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Lourdes Pérez

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Cover article and photos of Lourdes Perez and Jose Luis Bustamantes's The Leaf Storm

for information in ENGLISH, scroll down to find:
B I O G R A P H Y
L E A F S T O R M
C O N T A C T
R E V I E W S
C A L E N D A R
W A T C H
S O N G S
D I A R Y
O R D E R
L I N K S

B I O G R A P H Y

Treasures are sometimes hard to find and Lourdes Pérez is no exception. While the name of this unique, independent artist may not yet be familiar to you, she is a living treasure to scores of international artists and fans that know her music.

* * * * * In 1992, Lourdes decided that she just had to sing. By 1999, Lourdes was writing the music for her 3rd CD, had toured in the U.S., had performed with some of the greatest artists of our time, and had given her concert debuts in Canada, Mexico and her home country of Puerto Rico. This year, she was invited to compose the scores for three new works: Sharir+Bustamante Danceworks' new production, "The Leaf Storm," in close creation/performance collaboration with choreographer Jose Luis Bustamante, debuting May 2000; "con flama,"" the new theater piece written by root wy'mn theater company writer/director Sharon Bridgforth and directed by Laurie Carlos ("for colored girls..."), debuting September 2000; and "When," "a short film by filmmaker Jen Tsai, scheduled for release Spring 2001. Lourdes, along with collaborators Bridgforth and Carlos, has been awarded a Rockefeller grant for her work on con flama. She is one of 1000 performers in the world profiled in the recently published Music Hound World Essential Album Guide and her CD Vestigios was given 4 1/2 stars.

* * * *

Emerging from the swirling/parallel evolutions and offspring of Portuguese fado, Spanish cante jondo, Cape Verdean morna and pan-Latin nueva trova, Puerto Rican-born Lourdes Perez carries on the strong vocal-and-strings tradition of "longing," memory and soulful testimony as a form of celebrating the most human and beloved elements of life. Pérez credits Puerto Rican jíbaro Antonio Cabán Vale ("El Topo"), -who was born in Lourdes' hometown of Moca- as well as Cuban composer Silvio Rodríquez, Argentinean Atahualpa Yupanqui, Chilean Violeta Parra and Joan Manuel Serrat of Catalunya as primary influences on her compositions. Her childhood immersed in the rich, improvisational music traditions and oral history of the western mountain region of her island, she carries the pace, the grief and the strength of the jibaro forward in the tones of her voice and guitar. One of relatively few female trovadoras, Lourdes provides an historic contribution as a woman and as an immigrant living inside the mainland U.S.

* * * * * From the moment she hit the road, she began to have a series of spectacular musical encounters that have shaped her career. In 1994, acclaimed singer/songwriter Betty Elders came forward to co-produce her first CD, Recuerdate Por Mi. It was the support from legendary Argentinean vocalist Mercedes Sosa (who, in 1995, invited Lourdes to sing as her special guest at her concert in Boston after Lourdes opened for her in Austin) that validated Lourdes' efforts and catapulted her to new levels of visibility. Although Lourdes grew up surrounded by improvisers and decimistas in Puerto Rico, it was, ironically, a 1996 musical encounter with one of Mexico's greatest improvisational trovadores, Guillermo Velázquez, that sent her back to embrace the craftsmanship of the décima in her songwriting repertoire. In 1998, an invitation by Grammy-winning, US folk-rock group Indigo Girls to go on a collaborative tour (in which the Girls sang with Lourdes her songs in Spanish and Lourdes played and sang translated verses of their songs) opened many minds, hearts and doors in 12 U. S. cities. Several other duet performances in recent years with U.S. and Canadian artists such as: Tish Hinojosa, Jane Siberry, punk rocker Jean Smith of Mecca Normal, cellist/performance artist Maria Elena Gaitan and Irene Farrera have strengthened Lourdes' connection to North American music, musicians and their audiences. As word spread of her ability to write beautiful homenajes (tribute/honor songs), she would be invited to write and perform tributes for many writers and cultural leaders, including: Gloria Anzaldua, Thenjiwe Mtintso, Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, Mililani Trask, Rudolfo Anaya, the Zapatistas, Jennifer Harbury, and Leonard Peltier.

