Songs MANDINGUEIRO CARIMBAMBA, BERIMBAU É MANDINGA, RITUAL NATURAL & MEU BERIMBAU TEM UM SOM
Wirikuta Desert, Altiplano Potosino, México April 2019.
For the Wixárika people, which have been in the Sierra Madre Occidental for at least 15,000 years, that's the birth place of the Sun God. It's "where it came to the world", and the ritual of collecting and ceremonially consuming peyote in this land is literally woven into their origin story.
Thousands of years later, another bonfire was lit in the Wirikuta, and soon the sun went down. And as if in a charm, he would remain hidden behind the horizon in an endless moment. That night, while we were around those burning firewood, the sun had other plans.
At some point our guide, a historian from the Mexican city of Salamanca called Chui, began to sing and dance the dances of the eagle, jaguar and deer for countless hours. And I was playing a traditional instrument made from the trunk of a tree.
The high notes, the dance, the songs in native languages took us away. Until suddenly, three of us looked at each other in amazement.
Just from behind of us we all hear a very loud sound coming straight from the dry shrubs and that endemic plants known as "Caminantes del Desierto" (joshua tree).
At my side, a good friend of mine tells us that she felt very close and behind her the presence of a gigantic black eagle. And as surreal as it may seem, she added that she almost got carried away with whatever it was.
A couple of weeks later I traveled with that same friend on a tour to visit one of the so-called "100 Pueblos Mágicos de México". It was the historical village known as "Real de Catorce"
Once there, we went to visit the city’s museum, which is actually the old Mexican Currency House. And not by coincidence, in one of of the rooms a quite big painting, covering almost a whole wall caught my attention.
On that panel was painted a circle of people around a bonfire with a shaman dancing in front of it. And just behind the group was a gigantic eagle with outspread wings embracing a ceremonial circle of native americans.
For me, however, that magical day began to gain strength in me, the desire to write songs inspired by botany and especially about medicinal plants.
That was the starting point for the songs that would be recorded in a studio in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, 2021. In a weekend of September we recorded Mandingueiro Carimbamba, Berimbau é Mandinga, Ritual Natural and Meu Berimbau Tem Um Som, which compose this musical work.
lyrics
MANDINGUEIRO CARIMBAMBA
Iêee ... sou mandingueiro carimbamba / me chamam de feiticeiro / benzedor e rezadeira / yo soy brujo, soy abuela / só trato com folha verde / rapé e flôr de aroeira / ouve o som dessa maraca / a minha flauta de Uruá / vem bater teu pé no chão / sou medicina verdadeira / aí meu Deus sou a mata curandeira, camaradinho...
Iê aguinderréis
Iêee aguinderréis, camará
Iê que vai fazer
Iêee que vai fazer, camará
Iê com Gravatá
Iêee o Gravatá, camará
Iê o Pau-Brasil
Iêee o Pau-Brasil, camará
Iê Jequetibá
Iêee Jequetibá, camará
Mandacarú
Iêee Mandacarú, camará
Iê Jacarandá
Iêee Jacarandá, camará
Iê a Seringueira
Iêee a Seringueira, camará
Iê volta do mundo
Iêee volta do mundo, camará
Iê que o mundo deu
Iêee que o mundo deu, camará
Iê que o mundo dá
Iêee que o mundo dá, camará
______
BERIMBAU É MANDINGA
Voice:
Berimbau não é um pedaço de pau (2x)
Chorus:
Berimbau é mandinga (2x)
Voice:
Vem dos tempos de ioiô (2x)
Chorus:
Vem dos tempos de iaiá (2x)
Voice:
Não é pedaço de pau (2x)
Chorus:
Berimbau é mandinga (2x)
Voice:
Vem dos tempos de ioiô (2x)
Chorus:
Vem dos tempos de iaiá (2x)
______
RITUAL NATURAL
Voice:
Prepara a Cabaça / Assanha a Viola / Meu Ganzá / É feito de Cipó / Minha Baqueta / É de Ticum
I was born in Rio de Janeiro, I started in capoeira when I was 16 years old. My artistic and creative training goes mainly
through this art form. From there I learned music, film and theatre. Since 1996 I have been going back and forth from Brazil to the United Kingdom, and recently to Mexico, where I currently live. I worked in slums in Rio, theatre in London and productions in Asia and Scotland....more
