Chilean Artist Pascuala Ilabaca Releases Music Video and Announces North American Tour

Chilean composer, vocalist, accordionist and pianist Pascuala Ilabaca has released the song “Por qué se fue la Paloma” (Why did the dove leave?) on video. “Por qué se fue la Paloma” combines huayno (traditional Andean musical genre) music with lyrics that address the search for independence and freedom, contributing a feminist viewpoint to Latin American roots music.

Pascuala says about the new composition: “The song was born from the contradiction I felt existed in the huayno genre, which I like a lot, but that has lyrics that refer to the metaphor of a dove that ‘abandons’ the nest of an ‘ungrateful’ female lover. This made me want to in some way respond to those questions so often sung within the traditional repertory: ‘why did you leave, ungrateful woman, why are you abandoning me?’ And respond with ‘Por qué se fue la paloma’ by writing a huayno song that speaks of freedom, of not allowing others to decide or design your life, of not feeling like a traitor or ungrateful for leaving the nest (a relationship, a tradition or a territory) in order to enable your own journey.”

Por qué se fue la Paloma’s creative process coincided with an artistic residency with the Aymaran dancer Vanessa González in Valparaíso, where Pascuala lives, through which a creative process between the two artists was born. “I had the opportunity to learn more about the traditional huayno and also address the problematic reality that creative and curious women face in repressive and traditional societies like our own.“

The video, in which Pascuala dances together with Vanessa González, was filmed in Limache by Pablo Miranda. The artist and activist La Zurcida is the artistic director and costume designer, and the choreography and script were developed by Pascuala and Vanessa. The single’s cover was illustrated by the Pampina artist Sabina Ahumada.

¨No es pa´ mi cuello el collar, [This necklace is not for my neck]
ni mi casa un palomar, [Nor my house an aviary]
así como soy paloma, toca volar¨ [and as I am a Dove, it is time to fly]

Ilabaca noted: “I feel deeply represented in this song because when I decide to create, communicate and disseminate my work, I feel very exposed to opinions, expectations, judgement and all kinds of projections from others, but it’s never too late to take off a necklace that chokes you. There are many traditional cultures in which people who decide to do things in a different way are later disowned, or to say it another way, “if you leave, don’t bother coming back,” when they do not comply with their expected role. In this song, we propose the freedom to design one’s life without having to renounce what is already theirs: `Although I am from the sky, I also have a place where sometimes I return to nest.’”

Pascuala y Fauna’s La Curiosidad Tour Schedule:

June 16 – Real Art Ways – Hartford, CT
June 17 – Town Hall Theater – Middlebury, VT
June 18 – Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity – Northampton, MA
June 19 – Bossa Bistro & Lounge – Washington, DC
June 21 – Sultan Room – Brooklyn, NY
June 22 – The Stationary Factory – Dalton, MA
June 24 – Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth – Hanover, NH
June 25 – Martyrs’ – Chicago, IL
June 28 – Sinnissippi Gardens – Rockford, IL
June 30 – Vashon Center for the Arts – Vashon, WA
July 1 – Fremont Abbey – Seattle, WA
July 2 – Alberta Rose Theatre – Portland, OR
July 5 – Montreal Jazz Festival – Montreal, QC
July 7–9 – SunFest – London, ON
July 10 – Kultrun – Kitchener, ON
July 12 – Songs at Mirror Lake – Lake Placid, NY