tony aprendio donde se
baila acompahado por los ritmos de tambores en vivo.
"Para la comunidad afro-americana en Austin, los bailes
de Puerto Rico tienen un significado especial. Ellos
reaccionan con sorpresa, y con orgullo, al ver las contribuciones que Africa le ha hecho a la cultura puertorriquerza. Y les encantan que nosotros, los puertorriquenos, somos orgullosos en mostrarlo," seri ala Ana
Maria.
de inspiration. Hasta nos llenaba de lagrimas esperando nuestro turno para empezar a bailar"
Gladys Cruz, 29, nada y se trio en el barrio puertorriqueno de Chicago de padres boricuas y mexicanos.
Esta bailando con el grupo por tres allos ahora y admite
que el baile siempre era parte de su ninez. Su madre,
Natividad Perez, fund() "Las Semillitas" un grupo de
baile de ninas en Chicago. Gladys llego a conocer el
baile de bomba en Texas. "Mis bailes favoritos son la
bomba yuba y despues los bailes de guinea, mazurka y
polka de la tradition jibara." Pero lo mas importante
para Gladys es sus compaPieros en Puerto Rican
Folkloric Dance. "Ellos son los que me dan el deseo de
quedarme y de regresar porque lo que tenemos aqui es
una familia. Y cada uno tiene algo para aportar"
Y para Maria Rodriguez, unas de las cantantes
del grupo y oriChina
de
unda
Smith, 2 7, es
este
Santurce,
bailadora princoncepto
de
cipal del grupo
familia es una
y maestra en
realidad. Su
clases de baile
esposo, Roberto
para niPios y
Rodriguez es
adolescentes.
percusionista
del
Antes de integrupo y su hijo
grarse al grupo
Roberto toca el
Puerto Rican
primo
en la
Folkloric
bomba y da
esta
Dance,
clases de bomba
j oven con raices
tambien. Pero su
en Haiti y
hija, Sixmarie
Jamaica, nunca
Rodriguez,
recibio enseriaza
Ricardo Palacios, China Smith, 2000.
bailadora, fue la
formal en baile.
"Ahora este grupo es parte de mi vida y cualquier per- primera en llegar al grupo y ahora ha regresado al grupo
sona que me conoce sabe muy Bien que tienen que accep- despues de vivier en el extranjero. Y eso no es todo:
tar el grupo igual que a mi porque estamos juntos . . . El Sammy Lopez, percusionista es sobrino de ella y Felix
grupo me llena de inspiration y hoy dia tengo clases en Lopez es cunado de su esposo. Maria cuenta a Danny
la danza de jazz, danza moderna y el ballet," nos dice Rivera y a Andres Jimenez como influencias y por albs
China. Los bailes latinos, especialmente la salsa y el esta cantando y tocando guitarra hasta llegar ser parte
merengue siempre eran parte de la familia de esta talen- de la Tuna de Bayamon antes de llegar a Texas. "No
tosa mujer quien se trio en Austin. Aprecia todos los somos grupo, somos familia y todos tenemos el mismo fin
bailes de la cultura puertorriquen a y uno de sus favoritos de ensenar a la ciudad de Austin que es Puerto Rico.
es el baile de bomba por su libre expresion. Recibio Todos que estamos aqui, estamos porque queremos, no
talleres de baila por medio de los Cepedas, Brenda por ganancias"
Cepeda, hija de Modesto Cepeda en particular y con
"Mucho amor y respeto es lo que tenemos aqui,"
Nellie Tanco de Los Pleneros de la 21. Sobre Nellie
Tanco nos dice: "Ella tenia una tranquilidad y un concluye Ana Maria.
dominio total en la tarima, y cuando cantaba nos llenaba
8
1 (cont. from p. 4)
Puerto Rican cuatro, pandero and singing.
