DICIEMBRE DE 2017
Alfredo Hidrovo’ srhythm
PERSONAJE
The famous percussionist behind Luna Llena de Tambores talks about his career not only as a musician but also as a creator of one of the most popular cultural events over the lasts years.
Keep Up With the Drums Alfredo Hidrovo is a man of contagious energy and enthusiasm. He has been following the beat of the drums since he was a child. Although he doesn’ t seem like it, he’ s now on his late fifties. Alfredo started playing covers of everything was new on MTV. Being influenced by artists like Stewart Copeland from The Police, Alfredo played at parties, the only available stage in Panama’ s capital city back then. He admits“ It was great for me finding the energy and the rhythm in the drums”.
Alfredo Hidrovo studied at Berklee College of Music, Boston, before Danilo Perez was famous in Panama. At first, Alfredo felt intimidated, he thought he wouldn’ t have the talent to compete with such amazing musicians, but he overcame that feeling and got his degree in recording engineering and flew to New York. He lived there for fifteen years: not only did he worked at today’ s disappeared music shop Manny’ s Music, which was famous for receiving the best musicians in town for sixty years, but he also played the drums and percussion, everywhere and with anyone. That experience made him stay grounded and allowed him to be more musically versatile.
“ Something I loved about New York was that everybody played original music. There were no covers”. He played from punk to folk music. Particularly, he played his music indance and yoga classes. There, he had to put his creativity at its max in order to have fun and get his job done.“ I know I’ m good with rhythm because I make the dancers dance!” He says laughing.
Cosmic Folk and El Rito de la Luna
Hidrovo has released three solo albums composed, played, and recorded by him. He admits they have a guiding thread, but it was the Panamanian musician Carlos Iván
Zúñiga who baptized them as“ Folklore cósmico” – or Cosmic Folk in English-. The albums were inspired by world music and pop-rock elements, both present in the songs.
Some will be surprised to know that the project which gave Alfredo acknowledgment and satisfaction started right in Casco Antiguo. Back from USA, 2005, he managed to open a workshop in La Casona( an old bar in Casco), in which he’ d teach music theory to children. He was inspired by the kids who earned their lives playing urban music in New York with buckets or plastic tanks on the streets. Although the project was sabotaged, Alfredo went on: he was a music teacher at both a school and a foundation. There he was interested in going back to the buckets with professional musicians under the big corotú at the Sports Garden, in Ciudad Del Saber, Clayton. Although there were no musicians – only general public-, the matter turned into a didactic and funny activity.
Eight years later, Luna Llena de Tambores is a monthly event that has gone around the country, entertaining thousands. More than ten thousand people have gone to the concerts Alfredo presents passionately. He’ s not the kind of strict, rough, egocentric singer. In fact, the unexpected successfulness of the event has made him grow:“ My emotional and personal development has been something incredible. I’ ve had to teach and I’ ve had to reinvent myself. Here you have to make the crowd move, which brings an amazing energy.” He confesses.
Next year will bring new challenges to Hidrovo and his tamborero legion: He will present not only the soundtrack of the event, but also a book compiling his music career, which he expects to show abroad. The fun, inclusive, and cathartic side of coming together to play tambores in a community is a kind of magic that this Panamanian musician will surely be doing as a real rhythm shaman.
爀攀猀琀渀愀稀挀愀䀀栀漀琀洀愀椀氀 ⸀ 挀漀洀
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