Travelers: Olivia Cadaval, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Juanita García, Janeth Reyes, María Angélica Rodríguez, Carlos Rojas, Ana Veydó; Van guide René Montero, Yaguarundi Travels
Fieldwork base: Hotel El Galerón Llanero, San Martín, Department of Meta

• Meet with René at the Hotel Casa Deco in Bogotá and drive to Villavicencio
• Meet with Joel Pérez, llanero cook, in Villavicencio and lunch at a typical roadside restaurant that roasts the traditional veal llanero-style
• Drive to Granada and meet with instrument maker Augusto Rodríguez in his home
• Drive to Acacias and attend a youth joropo dance rehearsal
• Drive to San Martín to spend the night

Field notes:
René picks us up at the Hotel Casa Deco in Bogotá and we are pleasantly surprised to find llanero and musician Carlos Rojas and his wife Ana Veydó, both with Grupo Cimarrón, in the lobby. They are ready to join us on our trip.

We drive past the largest páramo (a tropical ecosystem occurring above the treeline and below the snowline) in the world, past the mountains and to the lower tropical grasslands, to Villavicencio, a town that we will return to every time we want to travel in a different direction. Highway runs along the río Negro, which becomes río Guayuriba in the Plains. In Villavicencio, we meet with Joel Pérez, a llanero cook whose specialty is the mamona, or grilled sides of veal. He takes us to lunch at a typical roadside restaurant where we feast.

We drive to Granada where we meet Augusto Rodríguez in his instrument-making shop in the back of his house. We ask about the best way to demonstrate making a harp without starting from scratch. We drive to Acacias where we have been invited to a young people’s joropo dance rehearsal. There were probably twelve to fifteen groups of young joropo dancers six years and older.

—Olivia Cadaval, curator

Photo caption:
Llanero cook Joel Pérez. Photo by María Angélica Rodríguez Ibáñez

Travelers: Olivia Cadaval, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Juanita García, Janeth Reyes, María Angélica Rodríguez, Carlos Rojas, Ana Veydó; Van guide René Montero, Yaguarundi Travels
Fieldwork base: Hotel La Fontana, Cumaral

• Breakfast with Carlos’s family in San Martin
• Visit with Alvaro Rey “Kino” Almeida in his pan de arroz bakery
• Visit with leatherworker Carlos Rivera in his workshop, Talabartería El Botalón
• Meet with Carlos’s friend in Puerto López, the “belly button of the country” and lunch at local fish at a restaurant by the río Meta
• Visit with Carlos’s friend at the Achiawa Indian reservation
• Return to Cumaral to the Hotel La Fontana

Field notes:
We are invited to breakfast at the home of Carlos’s family in San Martin; it’s a traditional home with rooms opening to the court along the side. We had tungos(like a tamal), arepas de arroz, pan de bono, and pan de arroz with soup. Rice is an important crop in the area.

We then visit Alvaro Rey “Kino” Almeida’s pan de arroz bakery; talked to the family while he made the the bread that looks like little doughnuts. We took pictures of the oven at different angles to use as reference if we decide to build an oven in Washington. Don Kino said he could build one in two days. It needs unfired brick (softer brick that is easier to mold and won’t explode with the heat).

We visit with Carlos Rivera in the Talabartería El Botalón, which is both a store and a workshop for making leather ranching implements. He describes the many different saddles used in the region from show saddles, to rodeo and work saddles.

We return to Villavicencio and drive to Puerto López, known as the belly button of the country, to meet Carlos’s friend.  He takes us to a restaurant on the río Meta where they serve local fish. He then escorts us to the Achiawa Indian reservation. The officials are out so we walk down the road and talk with a family. We learn that the community is very involved in bicultural, bilingual education.

—Olivia Cadaval, curator

Photo caption:
Carlos Rivera's workshop. Photo by María Angélica Rodríguez Ibáñez

Travelers: Olivia Cadaval, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Juanita García, Janeth Reyes, María Angélica Rodríguez, Carlos Rojas, Ana Veydó; Van guide René Montero, Yaguarundi Travels
Fieldwork base: Hotel Señorial, Aguazul, Department of Casanare

• Visit with Magdalena Plazas and Arnulfo Pinto in their home in Cumaral
• Meet with Félix Chaparro and Cristián Rosillo at the cultural center in Aguazul
• Join Félix with Argemiro Pirabán and a couple of musicians at his ranch, hato La Graciela in Aguazul

Field notes:
In Cumaral, we visit with Magdalena Plazas and Arnulfo Pinto in their home, which Arnulfo has turned into a museum of ranching implements. After Arnulfo gives us a tour, they do some dance demonstrations in their living room, dressed in traditional llanero outfits.

We then drive to Aguazul where we meet Félix and Cristián at the cultural center. Later we meet rancher Argemiro Pirabán, who invites us to breakfast the next day. Felix makes some calls to see if we can arrange sleeping at his ranch, hato La Graciela, but we would need hammocks and mosquito nets, so we simply decide to go to the ranch for some music and dancing, and then sleep in the hotel.

