Of Time and Tropics
When famed Dutch
photographer Hannes Walraffen decided to publish a book of his photography that
depicts some of the history of Honduras,
he recruited his friend, the Honduran novelist Julio Escoto, to supply the
needed verbiage for the project. Escoto in turn suggested contacting the
country’s premier musician, Guillermo Anderson, to write and record a CD with a
complimentary theme to include in the book, creating a kind of multi-media
package.
Max Urso is the
founder of Costa Norte Records, the music label that puts out Anderson’s albums. Urso liked the idea of
releasing Anderson’s CD separately, so he brought Guillermo back into the
studios in La Ceiba and Tegucigalpa to add some new songs and tweak a few of
the existing ones to create an album that would stand on its own as an
independent, marketable entity. The final result is a seventeen song epic,
spanning centuries of coastal culture, including the artist’s own memories.
Appropriately, the eighty minute opus is entitled “Of Time and Tropics”.
In his past eight
albums, Guillermo Anderson has pursued a unique theme on each disc, with a
distinct sound for each venture. For his new CD, he draws from each of these
influences, along with some new sounds as well. In the liner notes for the
album, novelist Escoto speaks of the “richness of his (Anderson’s) musicality, based in local roots,
but also his inconformity with what exists, the contemporary fresh air about it
and the sweetness of his poetic vein”. The first track on the album, “Wooden
Floor” is a perfect example of that sweetness, as Anderson conjures up his own childhood and
adolescent memories that were witnessed by the floor in his house. How sweet is
that?
Other songs visit
the old banana railway, port bars and seafarers, fiestas and carnivals. Anderson handles these various topics with a milieu of
musical styles, ranging from acoustic and Latin rock to the indigenous
Garifuna, all with a Caribbean texture to
them. I think that sometimes Anderson’s
storytelling overshadows his incredible voice and very talented guitar work,
not to mention his gift for meshing these three components into songs that are
distinctly his and his alone. His new role as historian fits right into this
menagerie, becoming another color of his tapestry.
Anderson is assisted throughout the album by
long-time associate Eduardo “Guayo” Cedeno on electric and acoustic guitars,
percussion and an instrument called the caramba, a type of bass using a gourd
as the soundbox. As he has done on previous albums, Anderson also uses the chorus of
schoolchildren from the Garifuna classrooms in Sambo Creek. Along with a host
of other guests on saxophone, vocals, percussion and a variety of indigenous
instruments, the end product stands as an homage to Honduran history and
culture. Guillermo, in fact, has said that when writing the lyrics for this
project, he did so “as if writing for a film”.
In Guanacaste,
all Guillermo Anderson and all Costa Norte CDs are available exclusively at
Jaime Peligro in Playa Tamarindo, where they will gladly sample the music for
their customers. Any comments concerning this article are welcome.
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