* * * * * When Lourdes began independently recording and touring in the U.S. and drawing mainly English-speaking or mixed language audiences, it was not her words in Spanish, but rather the sound of her "completely enrapturing voice" -a powerful and vulnerable contralto-that garnered immediate attention. Her' sparse arrangements weave a sound that is distinctive in its use of space and absence, giving musical voice to the inexpressible feeling (and loss of feeling) that accompanies the experience of the immigrant, exiliado or outcast. She grants musical honor to that which has been left behind, killed, forcibly removed or worn away by using silence as sound. Her accompanist since 1995, virtuoso Peruvian virtuoso violinist Javier Chaparro, provides a musical golden thread inextricably woven throughout her songs. Recent additions of concert pianist Kay Sparks and cellist Margaret Coltman Smith have created rich new textures and direction in Lourdes' latest work.

* * * * * An openly Lesbian, big woman, Lourdes Pérez is often found performing in unexpected places and contexts, crossing barriers of race, gender, genre and cultural stereotypes with her disarming voice as a passport. She has performed in the war zones of Chiapas for Zapatista indigenous communities as one of few Puerto Ricans, as the only woman trovadora in festivals in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and as the only non-English language artist on the pop-rock-folk collaborative tour with the Indigo Girls and other singer-songwriters in the "Suffragette Sessions." With the release of her first CD, Recuérdate Por Mi (Remember For Me) /Chee Wee Records/ in 1994, Pérez received a firestorm of acclaim from fan polls and critics in her homebase of Austin and the surrounding region. In 1997, Lourdes released Vestigios (Vestiges) /Vivavoce/ and firmly established herself as a significant international artist. The following recordings are scheduled for release in 2000-2001: 2 CDs - Sopla la Hoja (Theme from the Leaf Storm),Paloma Urbana (Urban Dove); "Se Me Ha Escapado la Ninez,"(CD single/theme from the film, "When"); and an audio-book of an ongoing oral history project.

C O N T A C T

Lourdes Pérez is represented by:
Encanto Productions
1009 ½ Cherico, Austin, Texas 78702
tel: 512-442-5986
fax: 512-448-4100
email: encantoproductions@yahoo.com.

MESSAGES TO LOURDES CAN BE SENT DIRECTLY TO: lourdesperez@yahoo.com
and all will be answered.

R E V I E W S

For cover story on Lourdes Perez and Jose Luis Bustamante's The Leaf Storm, *CLICK HERE*

"...achingly beautiful...audiences are stunned and enraptured...the power, wit an dignity that her deep-throated alto commands affects listeners whether they understand Spanish or not."
-Austin American Statesman

"Perez has a honey-coated contralto that transcends language...Perez lends an unwavering authenticity to her music reminiscent of legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf"
- Vancouver Courier, CANADA (cover)

"...phenomenal acoustic guitar player...ultimately, Perez most impressive instrument is her voice...picture Edith Piaf astride a Harley, revving her engine in front of the International Headquarters of the Powers That Be"
- The Georgia Straight, CANADA

"Mercedes Sosa...yielded the stage to Puerto Rican singer Lourdes Perez...A warm, dynamic singer and beautiful guitarist, Perez drew a fervent and well-deserved ovation"
-Boston Globe

"...like Edith Piaf, she transcends language...a truly remarkable voice."
-Music City Texas

"Ms. Perez brought the ardent, near sobbing tones (to the Suffragette Tour), using her gutsy declamation to reminisce over lost love and to praise women's power to nurture life."
- The New York Times

"A VOICE OF MAXIMUM BEAUTY...(her) lyrics and melodies will remain recorded in the heart..."
- El Diario, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO

"...now dropping to a whisper, now soaring into rich, dulcet tones rivaled only by the legendary Mercedes Sosa (to whom she is often compared), Perez transcends language...her music will caress you, hold you, heal you, surround you - you might even find tears streaming down your face at the clear calm strength of her voice...her imagery is startlingly beautiful..."
-Curve Magazine

"Perez has a unique and powerful voice...with her first song, there is no room left for doubt as to the splendor of her voice and her talent." El Heraldo News (Ft. Worth)

"...her capacity to transcend language and her passion on stage have led many to consider her among the great female Latin American vocalists."
- ARTLIES magazine

"With her beautiful voice of thick smoke and clear honey, Lourdes Perez leaves deep footprints that we will remember forever."
-Gloria Anzaldua, author of Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza and co-editor of This Bridge Called My Back

(translated) "There are treasures in life that are worth more than all of the coffers in the world. That moment (when I heard you sing) was worth more than all of the money that Rockefeller and his entourage may have..."
Rafael Cancel Miranda, patriot, writer, historian (to Perez onstage during her concert in PUERTO RICO)

"A Texas treasure..."
-ARTE (Dallas)