Counts of eight filled the stage, not one raised voice or
frustrated plea would reveal that the show was only an
hour away. The placement of dance props was discussed
— machetes in one corner, ribbon adorned palitos [sticks]
in another and small calderos [pots] in yet another corner.
The musicians were ready and patiently playing their
numbers repeatedly. Family members of a small number
of performers clapped after each song during this
absolute final rehearsal. Ana Maria had her stage persona
on display — a smile from ear to ear while Joaquin exuded a quiet confidence. The stage was set for show time.
The pairing of Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance
and Guateque — Ballet Folclorico de Puerto Rico from
Corozal, Puerto Rico in 2003 was easily the culmination
of this dance group's dreams on many levels. Ana Maria
Maynard counts the director of Guateque, Joaquin
Nieves Caldero, as one of her mentors and has sought his
guidance during her trips to the island for years. His
influence is joyfully evident in the work of PRF Dance.
Guateque is a 30 member performing company
of dancers and musicians from the mountains of Puerto
Rico that has excelled in everything it presents. It is
internationally acclaimed and lists festivals and competitions in Central and South America, Europe and the
United States among its credits. It is particularly compelling in its presentations of the music and dance of the
mountains of the island with a strong emphasis on
research, authenticity and tradition. Led by Joaquin
Nieves Caldero, the presentation of Puerto Rico's jibaro
music is grounded in his own upbringing in Corozal and
supplemented by his unwavering attention to detail and
collection of oral histories. Guateque, however, does not
stop there. Founded in 1976, it has amassed over 90 traditional dances that represent the full panoply of Puerto
Rican expressions from pre-colonial times to dances that
exhibit the richness of the island's Spanish and African
heritage, and to some extent its Taino origins as well.
This writer has had the fortune of witnessing the performances of Guateque in a number of locales — the
Condado of San Juan, the capitol of Pennslyvania and
now, the capitol of Texas, and has seen footage of them in
competition in Europe. In every instance the high caliber
of its bomba and plena presentations is evident. The
drumming is skillful, the homage to veteran composers is
respectful, and the bomba dancing by both males and
females often elicits the loudest response from the audience. Guateque is also enjoying an excellent year with
its continued performances every Sunday at the Hotel
Intercontinental in San Juan plus the upcoming release of
its second CD.
For bomba and plena enthusiasts a performance
by a ballet folclorico like Guateque, and others in Puerto
Rico like Areyto, places musical and dance expressions
in context, both in time and space. Costume changes,
instruments, dancers and singers are synchronized to the
maximum. Plenas and bombas are thus reduced to equal
time in live performances, which, especially for bomba,
places a premium on intense drumming and dancing for
short time spans
This is the model that PRF Dance aspires to, and
it is a model that works well for all audiences: those new
to Puerto Rican culture, and those looking for nostalgia.
It is a balanced presentation of regional genres and historic pieces from Puerto Rico (the staple of every
Guateque show) that is the framework for the work of
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance. The July 2003 show
was no exception to that rule. The danza of Puerto Rico's
19th century salons by PRF Dance gave way to the musical suite of jibaro music that highlighted Guateque
alone, and then in skillful combination with PRF Dance.
This segment featured seises, vals and even polka. The
audience was offered the visual treat of imagining what
the 19th century danza was like in the Caribbean and sat
in curious, respectful silence. Soon after it was brought
to life for each of the jibaro mountain tunes led by Irving
Santiago of Guateque, on the cuatro — an instrument that
seems to come with an automatic hand-clapping machine
operated on cue by the audience.
It was at this point that the Merriwethers came to
life a few seats away from me. They were the picture of
a proud family who came to support Tony Merriwether
one of the youngest dancers of PRF Dance on the stage.
His mother and his young siblings and other relatives
came to life on the beat of the cuatro strings as Tony
approached center stage with his dance partner. Their
love and admiration was palpable, contagious. Tony
would tell me later that yes he heard them shout his name
and yes the nerves would shoot up, but he had it under
control waiting for his time, waiting for the bomba
drums.
