B o l a N e w s Heading for 20 Years The second half of 2008 arrived sooner than anticipated and brought with it new perspectives and short-, medium-, and long-term plans that will lead us into a dynamic and creative stage and we move toward our 20th anniversary in February 2010. This coincides with the Centennial and Bicentennial of the Mexican Revolution and Mexican Independence. We’re working on several projects such as production of a new edition of our first recordings: ¡Viva la Música Mexicana! Volumes I, II, III, and IV, Arte vocal e instrumental nicolaíta. These came out originally on cassette and were forgotten with the advent of the compact disc. Another will be the editing of a double album that will be a compendium of educational songs that will be distributed to elementary and junior high schools of the Michoacán Education Secretary per the suggestion of Doctor Armando Carrillo González, Director of PROCREA. Other important plans with which we will have PROCREA’s support include the creation of a commemorative songbook with our most representative songs, accompanied by a memoire with anecdotes, triumphs, and failures during our two decades of intense work. It will contain a collection of photographs as well as notes and graphic materials like posters and handbills from our most memorable concerts. There will also be an extensive tour of Michoacán and the interior of the Mexican Republic. To complement the other projects, we’re already working on a new album that will be innovative and will, without a doubt, mark a before and after in the history of the group. All these projects should show concrete results within the year, to be ready when we begin our twentieth anniversary. New Album Our new album, called Antología 18 años, will (finally) be released in the next few days. It was originally to have been called Antoligía 15 años, but this recording, produced by the Secretaría de Cultura of Michoacán, stayed locked in the bureaucratic freezer for two and a half years due to lack of funds for its production. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, this recording is part of a series of ten that will come out under the title of Heritage Recordings, presenting musicians representing different musical expressions of Michoacán. These include: Juan Reynoso, Juan Alzate, Jorge Reyes, Rocío Vega, Orquesta Antigua de Quinceo, Crescenciana Borja, Niños Cantores de Morelia, Ensamble Enrico Carusso, Dueto Zacán and Los Carácuaro. The fourteen pieces that encompass our contribution are: Canto a mi tierra, Recordándote y Aleluya p’urhepecha by José Alfredo Barrera Próspero; Morena del alma mía, by Víctor Hugo Barriga and José Alfredo Barrera Próspero; Un día en el bosque, Vuela, Canto indígena, Tinku, Canción por el agua and Nos llegó la educación, by José Luis López Pedraza, Canción de Guzmán Palacio by José Luis Almada; Los deseos de la muerte by Alejandro Pico; Atziri by Candelario Ramírez Fuerte; Bola suriana de la muerte de Don Emiliano Zapata, by Armando Liszt y Graciela Amador. Tour At Our Doorstep In mid-August we began a tour of Denmark and Sweden in which we are giving some 40 concerts during our two-month stay. These include forums from large festivals to presentations in cultural centers and other venues. Among the events is the 4th European Social Forum in Malmö, Sweden, and the Go Global Nord Festival in the north of Denmark. In addition, we are going to share the stage during some of these concerts with our friends Rasmus Lyberth and Ofelia Medina. During this tour we’ll have the chance to promote our new album Antología 18 años with cultural organizations and with the Danish and Swedish press. In addition, we’ll have the opportunity to spend time with outstanding musicians from other countries performing at the festivals. As in our previous tours abroad, we represent the University of Michoacán, the SUEUM union of the University of Michoacán, and the Public School Secretariat of Michoacán. A Penguin in the Bola We have a new sound technician! Enrique Pérez Martínez, a.k.a. El Pingüino, replaces Tomás Félix de la Torre at the console. Enrique is very experienced and, as a result, we are now experimenting with multimedia. So, we welcome him to the group and wish him luck and success in his new responsibilities. Music Workshops For the past month, we have had the opportunity to give quena and guitar classes to members and family members of the SUEUM union of the University of Michoacán, for which we are quite thankful, as this gives us the chance to enter into a new kind of dialogue through music, as well as to put our knowledge and experiences into practice, always with an emphasis on traditional music. We are going to continue with these workshops upon our return from Scandinavia in October.