Latin touch in Ennistymon

“It’s a long way from Clare to here” wrote songwriter, Ralph McTell, famously. Now, two local musicians plan to shorten that divide by way of an upcoming cross-cultural musical exchange.

By John Rainsford

 

Ennistymon’s Tessa O’Connor and Paddy Mulcahy from Lahinch plan to blend Irish traditional music with Latin American folk songs in a series of national engagements this summer. Indeed, the duo travelled to South America recently where they met a number of like-minded Latino musicians.

Their exchange project involved working with those who form a crucial part of the Irish musical community in South America. A series of great concerts followed with some amazing friendships being made along the way.

Both Paddy and Tessa were in South America (visiting Argentina, Bolivia and Peru) from January until mid-March, where they played in a number of social centres and Irish bars (including the Fahy Club in Argentina)- the biggest of which was in La Paz, Bolivia.

“This winter, I was lucky enough to travel to South America with local musician and good friend, Paddy Mulcahy to perform around the continent. Los Paddy’s de Las Pampas (The Paddy’s of the Pampas) was the title that we gave ourselves,” Tessa explains.

“The name was derived from the Pampas grasslands surrounding Buenos Aires which drew so many Irish people to farm there in the 1800s. The Paddys, of course, were, all of us, with and without Irish blood, who have Irish music flowing through their veins.

“Originally, I thought that I would escape the Irish winter, and we certainly did that, but only in the weather sense as many of our days, and even more of our nights were spent meeting the Irish community over there and swapping tunes and songs.

“The Burren Chernobyl Project is also very close to my heart and we are seeking funding for Cherven children’s orphanage and Tarasiki adult asylum where a group of us are travelling in August. In discussions with Paddy Mulcahy, it was decided to foster links between Irish traditional musicians in Clare and Latin American music lovers, we met on the road, by organising a series of bilateral concerts.”

The Burren Chernobyl Project (BCP) was established in 1993 to help the young victims of radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion of April 26, 1986. Projects involve assisting families and children who are enduring the effects of exposure to radiation and the other social and economic problems endemic to Belarus.

The project works closely with its Belarusian counterparts and all development workers in the understaffed orphanages. They are supported by regular teams of Irish healthcare volunteers who oversee the programme and provide support.

Volunteer assisted programmes help people with disabilities, those living in poverty and the sick. Funds are directed to where they are most needed and include construction, upgrading existing buildings, bringing children to Ireland for medical care and recuperation.

In 2005 a group of plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters, plasterers and general handymen carried out significant development work in Tarasiki. Since 1994 the project has been involved in organising children’s visits to Ireland. These include children from Cherven, Gorodishche, Gomel, Minsk, Kobrin, Mariyna, Gorka, Lida, Pinsk and Yastrebel.

As a result of the contacts, made while on the road in South America, this July, one of the Pampas Paddys, Tommy Nelson, has agreed to cross the Atlantic Ocean to join his Irish colleagues. He will participate in a month of musical performances including those for the The Burren Chernobyl Project.
Tessa says, “Tommy Nelson plays both Irish and South American folk music and will be sporting his Charango – a sort of Bolivian Ukulele made from an Armadillo shell (ears and all!). Tommy, whose ancestors come from Ireland, is also an accomplished guitarist and he is very much behind the strength of the Irish traditional music scene in Argentina currently. To celebrate his visit and the mixing of Irish and South American cultures, we will be staging a South American evening in Ennistymon Court House.

“In Ennistymon, we already have quite an impressive presence of Latin American culture and we will be presenting a range of crafts and artwork for everyone to admire. The brilliant new Cuban band Los Gatos Negros will be performing an acoustic set which we are very excited about. Of course, there will be a performance by Los Paddy’s de Las Pampas, with the brilliant Seán O’Brien, performing renditions of Latin artists, such as Victor Jara (1932-1973), Mercedes Sosa (1935-2009), Violeta Parra (1917-1967) and others.”

Fellow musician, Paddy Mulcahy, who originally came up with the plan to tour Latin America, believes a number of positive developments (including the ‘Burren Chernobyl Project’) have flowed from the South American venture.

He stated, “As a result of our experiences in South America we have written new songs which mix elements of both Irish and Latin American cultures. A local musician translated one of my songs into Spanish and now I do it sometimes in Spanish myself. We have been experimenting with using Irish melodies with South American rhythms and vice versa,” he said.

“The other big positive is that the project now appears to have legs. We have one of the musicians we were working with coming here for a tour in July and we will return there, ourselves, next February/March, with the goal of eventually recording an album.”

Indeed, so successful was the enterprise that Paddy and Tessa even appeared on Bolivian TV- an event that Paddy has recorded for posterity on Youtube.

The Youtube video also included an interview (with Paddy) filmed in Ennistymon over looking a beautiful local waterfall. It was shot by Clare Filmmaker, Fergus Tighe, who like Paddy, is from Lahinch himself. Fergus also made the well known film The Clash of the Ash in 1987.

“Fergus really helped me get across the ethnology, translation and history of my music,” said Paddy.

“With this video, for the first time, I really feel as if I have put this aspect of my music across to the audience.

“I cannot thank Fergus enough for the great work he did on this. I think it has got some where in the region of 1,100 hits on Youtube. The song “lay there, little baby” is also covered, in addition, to our Bolivian TV appearance, so it is a really good portal for my work to date.

“The Bolivian show (Tele Mañana on Channel C) was more like a version of The Afternoon Show or Live at 3. The TV clip has actually helped much more back home by creating an interest in our music in Ireland.
“For example, I was in Limerick city a few weeks after it aired on Youtube and strangers came up to me asking if I was the guy on South American TV. So I think Irish people got more of a kick out of it than the South Americans. However, it has opened a lot of doors for us back here and especially amongst groups that are interested in Latin American culture.”

Paddy studied Spanish and Anthropology in Maynooth College a decade ago and travelled to Buenos Aires to work on his language skills. Although, he has had little opportunity to practice it over the last six years he is now back in training again, even watching Star Trek dubbed in Spanish to keep sharp. Paddy also sees parallels between Irish and South American history.

“There is a Limerick musician/songwriter called Larry DeCleir, whom I greatly admire,” he says. “He wrote one song about the Limerick General strike of 1919 called The Limerick Soviet which I really love and cover sometimes in my performances. Since I love history, I lean heavily toward songs that tell historical stories.

“July is a big month for us. Our friend and musician Tommy Nelson will travel over from Argentina for a series of gigs in July. I will also be back in Buenos Aires for two weeks in August where I will do a gig with Tommy on his home soil along with some of our friends there.

“The project is a long term thing so I envision many trips over and back. We have played to crowds of Bolivians who had no notion about Irish music but we were able to put on an accessible show so I am confident about continuing our success.”

Los Paddys de Las Pampas will be performing in the Wicked Chicken in Limerick on July 3; Ennistymon Court house on July 12; Mr Bradleys, in Cork, on July 18; Baker Place in Limerick on July 20 and The Exchange Bar, in Dublin on July 22. Baker Place, Ennistymon Courthouse and The Exchange Bar will all be charity events for The Burren Chernobyl Project. You can find out more about the project by going to burrenchernobyl.ie or by emailing tessa.beth.oconnor@gmail.com. To find out more about ‘Los Paddys de Las Pampas’ see Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tmK8Myh22k.