"...completely enrapturing voice..."
-La Prensa de San Antonio

"Her voice-that VOICE-is a warm bed of freshly turned, fertile earth and promise, which strikes out in defiance one moment and coos with hopeless romance the next...Likewise Perez' fingers take graceful strides across minor chords which sound like hectic gasps beating out time and calling out in urgency..."
-Austin Chronicle

"You don't have to understand Spanish to appreciate the passion in this voice and guitar...this one should not be missed."
-Austin Chronicle

"And when you listen (even if you don't understand Spanish), somehow you feel connected to places and people...extraordinary voice."
-ARRIBA Art & Business News

"smoky, spiraling alto...like Edith Piaf fronting the Gypsy Kings...Perez sings of her people with a supreme sense of humanity that enlarges them to signify all people."
-Michael Corcorran, Austin American Statesman

"...this is no ordinary voice...palpable intensity...timeless grace and quality...dazzling new works...masterful violin accompaniment...
-Peg Miller, Third Coast Music

"An original...Though comparisons (to Sosa and Piaf) are apt...Perez is no imitator...it's Perez' words...and her riveting voice that cause listeners to shut up and pay attention-close attention."
- Jim Beal, Jr. San Antonio Express News

C A L E N D A R

1999-2001 TOUR & PROJECT DIARY

July 16...Performance...honoring ANC leader Thenjiwe Mtintso...Malcolm X School, Berkeley, CA
Aug. 1...Live interview...Queer FM/CITR...Vancouver, BC, CANADA
Aug. 7*...Concert...Seattle's Night Out...El Centro de la Raza, Seattle, WA
CANADIAN DEBUT! -->>>
Aug. 8*...Under the Volcano Festival (main stage)....Vancouver, BC, CANADA
Aug. 12*...Concert...La Quena...Vancouver, BC, CANADA
September 7*...Live radio performance/KAMA..El Paso, TX
September 8*...Concert...Univ. of TX at El Paso...El Paso, TX
Sept. 20...JB Edwards' 73rd Birthday...Austin, TX
October 1...Performance/Feast of St. Theresa...La Casa de Milagritos, Austin, TX
Oct. 7...Live radio performance/KUT 90.5 fm (noon)...Austin, TX
Oct. 7...Performance for Leonard Peltier; with Jennifer Harbury...Our Lady of Guadalupe Hall, Austin, TX
Oct. 17...Live radio interview/"Sancocho Boricua" KOOP 91.7 fm (noon)...Austin TX
Oct. 26...Special guest of Indigo Girls...Backyard, Austin, TX...(DUET OF "Vestigios")
Oct. 27...Special guest of Indigo Girls...Backyard, Austin, TX...(DUET OF "Vestigios")
November 7*...Sunset Concert & Feast...Jordy's Ranch, Austin, TX
November 10...NJCAS Music Comp Panel, Baltimore, MD
November 12 - 17...Performances/participation with Indigenous rights activists in front of the White House for the release of Leonard Peltier)...Washington, DC
November 19*...Concert...JFK Recreation Center, Newark, NJ
HOMECOMING CONCERT/DEBUT IN PUERTO RICO--->>
November 26* with special guests...Casa Aboy, Santurce, PUERTO RICO (with Don Rafael Cancel Miranda, patriot, writer, historian)
December 13,14...Camp Garcia, Vieques, PUERTO RICO (with Manuel Silva, who plays the most beautiful steel drums we've ever heard)
December 18...Festival de la Bandera, La plaza de Santa Isabel, PUERTO RICO
CONCERT DEBUT IN MEXICO!-->>
December 28...San Francisco Country Club...Chihuahua City, MEXICO
December 29...Televised interview/song ...Televisa...Chihuahua City, MEXICO
December 31...Festival de Huapango Arribeno...Xichu, Guanajuato, MEXICO (directed by the great trovador Guillermo Velazquez)
2000-
January 10...I-10 FoodMart...Pecos, Texas (by request, on the way home)
January...hibernation
February - May 2000...RECORDING/PRODUCING in Austin, TX
April 19...Participation in National Day of Action for Vieques...Austin, TX...call for info
May 5+#,6+#, 7+#, 13+#, 14+#..."The Leaf Storm" Music/dance collaborative performance with choreographer Jose Luis Bustamante/Sharir+Bustamante Danceworks...Theater Room, University of Texas...Austin, TX
May 20*+...Concert...Bath House Cultural Center...Dallas, TX
May 21*+...Concert/Release of Single: Theme from 'When'...Sons of Herman Hall...Dallas, TX
June 21...Appearance to speak/sing on Vieques at Texas environmental rally...Noon...State Capitol...Austin, TX
June 25*+#...KOOP Stonewall Media Festival...Rainbow Cattle Company...Austin, TX
July 13...Live performance/interview...KUT/Eklektikos radio...11a.m....Central TX
July 13*+ ...Benefit performance for Tarahumara Children's Clinic/Chihuahua, Mexico...Las Manitas...Austin, TX (6:30 p.m.)
July 15...Workshop: Songwriting for Women...La Casita Azul...Austin, TX...class size limited...Reservations: 512-442-5986
June-August...COMPOSING/RECORDING for con flama...Austin, TX
Aug. 12*+#...Concert...Esperanza Center...San Antonio, TX...Tickets: 210-228-0201
Aug. 20...Co-hosting Dinner and Dance al estilo cariben~o...to benefit OCTAAV human rights delegation to Vieques...5 - 10 p.m...Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St....Austin, TX...Tickets: 512-472-2001
Aug. 23 - 30...Climb for Breast Cancer...Crested Butte, CO
Running throughout September...World Premiere of "con flama"...Hyde Park Theater...Austin, TX..Tickets: 512-479-PLAY
Sept. 16...Special Reading/Performance w/Sharon Bridgforth: "Meet the Writer and Composer of con flama...Hyde Park Theater...10:30 p.m....Austin, TX
Sept. 25...Live Performance...KUT 90.5 fm Radio/with host John Aielli..Noon...Austin, TX Oct. 10...Lecture/Performance...11 a.m...Trinity University...San Antonio, TX
Oct 10*...Campus Concert...5 p.m....Trinity University...San Antonio, TX
NEW! Oct 18...Performance...Nader SuperRally...Tony Burger Center...Austin
Oct. 22...Performance ( with Christine Albert)...Scottish Rite Theater...18th@Lavaca...Austin, TX...Tickets: 512-459-5835
Oct. 22...Co-host, Vieques Film Screening & Potluck Dinner benefiting OCTAAV delegation to Vieques...Home of Linda Irizarry....4700 Rowena.Austin, TX...Info: 512-451-2925
November 4...Big Performances in Small Spaces Series....in collaboration with home artist Elena Stoupignan... limited seating...Tickets: 512-442-5986
November 18...Concert...Austin, Tix:512-442-5986
November 24 throughNov. 29 ...Human Rights Delegation & Performances...Vieques, Puerto Rico
TBA....Release of short film: "When"/Jen Tsai, filmmaker...Dallas/Austin, TX
2001 -
February TBA*...Collaborative performances and platica with Rafael Cancel Miranda and raulrsalinas...Esperanza Center and other venues TBA...San Antonio & Austin, TX
March 2*...Concert...with Pam Hart & Iluminada...One World Theater...Austin, TX
TBA*+#...CD Release tour...Cities TBA
June 2*+#...Concert...Penumbra..St. Paul,MN
June+#...The Leaf Storm...Cities TBA
*=With violinist Javier Chaparro. +=With pianist Kay Sparks, #= with cellist Margaret Coltman Smith

