ANDEAN DYES: PEDREGAL TRIO

Three empirical musicians gathered to highlight Santander's traditional music.

Pedregal Trío is the winner of the Roaming and Circulation Scholarship awarded by the Municipal Institute of Culture and Tourism of Bucaramanga.

From left to right: Carlos Martínez on the tiple, Sergio Cuervo on the requinto and José on the guitar. Photograph taken from the group's Facebook.

In Bucaramanga, in the midst of multiple tecnocumbias, boleros and popular music, the notes of a peculiar Andean musical trio stand out: the tiple, the requinto and the guitar meet again to build, sonically, the most traditional Santanderean overtones.

The Andean trio, made up of Carlos Martínez (tiple player), Sergio Cuervo (requint player) and José (guitarist) corroborates that coincidences do exist: meeting at the right moment, in which each one believed enough to promote this type of music- several times excluded from the department - and present a proposal that would highlight the traditional, but also bring together the differential scope with other groups.

Martínez, from his love for the tiple and as an empirical musician, recounts the experience of the Pedregal Trio as follows:

Where did the idea of ​​getting together to make Colombian Andean music come from?

The idea arose because we believe that it is very valuable music, that brings with it something of our identity in Santander. The group arises from everyone's career, especially my colleagues, who have been strong militants of their art. Sergio, from a very young age was involved with folklore, traditions and the very own style of Vélez. José, for his part, has bet everything on music, almost on foot like Fernando González, he is full of experiences and stories from many parts of Colombia. I am more of a foreigner in this culture and they adopted me; I say the foreigner thing because I grew up with rock, Ricardo Arjona because of an aunt and then jazz.

Why the name 'Trío Pedregal'?

The truth was an occurrence of Sergio, the requintista. It reminds you of the place where you had the opportunity to enjoy music. I liked it because I see it as what sometimes makes up the landscapes of Santander; In addition, in their towns, the stone is something beautiful and significant.

Among the works interpreted by the trio, the autochthonous rhythms of Santander stand out, such as the torbellino, the guabina and the bambuco; mostly performed by Santanderean arrangers and composers. Regarding its instrumentation, the melodies of the requinto vary with the 'Quena' or the 'Zanpoña' interpreted by José.

Why do they choose those particular works and what is the purpose?

I have always thought that the purpose of all music is to place you in front of a window. In this case, we want to show you what Santanderean Andean music is all about and tell you who were those protagonists who filled the music of our ancestors here in Santander with life. It is not easy because the preferences are statistically different, but it is worth it; As the maestro Carlos Acosta de Lima said: "This music is beautiful, because it is ours."

What's next for Pedregal Trio?

We feel that betting on contests and festivals is our general objective because it drives us to be precise and meticulous with the works we play. We know that this is a path; that others go forward and some behind and that going through it will require discipline like everything in this life. I personally would like to visit Geneva, Valle del Cauca and participate in the Mono Núñez Festival. However, I think we all want to travel with our music, make it known. Of course, we would also like to continue learning about music from other places.

The group has performed in various artistic venues in the city, most recently at the Bonita Fair, the Centro Cultural del Oriente, Ulibro and other cultural venues. The three members, from their discipline, talent and love for the land where they were born, are willing to bet on the vindication of this valuable music for history, for the enjoyment and reunion of their own Santanderean roots.