{"id":21570,"date":"2013-08-01T14:47:37","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T21:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/?p=21570"},"modified":"2013-08-08T11:01:25","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T18:01:25","slug":"divas-latinas-music-and-dance-from-easter-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/en\/divas-latinas-music-and-dance-from-easter-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Divas Latinas: Music and dance from Easter Island"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\u2018Divas<\/a>
\u201cDivas Latinas\u201d performs at La Pe\u00f1a Cultural Center in Berkeley. Photo Clarivel Fong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a warm Sunday afternoon inside La Pe\u00f1a\u2019s Cultural Center in Berkeley, the music of Easter Island met with the rhythmic dance elements of Argentina, Chile and Spain for \u201cDivas Latinas: A cultural tribute to women, tradition and sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Divas Latinas are Mahani Teave from Easter Island, Viviana Guzm\u00e1n from Chile, and Kristelle Monterrosa from Spain\u2014a mishmash of traditional music and influences.<\/p>\n

\u201cDivas Latinas has been my dream,\u201d said Guzm\u00e1n, the organizer of Divas, about finally having a dynamic group of women share a stage. \u201cA dream that has taken a while to lift off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toki, a non-profit organization lead by Teave and Enrique Icka, joined Divas Latinas to bring the music of Easter Island to the Bay Area. With only 5,800 people, the Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean is one of the most remote inhabited places in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery few people leave Easter Island,\u201d said Guzm\u00e1n, and added in reference to Teave and Icka: \u201cthis is a very unique opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rapa Nui is the name of the island in its native tongue as well as the name of the language, which is slowly disappearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sing most of my music in our language, because it is also a message to all of the young people on the island,\u201d Icka said, who also plays the guitar.<\/p>\n

Icka\u2019s traditional guitar playing made way for Argentine tango composer and bandone\u00f3n player Astor Piazzolla\u2019s\u2019 music to come to life, accompanied by Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s vibrant flute and Teave\u2019s melancholic piano notes.<\/p>\n

Their interpretation of Piazzolla\u2019s \u201cLibertango\u201d took the audience to the streets of Argentina and from there to Spain, to experience a powerful Flamenco.<\/p>\n

\u201cNi\u00f1o d\u00e9jame que baile, no pises mi blancor almidonado,\u201d were the words recited by Flamenco dancer Monterrosa, as her quick footwork and rhythmic movements gave life to a poem by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, \u201cRomance de la Luna, Luna.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Pe\u00f1a felt vibrant and completely engaged in every tune and movement that radiated throughout the room. Teave then took some time to reflect on the past and promising future for the young people of Rapa Nui.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left really young to study music and I always wanted to help the island,\u201d she said about the toll that globalization has had on the island in the past 20 to 30 years.<\/p>\n