Other performances pending; spontaneous concerts likely; call for updates.

D I A R Y
Saludos...I love hearing from you and I answer all notes. Please continue sending us your thoughts, comments, suggestions, poetry, etc. to lourdesperez@yahoo.com. Also, please visit the new website for OCTAAV (Organization of Concerned Texas Artists & Activists for Vieques) at: https://www.angelfire.com/journal/octaav. I am preparing to go home to Puerto Rico, first as part of a human rights delegation with other artists to support the protesters, perform for each other, eat and pray together, and document the struggle to bring the story fully to other parts of the world, and then to spend time with my family in San Sebastian. I am very excited about the small group of artists who have agreed to go with us to Vieques (a list of names will be announced as soon as all is confirmed). This November, we will also unveil The Tiny Concert Series: Big Performances in Small Spaces, which will begin in the four directions of Austin and then tour through a network of Tiny Spaces. Today, I am trying to be a carpenter, adding little pieces of wood to trim the floor in la sala de nuestra casita. And Annette is typing this in. con amor, lourdes
Tell Clinton to stop the bombing in Vieques: president@whitehouse.gov
Write to Gore: vicepresident@whitehouse.gov
For the most current info, faxes and phone numbers:www.viequeslibre.org
Read the eloquent letter to President Clinton from the camps of civil disobedience in Vieques: http://www.viequesvive.com/letter.htm

S O N G S

These four song selections are from the album Vestigios

Vestigios -819k-
Plenas II -726k-
Tengo la Vida -797k-
Yo Pari una Luchadora -1,016k-

