CD Release – Paraguay Primeval

[Carol Ann Weaver]

CD RELEASE CONCERT:
PARAGUAY PRIMEVAL – by Carol Ann Weaver
when:   this coming Wednesday, March 21, 12:30 pm  –– a free Noon  
Hour Concert
where:  Conrad Grebel Chapel
performers:
	  Rebecca Campbell, vocals
	Katie Honek & Meaghan McCracken, flute
	Ben Bolt-Martin, cello
	Carol Ann Weaver, piano and backing vocals
	Kyle Skillman, drums
	and multimedia soundscape visuals from Paraguay

This music is based on texts by Rudy Wiebe (Blue Mountains of China),  
Dora Dueck (Under the Still Standing Sun), and translated works of  
Henry and Esther Regehr (Schoenbrunn Chronicles), telling stories  
about the experiences of people in the Paraguayan Chaco Mennonite  
colonies.  The music expresses pains and hardships – extreme heat,  
draught, catastrophe, death.  But there is also humour, beauty, joy  
and celebration in this new "promised land"  with songs about Lengua/ 
indigenous women, a entire family who died from typhoid, Uncle Hans  
who was lowered into a well to remove sand and becomes a hero, the  
women's village, a tango (just in case they danced to keep us with  
their Latino neighbors!), and much more.

PARAGUAY PRIMEVAL stems from my trek to these Paraguayan colonies in  
2009.  I was touched, mesmerized, and compelled by these Mennonite  
settlers' stories –  –how they survived, thrived, and became such  
strong contributors to the Paraguayan world, drawing many indigenous  
peoples back to the Chaco.  What stole my heart was the incredible  
dedication to this new land displayed by these Mennonite colonists,  
many of whom had survived impossible circumstances in Russia.  I was  
particularly moved by a statue of the woman with the plow, dedicated  
to the women's village of Freidensheim, settled by women who had lost  
their husbands during Stalin years in Russia.  The sheer industry and  
vision of these people astounded me, as did their significant work  
with the local peoples on so many levels – health, education,  
development, cultural work.  And the lusty Chaco singing, both by  
Mennonites and indigenous groups, was gripping, as heard in the  
soundscape accompanying the visuals.

Come, help us celebrate and support this music about people whose  
lives have made (and continue to make) such a significant difference  
in this arid but thriving Chaco land!!  CDs, just released, are on  
sale for $20.00 with proceeds going towards MCC's work with indigenous  
people in the Chaco.  Contact Carol Ann Weaver <caweaver at uwaterloo.ca>  
for more details.


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