Muziekpublique

Courses overview

Ensemble música afrocolombiana – Parent/Child

Aurore Lacrosse

Juan Pardo

MABO - Lycée Maria-Boodschap - Rue de la Braie 22, 1000 Bruxelles

PARENT-CHILD COURSE – BAILES CANTAOS FROM COLOMBIA (FROM 8 YEARS OLD)

In this course, parents and children explore together the repertoire of the Bailes Cantaos, festive musical traditions originating from the Colombian Caribbean. Through singing and traditional Afro-Colombian percussion, this course offers a lively, joint immersion into an orally transmitted heritage passed down from generation to generation.

The teaching method is directly inspired by oral transmission: each parent-child duo will be able to discover all elements of this format (drums, smaller percussion instruments, singing, chorus). We will learn different rhythms: Tambora, Berroche, Guacherna, Cumbia, Bullerengue, and more.

We begin with traditional percussion and circle games to grow together in this musical practice. It is an opportunity for families to experience a rich musical journey, rooted in a specific region, history, and an ever-evolving culture.

BAILES CANTAOS FROM COLOMBIA

The Bailes Cantaos originated in the rural Afro-descendant contexts of the region around the Magdalena River, on the edge of the colonial haciendas. They are both ceremony, celebration, resistance, and cultural transmission. Through voice, drums, and dance, a collective memory is brought back to life. It is also a social space full of shared joy and creativity. The traditional format includes drums (Tambora, Alegre, Llamador), smaller percussion instruments (bells, maracas, guacharacas), a lead vocal, and powerful, repetitive choral singing that invites everyone to participate – young and old.

No musical knowledge is required. We have some instruments available, but we also ask participants to bring their own percussion instrument to the course.

Aurore Lacrosse

Aurore Lacrosse (Belgium) is a singer. She learned to sing the Bailes Cantaos in Colombia and has been sharing this music in Europe ever since. Since 2014, she has worked with Juan Pardo, both in Afro-Colombian folklore groups and in musical fusion projects between Europe and Latin America. Together, they founded Turikumwe (Belgium), participated in Los Ojitos de Mary (Colombia) and gave workshops at various venues (UK, maison de l’Amérique latine, l’Acravate). They also have a composition project called Sonsoleil.

Juan Pardo

Juan Pardo is a Colombian percussionist. In his music, he integrates Colombian rhythms with different musical formats and genres (rock, cumbia chichera, French chanson, etc.).

Thanks to the traditional Afro-Colombian music of the Caribbean coast, he learned to play the tambora and the Alegre. First in the streets of Bogotá, then from the 2000s on travelling to the traditional ‘maestros’ of Uraba Antioqueño and the Loba region. There, he shared their way of life, between fishing, farming and music. They agreed to pass on their knowledge on one condition: that he would in turn teach this music to the world.

Since then, he has continued to do so, both in Colombia and Europe. He has given workshops at La tentation, La Maison de l’Amérique Latine and Sound Resist, among others. He has also participated in a number of Afro-Colombian folk groups: Candelilla brava (Cumbia), El Léon Pardo (gaita), Los ojitos de Mary (Bailes Cantaos) and fusion groups Visita Corta (folk rock), Sonsoleil (world music), Tropical Muisca (cumbia chicha-rock). In Brussels, he founded the group Turikumwe, a traditional music format of Bailes Cantaos, bringing this music to life in Europe.