/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-CENTRAL AMERICA: Regional ‘Papaya’ Band Meets World

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Néfer Muñoz

SAN JOSE, Jul 30 2002 (IPS) - La Orquesta de la Papaya, the first and only regional band from Central America, which performs contemporary and folk music, is embarking for Canada, Europe and South America — with its first album in hand.

The musicians of La Papaya, coming from the seven Central American countries, will perform in several cities and at a number of festivals during their tour. Their goal: to show off their region’s music, which is little known throughout the rest of the world.

“The musical wealth of Central America is not disseminated around the world, which is why our goal is to fill that gap, to make our rhythms and our diversity known,” explained the leader of the group, Costa Rican pianist Manuel Obregón, in a conversation with IPS.

La Orquesta de la Papaya was born in January through the efforts of Obregón, a noted jazz pianist who was able to bring together 13 musicians that combine the Mayan beat of Guatemala with the songs of the African-origin Garífuna peoples of Honduras and Nicaraguan marimbas, as well as other styles from the isthmus.

This band is an unprecedented project, and for many, incredible, because it melds the rich yet varied cultural expressions of one of the world’s most fragmented regions, in spite of its relatively small size, with 523,000 square km and 36 million inhabitants.

Obregón’s dream came true in the Costa Rican capital through a group that unites modern instruments with traditional instruments from the area, of indigenous and African origin alike.

Obregón is joined by Nicaraguans Marcos, Yader and Domingo Martínez; Guatemala’s Lenín Fernández; David Obi and Mohobud Flores from Belize; El Salvador’s Oscar “El Chele” Menjívar; Panamanians Ornelis Cortés, Raúl Vital, Antonio de la Cruz and Miguel Angel Leguisamo; and Hondurans Juan Astor Norales and Ramón Eduardo Cedeño.

“We are an atypical orchestra. In some ways, we reflect the surrealism of our countries,” commented Obregón, 41, who has taken his own jazz music outside the region on tours that have included South America, Spain and Switzerland.

The success the band has enjoyed since its first concerts in February at Costa Rica’s National Auditorium led to a recording deal with Sony Music, which resulted in the album “Manuel Obregón y la Orquesta de la Papaya”, recently released in Central America and Mexico.

The album consists of 14 songs recorded live at concerts in which the musicians utilised a total of 50 instruments, many of which were handmade by the members of the group.

“Our music is contemporary, but based on tradition,” a combination of modernity and regional folklore, Obregón said.

The name of the band came about during a practice session in February, when one of the musicians from Belize, singer Obi — founder in his country of the “kungo” rhythm — began singing in English.

To some of the members of the chorus, a word he repeated sounded very much like “papaya”, which caused some laughter and embarrassment because in some countries of the region, the word is used to refer to the female sex organ.

But after that incident, they decided to adopt it for the name of the group, liking the colourful nature of the word itself and the fact that it is a tropical fruit that is grown throughout Central America.

“What we want is for the world to see who we Central Americans are,” Nicaraguan musician Yader Martínez, told IPS. At 15, the marimba player is the youngest member of the group.

Yader Martínez, whose father and a cousin also play in La Papaya, commented that the founding of a Central American band has been a dream of many artists for many years.

“It is a band in which one can see the joy of our countries. We hope to continue as a group for a long time, as long as God provides us with life,” he added.

A short tour in late July in Mexico and Guatemala marked the Orquesta de la Papaya’s international debut. The band played at the Festival of Art and Culture held in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

Next on the musicians’ itinerary are Belize and Nicaragua (Sep 11-20) and the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro, Belém and Natal (Sep 21-Oct 3).

The schedule for the next year includes a month-long visit to Canada, performances at the Autumn Festival in Madrid and the Latin American Festival of Italy.

“I am pleased because I am experiencing something that I have always believed in: the unity of Central Americans,” said Fernández, a Guatemalan, and the group’s percussionist.

He commented that his initial expectations have been far surpassed because this group of musicians encompasses and brings to light the genetic memory of Central America’s roots, which is evident in the audiences’ enthusiastic response to their music.

The 14 members of La Orquesta de la Papaya have stood out in their home countries as promoters and researchers of traditional music, and have worked on experimental musical projects.

The group is planning to record its second album in January, and to continue touring in order to infect the world with passion for Central American music.