At the ranch, Félix shows us around the place and the botalón, the post they use for roping the cattle. We also walk by the river looking at the local birds. We then join the rest of the group in the caney,  a thatched open salon, where Freiman Cárdenas (he participated with Grupo Cimarron in the 2009 Música de las Américas Folklife Festival Program), Cristián, Felix, Carlos, and other musicians play while others dance. Ana shows Cristina some joropo steps.

—Olivia Cadaval, curator

Photo caption:
The entrance to Hato La Graciela in Aguazul, Department of Casanare. Photo by María Angélica Rodríguez Ibáñez

Travelers: Olivia Cadaval, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Juanita García, Janeth Reyes, and María Angélica Rodríguez, Carlos Rojas, Ana Veydó; Van guide René Montero, Yaguarundi Travels
Fieldwork base: Hotel Casanare, Maní, Department of Casanare

• Visit Argemiro Pirabán at his ranch in Vereda la Esmeralda, Aguazul
• Visit with Víctor Espinel at a restaurant in Maní
• Drive with Víctor to his hato, or ranch
• Return to Bogotá the following day

Field notes:
We drive to Vereda la Esmeralda in Aguazul to have breakfast at Algemiro’s fundo—beef soup with potatoes and plantains, tinto (black coffee), agua panela (raw sugared water), and oranges from the garden. We then go with his wife to see a milking demonstration; she is anxious because it was already ten o’clock and the cow was very restless. We ask her to sing to the cow; she explained that they name the cows based on their physical characteristics. Algemiro gives us a demonstration of rope-making and hide-drying; he shows us how to spin tops and play other llanero games. His granddaughter videotapes him as he demonstrates. We visit the stables—it is like a museum with all the old traditional saddles, ropes, and other ranching implements hanging.

We drive to Maní to meet Víctor Espinel at a restaurant. He decides to invite us to his hato; so we pick up some beer and start out, but the van gets stuck in a muddy rut on the road just before we arrive; Eventually Víctor’s friend helps us out with his tractor, but meanwhile we take out the case of beer, use them as seats and Félix and Carlos play while Víctor sings traditional llanero ranching songs. At one point, a dog comes up and harmonizes with Víctor. After much pushing and shoving and mud all over us, Víctor’s friend pulls the van out of the mud and after a few more songs and beer with his friend, we are on our way. But three minutes later we are stuck again and the tractor is gone. Someone goes after the tractor but he is out of fuel, so we run to the main highway and stop a truck who sells us some fuel in a bottle. Off we go and sleep at the Hotel Casanare in Maní. The owner is related to Víctor.

—Olivia Cadaval, curator

Photo caption:
Maní Landscape. Photo by María Angélica Rodríguez Ibáñez

Travelers: Olivia Cadaval, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Charles Weber, Juanita García, and Ana María Arango
Fieldwork base: Hotel Casa de Encuentros, Quibdó

• Visit with brothers Migdonio and Alirio Rivas in their instrument-making workshop
• Visit to the shop of the craft cooperative Red de Mujeres Chocoanas
• Visit with Madolia de Diego, elder specialist of Chocoana culture
• Lunch at la Paila de la Abuela
• Musical gathering at Casa de Encuentros with chirimía music ensembles Golpe Femenino, Tanguí, and La Contundencia

Field notes:
We visit with the brothers Migdonio and Alirio Rivas in their instrument-making workshop. It’s raining hard. While Migdonio talks to us about making the tambora and the materials he uses, Alirio works on a redoblante. Migdonio is also a musician and plays with chirimía bands for celebrations, such as La Fiesta de San Antonio or La Virgen del Carmen. He explains, “My father was a rustic carpenter. He worked on ships, boats, houses. I absorbed it as a child, and later on, I realized that was what I wanted to do and I developed my skills. I had a great desire to learn and I taught myself to play.” He now teaches his daughter to make instruments. He explains that the redoblante was first made with wood, but now iron and tin are more commonly used. You use the skin of tatabro, or wild pig, for the drum head of the tambora chocoana.  For the body, you use balsa wood or cedro macho (type of cedar)—it affects the clarity of the sound, the resonance. Porous wood dampens the sound. He uses a mold to shape the tambora. “A good drum has a clean sound.”

In the evening at the Casa de Encuentros, where we are staying, we enjoy a musical evening with a great meal and presentations by chirimía ensembles Golpe Femenino, Tangui y La Contundencia. After each group performs, we interview their leaders. For the Grupo Femenino it has been a challenge to play—it is not traditional for a woman to play tambora.  However, some musicians like Leonidas Valencia, director of the Chirimia Contundencia, have been very supportive. They call themselves “a semillero” (seed starters), offering music classes to young girls. “Golpe Femenino is a home with its doors open.”

