My name is Angela Amanatullah and I live in a village just outside Bath in South West England. Until September 1999 I had never heard andean music and when I heard it for the first time I was stunned beyond belief at the sheer beauty of such wonderful music! Two CDs purchased from the musicians playing then has resulted in a collection of almost 500 recordings of andean music in less than a year and a half - a collection which keeps growing all the time! My love for the Andes began with the music and spread out in many directions. I wanted to know everything about the andean culture, meet andean people, and finally I just had to go there to experience the magic at first hand.
Over the past year I have met and befriended quite a few andean musicians - some of whom actually stay in my house when they come to busk in Bath or nearby towns. My friendship with many of these musicians led to a lot of fun - for example I experienced the wonder of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2000 by travelling with a young couple whose music I had purchased in Bath. That was a new experience for me, being with travelling musicians and seeing what life is like on the road! I have a story of that exciting adventure if anyone is interested! I've also travelled to other parts of England to see favourite andean bands perform "en vivo" and only wish I had the contacts to know whenever any andean band is visiting Bath, or if andean bands from abroad were touring the UK. If anyone knows a way of finding this out please let me know! (Email: a_amanatullah@yahoo.com ).
Although I am not a musician myself, I dearly want to be a part of the andean music scene, so writing about andean events in this part of England will be very exciting for me and I am grateful to AIMA (Association Internationale de Los Musicos Andinos) for this chance to play my own small part! I admire its principal goal - to gather together andean musicians and andean music lovers from all over the world in a unique international community.
In June 2001 my dearest wish will come true - I am travelling to South America for the first time and plan to spend about six weeks there. I hope to visit La Paz, to be present at the Fiesta of Gran Poder, before going on to Cusco where participating in the celebration of Inti Raymi will be the highlight of my visit as well as walking the Inca Trail. I will actually be staying with the family of one of the Peruvian musicians who has been so welcome in my house. As you can see this is a friendship that benefited both him and me! Who knows, maybe the story of my adventures in South America will feature in a later issue.
An Andean Band of Peruvian Musicians Based in London.
Whilst on a visit to London to say farewell in person to a musician going back to Peru, I saw my good friend Johnny Rodrigues of the band KAUSARY and invited him to come to Bath the following weekend as I (along with countless others) really miss the presence of the Andean busking bands during the winter months!! Kausary, of course, are so much more than just a busking band, but they enjoy contact with people and their aim in life is to bring the culture of the Andes to as many people as possible, so they readily agreed to visit and decided they would play in Bristol on Saturday and Bath on Sunday.
They left London early on Saturday and started playing in the main Bristol shopping centre by mid morning and I caught up with them there in the afternoon. They were in full swing and the shoppers were really loving their music. In the three hours I listened they were surrounded by a big crowd of people who I'm sure stayed to listen because of the atmosphere of joyfulness portrayed by their spirited performance.
They looked the part in their Andean ponchos and danced as they played and people looked really enraptured - CD sales were very brisk indeed! They played a fantastic cross section of traditional andean music, some andean fusion, new compositions from their forthcoming cd and even some Cuban songs (including the Buena Vista Social Club which sounded fantastic on andean instruments). This is a very talented band of musicians - Johnny's charango playing for instance is full of feeling and Carlos's jaunty way of playing the flutes is very endearing to watch. Not once did the feeling of playful enjoyment diminish the whole time I watched and listened.
The next day in Bath I was with them from the beginning and whilst they were tuning their instruments I suddenly recognised the rhythm of my favourite Markamaru song - they were practising it and when they started playing their first set they began with that song (Rin de Angelito) as a special treat for me which I appreciated very much!
Later on I was really touched - and so were the crowd - when a baby girl toddled towards the manga box to drop in some coins and Carlos went straight into a popular nursery rhyme on his flute which the band promptly accompanied - they did two nursery rhymes and all the listening children - and adults - were absolutely enchanted!
Later on when relaxing in a nearby pub I asked a bit about the history of the band. Johnny had left Peru eleven years previously and went to Belgium first where he stayed 15 days. He had very little money but before leaving Peru his Granny had roasted a couple of kilos of broad beans for him and he survived on that and water the whole 15 days! He played with a band called Atahualpa travelling throughout Europe - Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, then back to Germany and on to Hungary and Yugoslavia - busking all the way.
In Yugoslavia he appeared on a TV pop programme, playing a mixture of Andean musical instruments incorporating a techno rhythm. They finally based themselves in Italy and one of their biggest concerts there was for DFG, one of the biggest Italian companies. More recently, just after Christmas this year, they appeared on Blue Peter - a BBC children's programme - as part of the appeal for stamps to be donated - to raise money for poorer people in the Peruvian highlands.
From Italy he came to the UK on a 15-day visa, ended up staying longer and when he tried to go back to Italy he wasn't allowed to go because he didn't have a visa for Italy! So he stayed and joined Antara for a while until he went back to Peru for a holiday. When he came back in 1994 he decided to form his own band and started out playing with his uncles, with Julio joining them in 1996, and guest musicians joining them from time to time. Kausary now consists of four members, plus two others for their bigger concerts.
The leader, Johnny Rodriguez, was born in Trujillo, Peru and plays a variety of Andean instruments including quenas, sikus and charango. He is recognised for the drive and virtuosity of his panpipe and charango playing and one of the few to play them both at the same time!
Julio Figueroa was born in La Cuesta La Libertad, Peru. He is the oldest member in the group and because of his experience and knowledge (he was a teacher in Peru before coming to the UK), as well as his beautiful voice, contributes not only musically but also adds a cultural dimension to Kausary.
Carlos Saldana was born in Piura, Peru, and joined the band at the beginning of 2000. He is the youngest member and very talented indeed. He plays a variety of instruments - charango, quena, bass, and injects so much feeling into his music that watching him is just as much a pleasure as listening! He too has a beautiful voice.
Marco Valencia was born in Valparaiso, Chile and started playing with the band in 1998, joining them formally in September 2000. A very easygoing person and great fun to work with, he brings a special touch to this remarkable band. He plays charango and guitar as well as other Andean and Latin instruments such as Bass and Tres Cubano.
Guest musicians for larger events include Kiefer Santander, the percussionist, who was born in Lima, Peru, and has been playing with the band since 1997. He plays congas, bongos and cajon peruano. Carlos Fuentes was born in Chile and joined them towards the end of 2000 - he is a top drummer and percussionist.
KAUSARY in Quechua (the Andean language) means TO REVIVE. They chose this name because of its meaning, which is to revive the Andean culture through the music so that we can feel its universal message. They have produced two CDs - "To Revive" and "Prayers to the Sun" and are currently working on their third CD which should be available in the spring/early summer.
Whilst chatting in the pub they were quietly playing some of their instruments (guitar and charango) and all the other customers in that pub really enjoyed their impromptu performance. One man bought all six of us a drink as a measure of his appreciation! With the three of them singing as they played it was great to enjoy this unexpected extension of their wonderful music. At the end the landlord was disappointed they weren't residents of Bath and expressed his hopes that they would revisit his pub whenever they came to Bath and to bring the panpipes as well next time!!!
This band carry a magic in their music which uplifts and cheers anyone within earshot - definitely a band to look out for!