And it was bomba that started the second set of
performances with the sounds of Angel Luis Torruellas'
Yenyere and Rafael Cepeda's Buscando un arbol,
Andarin, Oi una voz, and Rule son da. Visually the
black piping of the bomba dresses was beauti-
Iffafk!
ful along the customary all white outfits of the male in the Lone Star State.
dancers. Robert Rodriguez, Jr., a young drummer of the
Austin ensemble, held his own on primo to compensate Ana Maria Maynard
for the buleadores that lacked sufficient force and domiAna Maria Maynard was raised in Classon Point
nance. None of this
in the Bronx and in Caguas,
would matter as much to
part of the same circular
the crowd who came to
migration that characterizes
see the dancers. First
so many Puerto Rican housecame Ana Maria
holds.. Her mother is Maria
Maynard with confident
Mercedes Velez from Caguas,
steps, turns and gestures
and her stepfather is Joseph
garnering applause from
Capestany from Mayaguez.
the crowd. Then came
Live Puerto Rican music was
her dance partner Berto
always a presence in her life
Ramos who quickly reas family gatherings would
energized the crowd. The
always attract congas, bondancers continued their
gos, guiros, maracas and guiindividualized steps:
tars to extend the parties
Gladys Cruz rolled her
through the night. Ana Maria
Ana Maria Maynard, Roberto Rodriguez, Jr., Roberto
shoulders coquettishly to
studied piano since childhood
much applause and China Cepeda, Nellie Tanco, Tito Cepeda, Sammy LOpez, 2002. and eventually gravitated to
Smith brought the bombas to their peak with ferocity and the guitar and cuatro and learned the cuatro initially
precision. The women here were ahead of the men. through William Rodriguez in Austin and subsequently
Bomba is the Puerto Rican dance that Tony Merriwether with Hector Rivera in Manati. In New York and eventulikes the best. "It is the one where I can express myself. ally in Austin, she studied a variety of dance forms
And I'm always expressing myself in dance," says Tony. including ballet under Arletta Howard-Logan and
His approach to the drum was cautious, but the energy of Mexican folkloric dance under Chuy Chacon, Raymundo
the drums, the shouting of his name from the Merriwether Guzman and Jaime Guerro in Monterrey, Mexico. She
section, and the audience's anticipation filled Tony with performed with Ray Lozano's Ballet Folklorico de Texas
confidence. And he executed.
in the nineties and with the Austin Dance Ensemble.
She was a co-choreographer and dancer in the 1998
Bomba then gave way to plena as the dancers of Cenzontle music video "La Bruja."
Guateque reunited with the host company for a number
of plenas by Rafael Cepeda, Manuel "Canario" Jimenez,
In 1997 Ana Maria founded Puerto Rican
Angel Luis Torruellas, German Hernandez and Ramito. Folkloric Dance. It all started ater the birth of her first
In Bombon de Elena a playful China Smith danced insis- child. She was at a festival displaying souvenirs and
tently around the pairs, occasionally receiving an over- music from Puerto Rico. But the festival highlighted
sized candy treat literally half her size only to store it folkloric groups from many countries with their dances
away and return for more. For other plenas (a plena med- and their costumes. Puerto Rico was notable in its
ley of Canario and Hernandez compositions, plus absence. "It was right then that I looked at my newborn
Cuando Las Mujeres and Camelia) the audience con- and realized I had nothing to give him; that he would
tinued in its approval, joining in with clapping and never be able to enjoy the childhood that I had without
singing. Sammy Lopez handled the requinto drum very Puerto Rican music and dance. And mine was a wonderwell and the singing of Maria Rodriguez and Rose ful childhood," notes Ana Maria. She remembered the
Rodriguez was excellent. Their earlier, hair-tingling ver- many times here mother would repeat to her "Anyone ask
sion of Verde Luz (by Antonio Caban Valle), considered you, you tell them you're Puerto Rican." It was somethe national song of Puerto Rico, was exquisite and one thing she did not appreciate until she left the Bronx to
of the highlights of the evening. The show ended with study in Pittsburgh -- in effect the first time she felt she
Que Bonita Bandera done in plena, which led the audi- was outside of Puerto Rico -- and it was the same feelence to another celebration of Puerto Rico — this one ing she felt when she decided to form a Puero Rican folkadorned with the single star of Puerto Rico's flag waving loric group.