TANGO A EL QUE SOPLA LA HOJA (from "The Leaf Storm")
Letra y música por Lourdes Pérez ©2000/BMI

Dicen que solo
De una pincelada
Te dibujaste pronta una salida
Y que el abismo se volvio azul costa
Que has pintado tu vida
(2X)

Yo me invente en un verso
Y soy tu hermana
Y te reconoci por tus raices
Por tu quebrada voz de desterrada
Y por tus cicatrices
(2X)

Cuando el asunto
Requeire que llores
Te sacas carcajadas a destiempo
A mi me importa un pito si tu pones
En fila militar, tus sentimientos
(2X)

CHORUS:
Sopla la hoja antes que la sople el viento
El pavimento ha de brillar como tu tez
Por un momento controlas los elementos
Sopla la hoja que este mundo esta al reves
(2X)

INSTRUMENTAL:PIANO SOLO...CELLO SOLO

Dime, te dolio la mordida?
Donde pusiste el equipaje?
Cuantos los cambios de sombrero?
Como se te alarga la noche?
Cuando volveras encontrarte
En tu plaza en un domingo
Sin sombras de soledad?
(2X)

Que exoticos vacios tiene el mundo
Que humor tendran los dioses encargados
Es la conversacion del mediodia
De tus despedazados
(2X)

Dime te dolio la mordida?
Donde pusiste el equipaje?
Cuantos los cambios de sombrero?
Como se te alarga la noche?
Cuando volveras a encontrarte
En tu plaza en un domingo
Sin sombras de soledad?

CHORUS...

They say that
With just one brushstroke
You drew yourself an exit
And that the abyss became a blue coast
That you have painted your life
(2X)

I invented myself in verse
And I am your sister
And I recognized you by your roots
By your broken voice of an exile
And by your scars
(2X)

When the situation calls for you to cry
You burst into laughter out of sync
I could care less if you place
In a military file, your sentiments
(2X)

CHORUS:
Blow the leaf before the wind blows it
The pavement ought to shine like your skin
For a moment you control the elements
Blow the leaf because this world is upside down
(2X)

INSTRUMENTAL: PIANO SOLO...CELLO SOLO

Tell me, did the bite(bribe) hurt?
Where did you put your luggage?
How many changes of hat?
How long is your night?
When will you ever again find yourself
In your plaza on a Sunday
Without the shadows of loneliness?
(2X)

What exotic emptiness the world has
What kind of humor must the gods in charge have?
It's the noontime conversation
Of your dismembered characters
(2X)

CHORUS:
Blow the leaf before the wind blows it
The pavement ought to shine like your skin
For a moment you control the elements
Blow the leaf because this world is upside down

O R D E R

To order Vestigios CD (Vivavoce, 1997) or Recuerdate Por Mi CD (Chee Wee, 1994), send $16.50 (US) check or money order to: Lourdes Perez
c/o
Encanto Productions
1009 1/2 Cherico
Austin, Texas USA 78702 or CLICK HERE to order online now.

Vestigios CD is carried by the following outlets:
WORLD: Ladyslipper Catalog (www.ladyslipper.org)
and www.gemm.com
U.S.: Goldenrod Distribution
AUSTIN, TX - Waterloo Records, BookWoman, Resistencia Bookstore
SAN ANTONIO, TX - Esperanza Peace & Justice Center
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - Casa Aboy
OLD SAN JUAN, PR - Sarava
Available by order through any local bookstore.

* * * * * LOURDES PEREZ INFOLINE:
512-442-5986
Email Annette D'Armata at: encantoproductions@yahoo.com

G R A C I A S

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L O U R D E S' L I N K S

Everardo Foundation (Human rights project in Guatemala)
Singer/songwriter Irene Farrera site
Grupo Zazhil
Writer Sharon Bridgforth
Zapatista/Chiapas information
Older Lourdes Perez info/photos
Planet South Austin Music site
Puerto Rican human rights website
AUDIO & VIDEO OF LOURDES PEREZ LIVE
Leonard Peltier, Native American political prisoner
FBI COINTELPRO documents: Destroying Puerto Rican Independence Movement
URGENT: VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO
GAYBC Radio
OCTAAV - Organization of Concerned Texas Artists & Activists for Vieques
The Incomparable Kevin Gant
SOURCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIDEOS, BOOKS & NEWS
Lourdes Perez endorses U.S. Presidential candidate RALPH NADER & running mate WINONA LADUKE! Click here for more info
Lourdes' home theater, Esperanza Center

Email: lourdesperez@yahoo.com