Aguajes de Mar y Manglar

Taking inspiration from the mystic waters of the Naya, Yurumanguí and Achincayá rivers, Aguajes de Mar y Manglar (Marshes and Mangroves) offers an inter-generational view of the marimba music of Colombia’s Buenaventura region – there are a remarkable six generations of musicians on the album, from 94-year-old Juliana Valencia to those in their 20s. Utilising the vast environmental influences that have long aroused the writers of marimba music, along with rituals associated with life in the Pacific, this album from Cantares del Pacifico is a fine addition to the modern-day recordings of folkloric marimba music.

The album opens with ‘Chigualo’, referring to one of the traditional ceremonies in which marimba music was born: a child’s funeral. Contrary to the sombre context, the music of a chigualo is upbeat and energetic. Other styles follow, including jugas, currulaos, amadores and cantos de boga on a journey through the region’s styles.

There’s raw, ancestral singing on ‘Papachina’, virtuosic marimba on ‘Quebradita’ from the ‘Queen of Marimba de Chonta’, Eryen Korath. We then arrive at the final piece, ‘La Manigua’, a track that consists solely of the environmental sounds you’ll hear deep inside the Pacific jungle, grounding us firmly in the natural ambience that gave birth to this magical music.