Hispanic and Latine Heritage Month
Happy Hispanic and Latine Heritage month everyone! This article is extra special as it includes personal messages from some of our instructors about how their cultural background and heritage have influenced how and why they play music. We're super grateful for their contributions and hope you enjoy hearing their stories as much as we did!
Laura Fidalgo
I had never thought about the Hispanic label before coming to the United States. I know that it is a mechanism to recognize the country's minorities, but at the same time it seems tricky to me, because it draws a border between “me” and the "other".
I was born in a region in the north of Spain, Asturias, bathed by the Cantabrian Sea -or Celtic Sea in English; but when I was 6 years old, I moved to the Canary Islands, a group of islands very close to Western Sahara and the coast with Morocco.
The Canary Islands is a meeting of cultures: it has very strong ties with Latin America, we are part of the European Union, but it is geographically closer to Africa. This tricontinental particularity makes you flexible, and you begin to realize how everywhere there is love, desire to celebrate and, sadly, a scapegoat when things go wrong (which, coincidentally, are always the poorest migrants).
What is being Hispanic for me and how has it influenced my development as a musician? I think the answer is very much linked to the fact of being a migrant, to find yourself far away and at the same time very close to your loved ones; to be open, to have your arms open to welcome those who come, because you know that you or your family also had to travel one day to find a better life.
Hispanic and Latin American music is an encounter, a celebration, the richness of our travels back and forth. It is having on the same stage: the flamenco cajón (which came to Spain from Peru); the Spanish guitar (which developed on the peninsula thanks to the Arabs); an electric bass and a transverse flute. It is fusion and life, the better mix to the better life.
Ivan Orellana
Growing up between Ecuador and NYC, I was lucky to be surrounded by music at home. My parents always had something playing. My dad was all about the romantic ballads—Sandro de América, Piero, Leonardo Favio, Los Iracundos, you name it. Thanks to him, I fell in love with those crooner-style artists who either celebrated love or cried over it. My mom, on the other hand, loved to dance, so salsa, merengue, bachata, and Latin pop were always in the air—artists like Chayanne, Rocío Dúrcal, Ricky Martin, and Ana Gabriel filled our home. Between them, I got a little bit of everything.
The blend of Latine and U.S. music, whether in Spanish or English, was a huge part of my life. My first memory of being really into a Latina artist was listening to the album Amor Prohibido by Selena. There’s probably an old VHS tape somewhere of me, my brother, and my cousins performing “Techno Cumbia”!
That mix of languages and styles sparked my love for all kinds of music and eventually inspired me to play. One of my favorite memories is going through my parents' endless CD towers and reading all the liner notes and lyrics—I was hooked from an early age. While my siblings and I were the only ones who picked up instruments, music was a big part of every family event. If there was music, there was dancing!
Check Out This Month's Playlist!
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to our National Hispanic & Latine Heritage Month playlist! We're still taking suggestions so be sure to visit our song suggestion table near the front door of our lobby!
Happy Hispanic and Latine Heritage Month!