10
(cont. bottom, p. 11)1
Reviews / Resellas
Piña Colada
JUANMA LEBRON / ANIBAL DE GRACIA con
PLENA DULZURA
De Gracia y Plena Dulzura 787.798.3048
TV personality and comedian Juan Manuel Lebrun has been a fixture on
Puerto Rican television for some time now making audiences laugh for
years. This recording pairs his talents with a group led by Anibal de
Gracia on trombone, called PLENA DULZURA with arrangements by
Carmelo Marrero. Giovanni Lugo also adds lead voice on a couple of
tunes as well. Juanma's numbers are typical light fare making fun at a
number of situations, such as the plena El Gajillete which pokes fun at drinking and the plena El Colillon that
makes fun at fashion. Both of these plenas insert merengue in their mambo sections which in effect make them
plena-merengues. Another song by Juanma is Lo quieren to' dao focuses on people who conveniently free-load,
starts in plena and then stays in meringue, in effect a meringue plena. Lugo's plenas include LY los chavos
donde estan? and the swinging El ron es mi medicina, an ode to the rum of the island ("Que se acabe el arroz,
la leche y la gasolina. Pero que el ron no se acabe, porque eso es mi medicina.), the best song on the CD. The
last plena (Como no creer en Dios), sung by Henry Santiago, is a beautiful tribute to all things we receive from
God. With no liner notes to speak of we unfortunately cannot list any of the remaining musicians on this recording project. But if you want plena light and comedic, with some fusion and some swing, get your hands on this
recording.
((cont. from p. 11)
I
Working with youth is a blessing for her. She has
been able to take young men and women and make the
most of them. "I love developing young people. I can see
it in their eyes sometimes. And I just want to help them
be all they were meant to be," she says. As she surveys
next year's work she counts some of her youngest dancers
as some of her projects -- they need attention and she's
prepared to provide it.
Educational excursions to the island of Puerto
Rico form a major part of the foundation of PRF Dance.
Throughout the years she conducted research and attended workshops with Modesto Cepeda and his Escuela de
Bomba y Plena Rafael Cepeda, Joaquin Nieves Caldero
and Guateque Ballet Folclorico de Puerto Rico, J.
Emanuel Dufrasne and Nelie Lebrun Robles of
Paracumbe, and Eric Gonzalez and Raul de la Paz of
Gibaro de Puerto Rico. Currently, Ana Maria teaches
adult dance and music classes, including cultural education, in addition to her duties as director and choreographer at PRF Dance.
Ana Maria holds a doctorate and a masters
Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie
Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a B.S. from
Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn. She has written professional publications in computer system designs, applications and computer processing, has received awards for
computer research and authorship, and is currently
Program Director of the IBM Austin Center for Advanced
Studies.
"Ana Maria is a fighter and this performance
company is a vital part of her life," says Maria Rodriguez.
And Maynard's work goes well beyond the technical elements of dance and music. "In many ways because of
Ana Maria's commitment the young men and women
who are part of this work know more about Puerto Rican
culture and history than many of their peers in the island.
That's because Ana Maria starts out by going over the history of each of the dances before the students learn the
moves. So, for the Puerto Ricans in the group, through
dance they become Puerto Rican," concludes Rodriguez.
