The next March 3, 2024 The second edition of the Orellana Festival, an initiative that arose from the musician Ale Gómez, as a support for the musician and creator Joaquín Orellana, 93 years old, who was admitted to the General Hospital of Diseases of the Guatemalan Institute of Social Health (IGSS) during the last days of 2023 following having presented abdominal painsa product of acute pancreatitis.
In its first edition in January 2024, the festival was proposed to raise funds for the payment of hospital administrative procedures, as well as assistance to the multi-instrumentalist, remembered for the invention of the so-called “sound tools” or for ambitious and experimental compositions such as Symphony from the Third World.
The total box office collected in the next edition of the Orellana Festival will be oriented towards teacher recovery costs who managed to successfully undergo surgery on January 16. Currently the composer is assisted by a nurse 24 hours a day, so the proceeds will be useful for maintain the care service, as well as to cover medical expenses that arise.
The first activity of Orellana Festival It featured the participation of the musical projects of Francisco Páez, Oscar Conde, Ricmo, Magda Angélica, La City Band, Ale Gómez, among others. For the benefit of maestro Orellana, the guests organized an evening where They combined talent and solidarity for the 93-year-old musician.
“It makes me very proud to see that from music there is a big impact and that helps someone who has given a lot for Guatemala,” shares Gómez, who had the idea for the festival the same day he found out regarding Orellana’s health, last December 29.
The 22-year-old young man, known by his stage name Ale Gómez, says that the initiative arose from the need to support a teacher who has indirectly taught him regarding the importance of conceiving music from new perspectives. “Joaquín Orellana’s instruments are not something common. His works, which have been presented internationally, have great importance and merit“shares the singer.
Recognizing Orellana’s historical weight and considering his state of health, Gómez decided to ask on Twitter on December 29 who was joining in to support the teacher. “After the tweet, not even 30 minutes had passed and several artists had already written. In a matter of days, the event was held on January 3 at the El Ataque bar (Zona 4 of the capital). It was incredible”shares Gómez.
For the singer and also vocalist of the band Malacates Trébol Shop, Francisco Páez, Orellana’s work is necessary to rescue: “For many his music is quite abstract, for others it is very elevated, but for me He is an inventor of sounds, textures, notes, melodies and as the inventor that he is, he is respected and honored.“argues the musician.
The musician, who would have participated in the first edition of the Orellana Festival, finds in the next event a great opportunity to create a musical community and understand mutual support. “I think it is appropriate to unite with the excuse of supporting the maestro in his ailments and for him to see that the musicians of Guatemala are attentive to him and that we have affection, respect and admiration for him.“adds Páez.
Orellana Festival in March
For the second edition, the festival will have the participation of Your Bárcen, Matthew Santa, Armando Bandas, But Gómez, Juan Aguirre, Magda Angelica with Sergio Zepeda and Pablo Leónamong other artists to be confirmed.
The recital will take place from 17:00 hours of the Sunday, March 3 at the Dick Smith Theater of the Guatemalan American Institute (Route 1, 4-05, Zone 4 of the capital) and the entry will have a value of Q. 200. This may buy give yourself the platform of the institute.
Magda Angélica, who is accompanying the event for the second time, points out the importance of supporting the artists who have contributed so much to the country, above all, recognizing the legacy they have made in a territory of limited opportunities for culture.
“I think we are a country that leaves in a state deep vulnerability to people who have contributed a lot to Guatemala, especially in the field of art. “says the composer, who maintains that the country that does not have an “infrastructure of respect and economic support for its artists.”
From this account, the concerts on March 2 will be an opportunity to challenge social negligence in the face of artists of the caliber of Joaquín Orellana.
One day before the concert, the March 2 at 7:00 p.m. There will also be a screening of short films at the Mosaic Cultural Center (10th Street 4-19, Zone 1). The entry will have a value of Q.50 and you can be paid in cash.
The audiovisual meeting will show the productions Sacratávica y Bambuventoco-directed by the director Ameno Cordova together with the filmmakers Josué García and Pepe Orozco. Both short films explore the creative process and the influence of maestro Orellana on the understanding of the contemporary history of Guatemala.
In addition to the documentary resource presented by the short films, the proposals will provide new interpretive images regarding the work of Joaquín Orellana. In the words of Ameno Córdova, the composer’s music “is not for walking and listening to it in the car, but for sit in the dark, put on headphones and reflect, to think and to be inspired.“
(Free Press Photo: Courtesy Ameno Córdova)
During their decades of career, Orellana have managed not only to cast a spell in their country of origin, but also in latitudes such as Greece from where his participation in the international exhibition Documenta 14 or recently in NYwhere their sound tools at the headquarters of the America’s Society organization.
“According to Ameno Córdova, Joaquín Orellana is “the last genius that Guatemala has”. For this reason, and faced with the medical scenario that the musical inventor is facing, Córdova sees the participation of his short films in the festival as an opportunity to extend the legacy of imagination that Orellana has sought.
The singer Francisco Páez highlights the importance of Orellana’s work as a way to inspire new generations. According to him, “The important thing is to let ourselves be influenced by his genius.“On the other hand, Magda Angélica emphasizes the need to recognize the conceptual legacy of the composer. For the composer, Orellana is a genius who It has generated its own ways of not only making music, but also new sounds and forms of writing.
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