Tierra Mestiza Ensemble Gerardo Tamez, director
While he was part of the ensemble Los Folkloristas, Gerardo Tamez composed the very successful piece named Tierra Mestiza. On a deeper level it alludes to a mestizo cultural identity, a mix of native, black and Spanish influences, just like the current Mexican culture.
Since its creation in 2005, Ensamble Tierra Mestiza has the intention to disseminate Mexican and Latin American academic music, nourished by roots in folk music and folklore in a wider sense. It presents instruments and musical styles that serve this purpose, unfolding the colors and freshness of the original sources. The repertoire is made up of works from the Mexican baroque up to contemporary pieces and arrangements of music by Latin American composers such as Astor Piazzola, Heitor Villalobos, Arturo Márquez and Tamez himself. Included is a whole lot of music of the colonial origin of the Son and its fusion between folklore and academic music in genres like the fandango, the danzón and the son. Collaborations with invited musicians have included Celso Duarte, Ernesto Anaya, Oscar K-ché Aburto, Guadalupe Sierra and Natalia Arroyo.
The current members of the ensemble are Gerardo Tamez (guitar and baroque guitar), well-known composer and musician; Mercedes Gómez (harp), performer on classical pedal harp with a vast trajectory as soloist, teacher, member of chamber groups and in interdisciplinary projects; Carlos García (vocals, flute and percussion) jazz player with wide experience in various styles; and Teodoro Gálvez (violin), educated at a Moscow Conservatory, founding member and director of the Coghlan String Trio.
These musicians have a massive experience from the world of folklore, and thanks to a thorough academic training they command the tools needed in order to occupy a special place in the musical landscape. Improvisation is an integrated part in some of their arrangements and transcriptions, when called for by style and genre.
The ensemble has a didactic objective to win a connection to the audience, such that they may stimulate interest and a sensibility for the music and its evolution.
In December 2008 they recorded their first album, IDA Y VUELTA, distributed by Discos Pueblo. Tierra Mestiza has performed at venues like Palacio de Bellas Artes, Auditorio de IMER, the Jardín Botánico de la UNAM, Teatro Reforma del IMSS, the Conservatorio Nacional de Música, the Facultad de Música UNAM, Auditorio San Pedro de Garza García, in Nuevo León; in Río de Janeiro, Brazil, in Washington, Maryland and California, USA.
In December 2012 their second album, FOLÍA Y SON was presented at the Sala Carlos Chávez-UNAM, with music by Carlos Garcia, Santiago Murcia, Gerardo Tamez and Peruvian polyphony.
"Tierra Mestiza, owns a position as the direct heir to the Folkloristas, where Gerardo Tamez has managed to join three more musicians, whose trajectories support the qualities mentioned above."