Jaramar Soto was born in Mexico City. She studied music from the age of 10, and soon she discovered early music, in which she found the ideal medium for expressing herself. Jaramar’s first solo recording, Entre la Pena y el Gozo (Between Pain and Pleasure, 1993), is the result of her encounter with the music created in Spain when Moorish, Jewish and Christian cultures lived in the same territory, thus producing works of a great musical wealth.
In 1995 she began a new project: Fingir que Duermo (Pretending to Sleep), which included songs from the Sephardic Jews of Spain and Spanish composers such as king Alfonso X “The Learned (or the Wise), Juan del Enzina and Luys Milan, along with songs freshly composed on the poetry of Mexican writers from the 17th century, like Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Bernardo de Balbuena.
The arrangements and overall musical treatment, created by musical director Alfredo Sánchez, is a search for a contemporary sound without forgetting the ancient roots. This is also achieved through a combination of electronic tools and ethnic instruments.
The third of Jaramar’s solo works, Si Yo Nunca Muriera (If I Never Died, 1996) is inspired by the poetry of Nezahualcoyoti, an Aztec poet king, with music by Alfredo Sánchez.
Lenguas (Languages, 1998) her fourth project, includes new versions of songs in the ancient languages of Spain, France, Germany and Mexico. The Mexican pieces included in this work, two popular songs from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. are the starting point for Jaramar’s future project, which will consist in a series of Latin American songs. On stage, Jaramar’s voice is backed by a group of Mexican musicians playing keyboards, string instruments and assorted percussion. For some of her recording projects, Jaramar has received grants from the National Fund for Culture and Arts.
Jaramar’s show can be described as alternative music where different musical forms and periods of time mix. It is music with a great expressive force, where the form of interpretation is as important as the songs themselves. Jaramar takes advantage not only of the diverse colors and nuances of her voice but also of body movement and, occasionally, of visual and dance elements that extend the possibilities of expression.
The combination of instruments contribute to this goal as well: there is a mixture of electronic keyboards, ethnic percussion and string instruments. In Jaramar’s musical journey one can find the mystical and the sacred as well as the sensual and the profane: the regional and the ancient as well as the global and the contemporary.
In The Journey (La Travesia), Jaramar gives a musical testimony of her meeting with all those moments which have originated what we are now. This is done with a curious and playful state of mind. From their own personal positions, where ethnic and electronic instruments meet, Jaramar and her musicians review medieval pieces by Richard the Lionhearted, Alfonso X “the Learned”, Walter Vonder Vogelweide, or the anonymous monks who created what we now know as Carmina Burana.
They stop in the Spanish Palace Songbook and the Moorish-Sephardic melodies: they taste the pre-Hispanic concept of life and death through the poetry of the Mexican king Nezahualcoyotl:they glance at the Colonial poets – Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Bernardo de Balbuena – and finally arrive at the musical hybrids – “sones” from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, “huapangos”, even Venezuelan songs – that appeared in America in more recent centuries.
The musical journey is, therefore, composed of the following parts: Medieval French, German, Latin and Spanish songs. Sephardic music. Colonial poets. Nezahualcoyoti, the poet king. Mestizo songs.
Discography:
Entre La Pena y El Gozo (Grabaciones Lejos Del Paraiso, 1993)
Fingir Que Duermo (Grabaciones Lejos Del Paraiso, 1995)
Si Yo Nunca Muriera (Grabaciones Lejos Del Paraiso, 1997)
Lenguas (Opción Sónica, 1998)
A Flor De Tierra (Opción Sónica, 1999)
Nadie Creera El Incendio (Opción Sónica, 2002)
Journey – 1992–2002 (Opción Sónica, 2002)
Duerme por la noche oscura (2004)
Que mis labios te nombren (2006)
Diluvio (Discos Intolerancia, 2008)
Fiestas privadas (2011)
La Llorona (2014)
El Hilo Invisible (Fonarte Latino, 2015)
DVD
Ruta de viaje hacia un diluvio (2010)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