She is the mother of two children William
Pascual, 7, and Maria Mercedes, 3. Her husband, David
Maynard, whose own family tree in the U.S. predates
1776, is a major supporter and also a systems administrator who provides technical and Internet services to
PRF Dance.
11
GRUPOS DE BOMBA y PLENA
z,Tienes un grupo de Bomba y Plena? Dejanos saber para incluirlos
en esta section.
El imico criterio es que cada grupo tiene la capacidad y la disponibilidad de hacer presentaciones musicales de bomba y / o plena, en
vivo. Ya saben que estamos disponibles a afladir grupos tan pronto
ustedes nos llaman. Aqui estan, en orden alfabetico. If you know of
a Bomba and Plena group let us know. We'll include them in our
next issue.
Paracumbe, San Juan, PR, Emanuel Dufrasne, 787.769.2464,
www.paracumbe.com
Plena Dulce, Newark, NJ, Lillian Garcia, 973.645.2690
Plena Dulzura, Bayamon, PR, Anibal de Gracia, 787.306.2616,
www.plenadulzura.com
Plena Libre, San Juan, PR, Gary Nuilez, c/o Valerie Cox,
787.763.4729, www.plenalibre.com
Plenaluna, Bronx, NY, Julio ColOn, 718.328.9231
Plenason, Manati, PR, Benjamin Jimenez, 787.960.2884, Orlando
Marrero, 787.225.1278, jtbenjie@coqui.net
Plenealo, Aibonito, PR, Ivan Rivera, 787.735.3322
Los Pleneros de la 21, NYC, Juan Gutierrez, 212.427.5221,
www.losplenerosde1a21.org
Los Pleneros de la 24, San Francisco, CA, Hector Lugo,
510.594.4335
Los Pleneros del Batey, Philadelphia, PA, Joaquin Rivera,
215.456.3014, ext. 42
Los Pleneros del Barrio, Ponce, PR, Roberto Texeira,
787.843.3673
Los Pleneros del Coco, Worcester, MA, Miguel Almestica,
508.792.5417
Los Pleneros del Quinto Sono, NYC, Enrique Diaz, 212.260.5879
Los Pleneros de la Salud, Springfield, MA, Luis Melendez,
413.584.8125
Los Pleneros del Severo, Carolina, PR, Carlos Pizarro Falu,
787.809.3604, PlenerosdeSevero@yahoo.com
Proyecto La Plena, Minneapolis, MN, Ricardo GOmez,
612.728.0567
Plenyson, Orlando, FL, Jose "Tito" Diaz, 407.812.9942,
Plenyson@msn.com
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance, Austin, TX, Ana Maria Maynard,
512.251.8122, www.prfdance.org
Raices Boricuas, Paterson, NJ, Ada Diaz, 973.279.2390
Los Relampagos de la Plena, San Juan, PR, Gerardo Ferrao,
787.767.1454
Sangre Caribefia, Springfield, VA, Grace Rodriguez,
703.569.5980, www.miorgullo.tk
Segunda Quimbamba, Jersey City, NJ, Juan Cartagena,
201.420.6332, www.ricopositive.com
Son de Plena, Trenton, NJ, Luis Ortiz, 609.584.1644
Taller de Bomba y Plena, Ponce, PR, Pedro Barriera Colson,
787.259.0293, konga@prtc.net
TamBoricua, Atlanta, GA, Benjamin Torres, 678.313.0104,
www.TamBoricua.com
Truco & Zaperoko,
PR, Edwin Feliciano, 787.888.0398,
www.zaperoko.com
Viento de Agua, NYC, Hector "Tito" Matos, 646.373.6533, viento_de_agua@hotmail.com
Yerbabuena, NYC, Carlos Torres, c/o Marinieves Alba,
212.876.4741
Yoruba 2, Warwick, RI, Lydia Perez, 401.737.0751
Zon del Barrio, NYC, Aurora Flores, 212.410.2999
