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| Colombian guitarist Nilko Andreas Guarin teaches Colombian songs and about various musical instruments at Sundukwon Orphanage in Seoul, Oct. 28. The instruments were donated to the orphanage by First Lady of Colombia Maria Juliana Ruiz when she visited Korea in August. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Colombian guitarist Nilko Andreas Guarin was greeted by the twinkling eyes of girls at the Sundukwon Orphanage in Seoul when he visited there last Thursday to introduce the charm of Colombian music.
Andreas taught them a Colombian song, "El Pescador" (The Fisherman), and how to play some Colombian instruments, the tambora, the maracas, the marimba and the guiro, which were donated to the orphanage by First Lady of Colombia Maria Juliana Ruiz when she visited Korea in August.
The girls were shy at first, but soon their hands were up in the air, trying to play the exotic instruments with the musician who came from halfway around the world. After learning the Cumbia, a type of Colombian rhythm, and singing and playing a song, they were given the title of "Cumbia players" by Andreas.
"I think that was a very beautiful gesture (for the first lady to donate the instruments) and I am really happy to close the circle. Now we are going to be able to put those instruments in practice, playing a few songs of Colombian traditional music," Andreas said in an interview with The Korea Times, Thursday.
Andreas visited Korea on the invitation of the Colombian Embassy in Seoul to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Andreas is a classical guitarist who was born and grew up in Colombia and now is based in New York, but his musical spectrum blends classical music with Colombian and Latin American music.
He started to learn cello at the age of five ― like many other children who start training for classical music very young ― but growing up with Colombian culture, especially music.
"At the National Conservatory of Music in Bogota, there always were people playing the guitar, people celebrating in a more folkloric way. I started getting interested in both worlds and maybe that's why I chose the classical guitar later in my life, because the guitar was a little closer to the spirit of Latin American music."
Andreas moved to New York to continue learning classical music and pursued his professional career there, but never lost touch with his roots. He showed strength in Latin American repertoire, presenting the Amazonas Series at Carnegie Hall in New York.
"New York is a place where you have a lot of different cultures in one place. I believe that in order to be a better classical musician, you have to understand the root of things. I like to study the roots or origins of music, so I've been handling both worlds at the same time," he said.
"When you belong to a country, when you belong to a place ― it doesn't matter how long you have lived outside ― you still have that need that will connect you to your land. So I feel very fortunate to be able to speak out my soul through my art."
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| Colombian guitarist Nilko Andreas Guarin gives a lecture on Colombian music at Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul, Oct. 27. Courtesy of the Embassy of Colombia to Korea |
Colombians made the best out of the native South American, European and African tradition, resulting in the rich musical culture of the country, he said.
"Colombia is very rich country culturally, because we have this incredible mixture of three different cultures. We have the native Colombians who have been in that land for thousands of years and developed these beautiful musical languages. Then the Spaniards arrived in the 15th century, also with the Africans. So this beautiful mixture of cultures got together," Andreas explained.
"It's a compound or a hybrid of many, many different influences. So that's why it's very rich."
The Colombian government puts significant effort in nurturing the cultural and creative industries, including music.
"In recent years, there has been a lot of help and interest in promoting Colombian culture and art that can portray a good face for Colombia. The government is a key figure because they can support these things to happen," Andreas said.
"I plan to keep on doing what I'm doing in terms of portraying the culture of my country, my own culture, so that we can open windows to the world and show the world what Colombia really is about."
Andreas provided a master class and played in collaboration with music students at Sookmyung Women's University, performing a wide repertoire, from classical music to traditional Colombian and Korean music, Wednesday.
"We played some Spanish, fiery music, and we also did some Argentinian music that is tango-inspired. And then we did a beautiful Korean song with a Korean singer. So everything was a hybrid of cultures, which was really beautiful to experience," Andreas said.
He believes in the power of music to connect the world.
"I believe music is one of the strongest forces of communication and unity in the world, because music, like many other art manifestations, appeals to our soul. It appeals to our sentiments and to something that we cannot intellectually comprehend. When you hear a song, then you may feel like laughing or crying or dancing. And you don't even have to understand why. You just feel it," the musician said.
"I think music can really touch the soul of people, and music talks to you in a very deep way. It's a very beautiful vehicle to pass along information that can be more universal than something intellectual. So I believe that music can unite cultures, music can unite countries and it can definitely make an impact on making a better society. Especially when adopted at a young age, the power of music opens so many doors for you."
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