ALL THOSE WOMEN IN LA REYNA'S LIFE

La Reyna Sofia surrounds herself with an entourage of unexpected women. Among them you will find women wrestlers and boxers, virgins and prostitutes. They exist as tiny figures encased in glass, framed in metal, portraits hung from chains and beads. Sofia’s women are miniature works of art. And they have been her obsession these past five years.

“Why women?” I ask.

“I love everything about my women,” says Reyna Sofia Canales Orguayo. “I believe that when I paint a woman – her clothes, her boots, all of the details – I can make her come alive.” Indeed, you can appreciate the attention to detail when you turn over a pendant or earring: each of her women has a back, as well as a front.

Sofia works in pastels, water colours, tempura and ink. The women in her paintings and jewelry are bathed in a rainbow of colour.

“Lots of colours – to create a sense of happiness,” she says.

The 30-year-old artist and her husband Luis Carlos Rojo came to La Paz from Mazatlán a year ago. Luis Carlos is also an artist, an engraver. They have a two-year-old son.

Sofia smiles when I ask about her calling card and the signature on her work: “La Reyna Sofia.” She says her birth name – which means queen – is perfect for what she does. She needs no other title for her work.

Sofia is part of a blossoming art scene in La Paz. Like many other artists and artisans, she sells her work in sidewalk exhibits and new galleries in the centre of the city. If you are looking for hand-crafted gifts this December, here is a starter list of spots to browse, including the places where you will find work by Sofia and her husband.

Allende Books of La Paz: Independencia 518, between Serdan and G. Prieto, (612)125 9114. This English-language bookstore also sells some hand-crafted items, including Sofia’s necklaces.

Callejón Cultural: Artists and artisans are exhibiting and selling their work Saturdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in December in the pedestrian lane called 21 de Agosto (next to Dorian’s between 16 de Septiembre and Arreola). The event is sponsored by the city of La Paz. You will find work by Sofia and her husband here.

Casa del Artesano Sudcaliforniano: Exhibit and sale of regional arts and crafts in wood, shell, clay, weaving, cultured pearls and more. Open daily 10 a.m. to 10.p.m., Malecón and Bravo next to the skateboard park. Information: 128-8707.

Galería Pax: Guillermo Prieto 1250 (between 5 de Mayo and Consitución), 121-6853. This is a new gallery, gift shop and cafe. An exhibit of Sofia’s work opens here Dec. 12.

Malecón: the area of the kiosk at the foot of 16 de Septiembre is the site of many events where you will find artisans selling their work. For example, the Sudcaliforniano folkloric festival, Dec. 13, features crafts as well as music, dance, stories, poetry and traditional foods, starting at 8 p.m.

Where else: If I've missed a spot you think should be in this list, please send me an e-mail with the information we need to find your suggested place to browse. rozinlapaz@yahoo.com

HOME-GROWN

Walk along the the seawall of La Paz on a Saturday night, past the promenade of cars on Calle Obregón, and you’ll likely hear the steady beat of norteño music —the sound of accordion and 12-string guitar, the lyrics of jilted lovers, illegal immigrants and the lives of everyday people. These bands are popular in Baja California Sur.

Paulo Piña offers something different. The 27-year-old is a singer-songwriter who was born and raised in La Paz. His parents are scientists; his older sister Calafia is an actress and playwright. Those strands of family influence are woven into his music.

So are his experiences from university days in Veracruz, where he studied music. He soaked in Argentinian Rock from the 1970s, jazz, English-language pop and Bossa Nova. The result is a newly released CD: Canciones que Hablaban de Nosotros (Songs that Speak of Us). He writes about history, science, childhood memory and, of course, love. The lyrics are complex. But you don’t need to understand the words to enjoy his latin rhythms and haunting melodies. He describes this brand of music as “latin pop fusion neosudcaliforniano.”