—Olivia Cadaval, curator

Photo caption:
Brothers Alirio and Migdonio Rivas make instruments used in a chirimía ensemble in their workshop. Photo by Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution

Travelers: Olivia Cadaval, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Charles Weber, Juanita García, and Ana María Arango
Fieldwork base: Hotel de Andagoya, Andagoya

• Visit with hairdresser Ziomara Asprilla in her home in Istmina
• Visit with Héctor Rodríguez, director of the Fundación Cultural de Andagoya, who accompanies us to see the azoteas, or raised gardens
• Visit to a rehearsal with the Cantaoras de Alabaos

Field notes:
We arrive in Andagoya in the rain, but in this region it always rains. We had to carry our luggage across a pedestrian bridge that spans the San Juan River. This river and bridge used to segregate the Americans from the locals back when mining companies came to Colombia to strip the land of its mineral resources. Now the company is gone, but the Mississippi-style houses they built and the Afro-Colombian community that converged to work there remain. Hector Rodriguez, the director of one of the traditional music groups, and his young daughter Melany meet up with us and escort us to our hotel. We walk down unpaved roads, up a series of stairs, and past a soccer game being played on a large fenced field.

We are anxious to see some azoteas, raised herb and flower gardens iconic to the Pacific region, so they take us to the edge of town where they are grouped together. Charlie and I manage to get an interview with an owner of one of the azoteas, while Olivia questions another. I was interested to learn that the beds are raised on trunks or guadua (bamboo) poles to keep the chickens from eating the crops. Azotea gardeners tie plastic bags to the legs of the garden to prevent ants and other pests from reaching the plants without using expensive pesticides. Some of the herbs they grow include cilantrocimarron (a regional coriander), basil, thyme, and green onions.

—Cristina Díaz-Carrera, curatorial assistant

Photo caption:
The pedestrian bridge that connects the town of Andagoya over the San Juan River. Photo by Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution

Travelers: Olivia Cadaval, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Charles Weber, Juanita García, and Ana María Arango
Fieldwork base: Hotel Pueblo Viejo, Tadó

• Visit the stream in Andagoya with Fulvia Ruíz for a pan-mining demonstration
• Stop at restaurant on the banks of the Juan River for lunch on the way to Tadó
• Visit La Escuela de Música Tradicional de Tadó for a performance of youth dance and music groups

Field notes:
One of the singers we met last night, Fulvia Ruíz, agreed to give us a demonstration of how gold is mined in the river with a batea, a large shallow wooden pan. It was a spur of the moment decision, but because we are uncertain of being able to fit this type of demonstration into our itinerary later, we decide to go. We follow her along the muddy banks, slowly making our way to the river without the rubber boots we bought specifically for this venture. Not everyone can follow the increasingly challenging terrain, especially in the rain, and Charlie and I (carrying cameras) decide to go forward without the larger group to get some contextual video and photos. At one point I step into a deep hole and lose a green flip flop to the mud. Fulvia helps me fish it out and trades me her rubber boots for my sandals since she can better navigate the river banks.

Once we get to the river, there is another woman panning for gold on the shore. A friend of Fulvia’s holds an umbrella up for us to keep the camera from getting wet. We video tape Fulvia explaining and demonstrating the technique for sifting gold flecks out of the river’s silt. It is long and hard work to collect anything. Apparently, before the strip mining companies came in, gold could be found in more abundance by those who used traditional and non-invasive mining techniques. Although it is still practiced, it is often not a worthwhile use of time.

—Cristina Díaz-Carrera, curatorial assistant

Photo caption:
A woman pans for gold in the San Juan River in Andagoya. Photo by Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution

Travelers: Olivia Cadaval, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Charles Weber, Juanita García, and Ana María Arango

• Visit the ASINCHE archive on regional music at the University of Colombia in Quibdó
• Visit with jeweler Francisco Mena in José Harry Copete’s filigree workshop
• Lunch at the Restaurante Brisas del Atrato on the banks of Atrato River
• Return to Bogotá

Field notes:
In the morning, we interview jeweler Francisco Mena in his workshop Joyería Chín. We were originally supposed to meet with his colleague, who works out of the same shop, but he did not arrive until later. Even though Francisco had clients and friends coming in and out of the shop for repairs and conversation, he graciously allows us to video tape him demonstrating the process of melting gold and shaping it into a piece. The work bench he uses has various drawers that lock and is the same as those we saw in the Mompox filigree workshops. It will be important to build or source something similar for the Festival. I take pictures of various specialized tools involved in the process.

Compared to the shops and workshops we saw in Mompox, Joyería Chin has a less polished and more rustic feel. Instead of tourists perusing glass cases filled with hundreds of pieces, locals in Quibdó come by to ask for custom items or for the repair of a piece. It will be interesting to see how the contrasts will be played out if jewelers from both Mompox and Quibdó end up being invited.

—Cristina Díaz-Carrera, curatorial assistant

Photo caption:
Jeweler Francisco Mena's work space. Photo by Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution