Thank You for your sponsorship with the purchase of Package A at the 2nd Annual Festival Del Cuatro in California

Hi,

I want to begin by Thanking You for your support and sponsorship. The purchase of Package A for this 2nd Annual Festival Del Cuatro enabled us to reach part of our goal in funding this event. Purchase of each package A entitles you to a copy of this years festival poster signed by Alvin Medina, Edwin Colon Zayas and Yomo Toro. It also entitles you to a copy of the CD of the music recorded live that evening.

I am sure you are anxious to get the poster and the CD from the Festival. I can assure you that we are working as fast as we can to get the CD mastered and produced. Like everything we have done in the past 3 yrs, we depend on volunteer work. The sound and video editing is being done pro-bono by volunteers. Last Sunday we spent over 5 hours editing the sound and working on making the Master copy of the recorded music. We are not done yet, we are still working on it and as soon as we complete the Master we will produce your copies before we post the CD's for sale on the website! :-)

You are in for a treat, the poster is beautifully printed on heavy poster stock, with the musicians signatures. I don't have to tell you how these posters will become collectors items since not only are they limited, but its signed by the musicians. The music in the CD will jog your memory of the events that night!

Some of you purchased the package for yourself and one of you purchased several package A's as a donation to the Festival. It is people like you that make these events possible. I spoke with you over the phone and really felt your passion and story of how you missed this years Festival due to relocation out of state. We can imagine how depressed you must have been, not being able to attend the festival this year. I recall last year you drove 8 hrs to come to the festival. While this year you could not attend, you still made a notable contribution. And The Festival Del Cuatro Thanks you.

Please note that we have received your emails regarding the posters and the CD. We will send these to you as soon as the CD has been produced. We hope to have it all completed before the end of October.

We Thank You for your patience. If you feel like you need to speak with someone, please send us an email with your phone number and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank You,
Roberto Rivera Ajee Ortiz
Festival Del Cuatro and Festival Del Cuatro
President Treasurer

www.festivaldelcuatro.org

Raving Review of the 2nd Annual Festival Del Cuatro in California

Ok Folks,

Have you ever felt that you were missing out on something from back home? That’s exactly what you felt when you left the 2nd Annual Festival del Cuatro held on September 1, 2007 at the remarkably beautiful San Gabriel Civic Auditorium in downtown San Gabriel. First of all, they could not have chosen a more suitable location – it almost felt as though we were inside the Ateneo Puertorriqueño in San Juan. To say that the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium is a beautiful structure does not do it justice – let’s just leave it at that.

I know that some will say (complain, perhaps), that it was too hot inside – however, my purpose is to review the entire package, not just focus on one or two negative aspects of the festival.

The evening started out with Roberto Rivera, the quite understated (tremendously talented and well educated individual) emcee and unofficial guiro player, who also happens to be the President of the Festival del Cuatro – he introduced the lovely ladies of the NACOPRW (National Conference of Puerto Rican Women), who came on stage and sang an “Aguinaldo” parranda style – a lovely way to kick things off.

Immediately thereafter, Alvin Medina on the cuatro & his wife Elsie as the primary vocalist was a tremendous way to open the show. I’ve heard the words “exciting,” “virtuoso,” and “prodigy” used to describe Alvin Medina’s talent on the Puerto Rican cuatro – there has got to be a better word! His flawless technique, precise and blindingly fast notes (which probably reached 64th notes!) – there’s just no way to describe how well this young man plays his instrument – actually, I’d say he “feels” it more than he plays it. His entire group was enjoyable, and his wife’s voice was very pleasant and melodic. I also want to mention that Alvin has vocal chops as well. The moment that made my heart stop was Alvin’s rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude #6 in D Minor – it was always a given that the cuatro is a beautiful instrument – Alvin Medina’s renditions, especially the classical music, left absolutely no doubt about the cuatro’s versatility in the right hands.

Next up was the world-renown “salsero” Yomo Toro. Now, it’s obvious that Yomo has slowed down quite a bit – he’s not nearly as flawless and fast as Alvin, and this is the consequence of what happens as we age. However, Yomo is still a “tartaro” on the cuatro – he came up with some very cool little riffs that just brought us all back to the glory days of Fania, and he also transported us back to the 1800’s style beauty of Puerto Rican country music. The biggest show-stopper was his vocalist Dhalia Silva – who steals her own part of the show with her emotive renditions of songs by La Lupe and other great Puerto Rican folk music – her body movements and facial expressions matched the powerful songs she expertly interpreted.

The crème de la crème came with Edwin Colón Zayas – a masterful, artful, and well-studied cuatrista. His renditions brought many of us who were partly raised in Puerto Rico back to the days of Tony Croato (of Nelly & Tony fame), and the old trovadores who made the seis con décima a national staple on the island. His group Taller Campesino is impressive enough – especially with his vocalist, former child prodigy Luis Daniel Colón – but the truly impressive moments of the evening came when Edwin’s daughter Nelian joined him on stage. The memorable moments included Nelian having to remove her shoes because they made her taller than her dad (he couldn’t cradle behind her to play their numbers unless she came down a little), and their masterful interpretations on the combination cuatro con tiple and the “cuatro manos” piece on the cuatro – absolutely amazing!

The grand finale included the three principal performers on the cuatro – in a “dueling cuatros” – if you will, but they were more friendly than dueling; they were a cornucopia of freestyle and improvised riffs that dazzled the senses.

All in all, a fabulous evening, and a reminder that Puerto Rican culture is alive and well, and that we can never forget where we came from. It was also terrific to witness so many of “mi gente” dressed in diverse outfits – from casual Californian to typical traditional Puerto Rican outfits, and everything in between. If you weren’t able to attend, you missed a tremendous opportunity to reinvigorate your internal PR spirit – I felt connected to everyone there, despite the fact that I hardly knew anyone personally.

Make it a point to attend next year’s concert, which will feature an all-female cuatrista ensemble – all the performers next year are women! (Nelian Colón, Edwin Colón Zayas’ daughter will be one of the performers) – I’m not going to miss it!

As always, this review is strictly my own, and does not reflect the views or opinions of the Festival del Cuatro, or the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women. I hope this helps those who were there remember the names of the performers, and make those who missed it feel sorry they did. Feel free to pass this review along to anyone you think it will help. Also, if you find there are any inaccuracies with this review, please send me any corrections so that I can post these and forward them on.

Sabor,

Ed Martinez

… Espera el Café…

Follow me to House of Puerto Rico San Diego

Join Usfor these very special events!
House of Puerto Rico San Diego2172 Pan American RoadSan Diego, California 92101619-234-3445
Upcoming Events
Oye Boricua: A Celebration of Puerto Rican Music
HPRSD 2007 Annual Lawn Program
Dear Roberto,
We have two very special events in San Diego coming up this weekend and we want you to be a part of it. Please join us on
Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 3:00 - 8:00PM at the Hot Monkey Love Cafe for the HPRSD College Student / Youth Committee's Oye Boricua: A Celebration of Puerto Rican Music. Our youth invites you for a wonderful event with Salsa lessons, a Bombazo, and great Salsa music. All donations collected help the development of youth programs and scholarships.
Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 2:00 - 3:15PM at the International Cottages Stage in Balboa Park, San Diego for the House of Puerto Rico Annual Lawn Program. We'll be sharing our musical culture with Manny Cepeda's Ritmo Caribe and Areito Borincano. A treat for all !! Come early! At 10AM we will have a food booth with delicious Puerto Rican food until we sell out. Also, stop by and visit the HPRSD 'La Casita' Cottage Museum and join the Domino Club for a game or two.
Pass the word to all your family & friends!!

We look forward to seeing you at these events.

Aileen Alvarado-Swaisgood, PresidentHouse of Puerto Rico San Diego
quepasa@houseofpuertorico.com


Oye Boricua!A Celebration of Puerto Rican Music

Schedule:
3:00 Salsa Lessons with Rick 'La Voz' Chriss (Get there early !!!)
4:00 Bombazo with Areito Borincano
5:00 Salsa with DJ Martha - The Lady of Salsa
6:00 Salsa with Manny Cepeda's Ritmo Caribe
Hot Monkey Love CafeSeptember 8, 20076875 El Cajon Boulevard San Diego, California3:00 - 8:00PM
Map
HPRSD 2007 Annual Lawn ProgramPuerto Rican Music & Dance

International Cottages StageSeptember 9, 2007Balboa Park San Diego, CaliforniaFooth Booth: 10AM - 2Pm (until food sells out)Show (Free): 2:00PM - 3:15PM (bring lawn chairs)
Cottage Open House: 12:00 - 4:00PM
Domino Club: 12:00 - 4:00PM
Map
Share your culture! Pass the word about these events.

Use the Forward EMail link below to send a copy of this email.

This event is supported by www.festivaldelcuatro.org

2nd Annual Festival Del Cuatro in So Cal a huge success!!

Mi genteeeeeee!
The Festival Del Cuatro organization extends their deepest and most grateful Thank You for saying "Presente" at the festival. The festival was a great improvement from last year. And we expect to do the same next year. We expect to use what we learned this year to make the festival better. Our organization will take a couple weeks to recoup from it all and we will then provide you with highlights of the event and begin planning for next years.
Performance by Alvin and Elsie Medina, Yomo Toro and his group, Edwin Colon Zayas y su Taller Campesino and Nelian Colon were outstanding. I was getting chills from watching these musicians perform. You can see the passion in their performance.
We saw people in the crowd crying during Edwin and Nelian Colon performance. That should serve as an example, that we should never be too busy for our children. Anything you do with your children is great. I've tried for both my children to play the cuatro. I have been unsuccessfull and gave up that idea and developed another. My 14 yr old daughter and I have danced, tap dance, for the past three years. My son is learning how to build the Puerto Rican Cuatro in my shop in Moorpark. Don't give up, maybe you need to do with your children not what you like, but something that you both would. :-)
Feedback received so far is no less than outstanding!!
Con Cariño,
Roberto Rivera
www.festivaldelcuatro.org