From El Son de los Pollitos (the 'son' – a style of music – of the chicks):
Todas las historias se mesclan a una misma historia
All the stories mix together to become the same story

Piña wants to challenge the influence of U.S.-style grunge and punk (“It’s not bad, but it’s not Mexican”) and the pervasiveness of those norteño bands. More than that, he says he is trying to revitalize the cultural scene in La Paz.

“In Veracruz, Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca, people have more love of their own culture, for their traditions. Here, no,” Piña says. Our conversation is in Spanish, translated and summarized here. “The people in Veracruz or in Mexico City are disposed to sit and listen to something calmly, with attention, or to see a painting, or to read. What’s most important is that people here in la Paz see that there is a new option, something different.”

He says it’s not a matter of imposing music from elsewhere. “It must be from Baja California, our own, nothing else. And if there are young people who like this, then surely they’ll listen more to some different music such as bossa nova, to hear more critically, to not accept just anything.” From that, he hopes, a homegrown cultural identity will develop.

From the song Calafia (a reference not to his sister, but to Baja California):
Bancos de marlyn cruzaron las sombras de los barcos hundidos
Los campamentos de esos pescadores guardan secretos de insomnes caletas
Schools of marlin cruised the shadows of the sunken boats
The camps of those fishermen guard secrets of sleepless inlets

In addition to preparing songs for a second CD, Piña is composing music for stage and screen. His sister Calafia has produced a one-woman theatrical work, El Caminante (The Traveller). Calafia plays all five characters during this intense performance. Paulo, one year younger, provides the solo musical accompaniment live. The next performance of El Cominante in La Paz is at El Teatro de la Ciudad, April 15, 7 p.m.

From Sopa de tomate (Tomato Soup):
Niña, te recuerdo atrás del árbol, juegos de pelota en el jardín....
Juegos de memoria y barquitos de papel, sopa de tomate derramada en la tarea
I remember you, little girl, behind the tree, ballgames in the garden...
Memory games and little paper boats, tomato soup spilled on the homework

You can hear Piña's music from the CD Canciones que Hablaban de Nosotros online by clicking on the following link:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=340853246
His disc, made with support from cultural agencies of Baja California Sur, can be purchased through the website or from the music store in the Soriana shopping mall.

In addition to accompanying his sister in El Caminante, Piña has several concert dates set for La Paz. Because of support from government cultural agencies, these concerts are free. Information on how to find the venues is in the left-hand column of this blog:
April 18: Escuela de Música del Estado, 7pm
April 26, Jardin Velasco, 7pm
May 21: UABCS, 6pm
June 8, Jardin Velasco, 7:30pm
June 22, kiosk on the Malecón, 8pm
July 22, kiosk on the Malecón

Piña plays with sounds and meaning in his lyrics. He creates words. And the melody, itself, sometimes embodies the message. Take, for example, his song Aleluya Newtoniana (Hallelujah, Newtonion – relating to Sir Isaac Newton and scientific theories such as that on gravity).

Piña explains that his intent in the song is to juxtapose science and art. “The idea of ‘Hallelujah’ is religious. In the baroque classics, composers used very high notes because they felt it brought them closer to heaven,” he says. “On the other hand, there are the theories of Newton, his apple and the forces of gravity." The lyrics mix science and religion; the music rises and falls.

I don’t pretend the lyrics are crystal clear to me, but I like the song.

From Aleluya Newtoniana (Hallelujah, Newtonion):
Con la fuerza caí de gravidad
Con el cause viajé del río hasta la ciudad
Y en cascada voy burlando poco a po
Condiciones adversas
Luna lullaby la locomía de aleluya newtoniana

My rough translation (if you find locomía in a dictionary, let me know)
With the force of gravity I fell
With the riverbed I traveled from the river to the city
And into the waterfall I go, mocking, little by little,
Adverse conditions
Moon (loony?) lullaby -- the “craziness” of Hallelujah, Newtonion