In April of this year, NACLA will be collaborating with Brooklyn-based singer Ani Cordero as she tours in support of her album Recordar—an album of Latin American protest songs from the 1930s-70s, co-produced with Os Mutantes' Sérgio Dias. See her press release and first video release, "Macorina" (originally by Chavela Vargas), from the album below, and stay tuned for details!
On April 29, 2014, Ani Cordero is set to release her new album titled Recordar: Latin American Songs of Love and Protest, revisiting songs from the 1930s-1970s that highlight influential artists who provided the soundtrack for social change. Ani, along with co-producer Sérgio Dias of the legendary Os Mutantes, are re-introducing 11 classic songs and their iconic writers to new audiences. The songs are by musical folk heroes like Víctor Jara, Alí Primera, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Chavela Vargas, Violeta Parra, and many more. Recordar re-imagines music from the Nueva Canción movement of Latin American and Iberian folk-inspired and socially committed music.
At age 19, in Atlanta, Georgia, Ani found a friend and mentor in Dr. Juan Allende, nephew of Chilean President, Salvador Allende, who was overthrown in a military coup d’état in 1973. It was studying with Dr. Allende that Ani first became passionate about the struggle for democracy in Latin America. This was a time when artists risked being arrested, exiled, or killed because of their music’s message.
Recordar (‘Remember’) brings together an astounding cast of musicians and friends including Charles Giordano of The E Street Band, Kelly Pratt from David Byrne’s band, Arcade Fire, and Beirut, percussionist for Malian musician Vieux Farka Touré, Tim Keiper, Omar Akil Little, who collaborates with world-renowned producer Lee Scratch Perry, composer and cellist Brent Arnold, Erich Hubner from Man or Astroman, and many more.
Raised by Puerto Rican parents between Atlanta and San Juan, Ani is now a long-time resident of Brooklyn. She is a staple of the global music scene. Recently, she’s appeared as drummer and back-up vocalist with the legendary Os Mutantes, as a founding member and drummer of Pistolera, and as the front-woman to her bi-lingual art rock band Cordero. Ani has been featured on NPR, CNN en Español, The New York Times, Billboard Magazine, The New Yorker, The Associated Press, Modern Drummer, and many more.
Recordar was funded with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign, which quickly found an enthusiastic audience and exceeded its goals. Ani introduces these beautiful, historically momentous songs to a new generation, while raising awareness about the significance of political art in social change. This spring, Ani will tour with her three-piece band, helping spread the spirit of democracy and social justice across the United States.
