Paloma Coronado Manrique and Sara Luz Abarca are two women with many desires to share their magic. Paloma is from Peru, raised in Mexico and for six years has lived in Costa Rica. Sara is Tica, and both are neighbors in the Valley of Las Tumbas (by an old indigenous cemetery near Tinamaste). They joined through the love of music and an interest in pre-columbian instruments.
Paloma participates in the Jirondai Project that is dedicated to the investigation, rescue and diffusion of indigenous cultures and songs. Jirondai was the name of a former shaman of the Ngöbe indigenous community who, according to legends, had two faces: with one of his faces he looked at the past, while with the other he kept an eye on the future.
Apart from being musicians, both are artisans. Sara molds mud to make flutes and ingenious whistles among others, with which she reproduces sounds of nature. She plays an endless number of instruments, such as the ocarina, the marimba, rattles, Aztec drums and the didgeridoo. Paloma composes music and creates beautiful melodies on an ancient Chinese violin. We were able to witness the amalgamation of sounds between the didgeridoo and Chinese violin, what an incredible fusion! With pride Paloma tells that they are the only ones that vocalize music of the Bribri ethnic group, which from generation to generation has been passed down by women.
In their performances Paloma and Sara introduce contemporary elements (like the guitar) and even jazz and swing rhythms. With their musical group called Ama- Tierra, they are currently traveling in Europe to participate in several alternative music festivals in the Czech Republic, France, Italy and Portugal. In Zurich (Switzerland) they will play with a famous group of gypsies. Back in Costa Rica and with more enthusiasm than ever, the two empowered women will record their creations and create audiovisuals with powerful messages on environmental issues.
By Dagmar Reinhard
INFO: Paloma Coronado Manrique / Sara Luz Abarca = Facebook: AmaTierra