AfriCaribe, Tito Rodriquez, Chicago, IL, 773.879.2123,
www.africaribe.net
Amigos de la Plena, NYC, Jose Rivera, 646.824.3891 (cell)
Areito Borincano, San Diego, CA, Edwin Monclova,
619.253.0480, www.areitoborincano.com
Hugo Asencio y Tiz6n, Union City, NJ, Hugo Asencio,
201.863.8520
Ballet FolclOrico de Bomba y Plena Lanze, Orlando, FL, Miguel
LanzO, 407.855.0732
Ballet Folkloric° Boriken, San Antonio, TX, Olga Custodio,
210.878.7821, Boriken98@aol.com
Ballet FolklOrico de Celia Ayala, Boston, MA, Celia Ayala,
617.541.3540
Ballet Folkloric° Hermanos Ayala, Loiza, PR, Marcos Ayala,
787.758.2222
Bain bule Ballet FolklOrico, Ponce, PR, Isabel Albizu Davila,
787.844.8579
Los Bomberos de Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY, Awilda Sterling & Hal
Barton, 718.488.1163
Bomplenea, San Juan, PR, Gary Vera, 787.792.3552
Borinbomba, Milwaukee, WI, Luis Diaz, 414.744.6828,
www.diazmusic.com
Born bazo de New York, Bronx, NY, Jose Emmanuelli,
718.588.8426
BorinPlena, Miami, FL, Pablo Rivera, 305.635.1174
Modesto Cepeda y Cimiento Puertorriquefio, Santurce, PR,
Modesto Cepeda, 787.728.1096
Folkloric° Bohio (F.L.E.C.H.A.S.), New Haven, CT, Menen
Osorio, 203.562.4488
Golpe de Plena, Santurce, PR, Harry Sebastian, 787.728.4283
Grupo AfroBoricua, Brooklyn, NY, William Cepeda,
718.421.2115
Grupo Cohitre D'El Yunque, San Juan, PR, Miguel Angel
Carrillo, 787.473.1409, nangobe@hotmail.com
Grupo FolclOrico Paule, Oakland, CA, Maria Elena Garcia,
510.595.4697, info4aayareaboricuas.org
Grupo Viento de Bomba y Plena, Camden, NJ, Jose Catala
856.963.4994, ELGRUPOVIENT0@aol.com
Grupo Yuba, Chicago, IL, Eli Samuel Rodriguez, c/o Centro
Cultural Ruiz Belvis, 773.235.3988
Guateque, Ballet Folklorico de Puerto Rico, Corozal, PR,
Joaquin Nieves Calderon, 787.859.8601
Guayacanes de San Anton, Ponce, PR, Carlos Velez Franceschi,
787.843.0082
Los Hermanos Cepeda, Carolina, PR, Jesus Cepeda, 787.757.1672
Los Instantaneos de la Plena del Rincon Criollo, Bronx, NY,
Norma Cruz, 300 East 151st Street, #3, Bronx, NY, 10451
Milagro Bailadores, Portland, OR, Rebecca Martinez,
503.236.7253, www.milagro.org
Nuestro Tamb6, Chicago, IL, Ruben Gerena, 773.818.2266
Orgullo Taino, Queens, NY, Gladys Rodriguez, 718.521.0051
Gtliro y Maraca is dedicated to the preservation of Bomba & Plena
music from Puerto Rico. It is issued four times per year and is published
12
by the Segunda Quimbamba Folkloric Center, Inc., 279 Second Street,
Jersey City, NJ 07302, Tel. 201.420.6332. Email Juan Cartagena at:
quimbambero@hotmail.com . Subscription is $15 per year.
Giiiro y Maraca se dedica a la preservation de la musica de Bomba y
Plena de Puerto Rico. Se publica cuatro veces al alio por el Centro
Foklorico Segunda Quimbamba. La subscription es $15 por
Juan Cartagena, Editor, Writer
Photos: Courtesy of Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance