After their GRAMMY®-nominated debut album, Voces del Bullerengue returns with #Anonimas&Resilientes, their second album that deepens their commitment to the ancestral memory of rural Afro-Colombian women.
The album includes 14 songs recorded with Ambisonics technology, which allows for 360° immersive sound, documenting the collective dynamics of bullerengue participation. It also contains four spoken testimonies, capturing the orality of every cantadora, including Fernanda Peña, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 106 and whose spiritual presence continues to resonate within the collective.
#anónimas&resilientes safeguards a matriarchal legacy that persists as a source of knowledge, memory, and community healing despite historical and political marginalization. This project brings together cantadoras from rural villages near the Caribbean subregion of Montes de Maria: Evitar, María la Baja, San José del Playón, Villa Gloria, and San Cristóbal del Trozo.
1st ALBUM
Bilingual
Booklet
1st ALBUM
Spanish
Booklet
The repertoire includes ancestral pieces such as "Ese Ñuría" and "Toca las Palmas," where octogenarians Juana Rosado and Juana del Toro commemorate their respective grandmothers, Juana García Blanquicet and Balvina San Martín. It also features contemporary pieces such as "La Yerbabuena" by Clara Ospino, which names herbal medicine and Covid-19, and "La Titulación" by La Chamaría de los Manglares. The latter was composed to celebrate the collective property titles of Afro-Colombian communities, a ceremony led by US President Barack Obama and singer Shakira in 2012. This song exemplifies bullerengue as a means to defend Afro-Colombian territories and rural life.
Petrona Martínez's dream of returning to the bullerengue rounds of the 1940s propelled producer Manuel García-Orozco to unite cantadoras from rural villages who performed bullerengue as historically practiced and had not participated in the cultural industries. Their debut album, which documented music, ethnographic journals, and testimonials, gained GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY® nominations for Best Recording Package.
More than an album, #Anonimas&Resilientes is an act of sociocultural justice. Amidst a global sociopolitical and environmental crises, these aging female voices—some over 90 years old—reaffirm ontologies centered on the care of life, territory, and community.
The album features a multi-GRAMMY® award-winning team, including Manuel García-Orozco (producer), Kiko Castro (mixing), Camilo Silva F. (mastering), and Esteban Henao (virtual reality). It continues the rigorous ethnomusicological research and ethical politics of collaboration with rural communities, characteristic of Chaco World Music.
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Producer: Manuel García-Orozco
Ambisonic field recordings engineered by Manuel García-Orozco and Esteban Henao
Stereo field recordings engineered by Manuel García-Orozco
Mixing Engineer: Kiko Castro
Mastering Engineer: Camilo Silva F
Art Directors: Carlos Dussán, Luisa Maria Arango, Manuel García-Orozco, Juliana Jaramillo.
Cover Illustrations: Luisa Maria Arango
Research: Manuel Garcia-Orozco
Field recording assistants: Eliana Carola, Yenifer Mena (photography)
[Anónimas & Resilientes] Voces del Bullerengue are:
Cantadoras (lead vocals): Juana Rosado, La Chamaria de los Manglares, Juana Del Toro, Clara Ospino, Isabel Julio, Mayo Hidalgo, Rosita Caraballo, Rosa Matilde Rosado, Carmen Pimentel, Fernanda Peña (RIP).
Coro (backing vocals): Yessi Perez, Merelcy Julio, Jaiber Perez Cassiani.
Musicians: Janer Amarís Orozco, tambor hembra, Guillermo Valencia Hernández, llamador, Manuel García-Orozco, musical director, ocassional llamador, Marco Rodriguez, percussion.
Guest musicians: Diana Herrera (backing vocals), Tibisay Viera (backing vocals), Camila Pastrana (backing vocals), Wilman Leon Orozco (dancer/backing vocals), Arlay Cantillo Pérez (tambor hembra: track 9),
Rafael Ospino (backing vocals: track 7), Juan Carlos Hernandez (tambora: track 7), Salvador Sánchez (guacho: track 7), Guidobal Pimentel (maracas: track7)