Composer J.J. Peña Aguayo's inspiration for his contribution to El Puerto Rico came from the convergence of two movements.
At a protest centered around the death of George Floyd in 2020, he saw bomba musicians leading the way.
The traditions of bomba are deeply rooted in the Black community in Puerto Rico, and have never been far away from the political struggles of that community.
In his piece called "Prints of Lost Breath," Peña Aguayo captures both the vibrancy of the music and its connections to the fight for social justice, complete with dancer Brendalíz Cepeda and percussion by Bomba de Aquí.
The Victory Players:
Tianhui Ng, music director
Angela Santiago, ensemble manager
Nathan Ben-Yehuda, piano
Clare Monfredo, cello
Giovanni A. Perez, flute
Robert Rocheteau, percussion
Eric Schultz, clarinet
Elly Toyoda, violin
Bomba de Aquí:
Brendalíz Cepeda, dancer
Saul Penaloza, drum
Julian Gerstin, drum
with special guest
J.J. Peña Aguayo, drum
Peña Aguayo studied music composition at the Peabody Institute and at the Julliard School. He has a doctorate from the Universitate de Valéncia. His work has been premiered and performed by orchestras, chambers groups and soloists throughout the Americas and Europe. He is currently the artistic director of Sonamens Puerto Rico and a teacher at the Conservatorio Superior de Alicante.
You can watch an interview with Peña Aguayo and Cepeda below, with a transcript in both English and Spanish.
Spanish language translation: Damaris Pérez-Pizarro
El Puerto Rico is a collaboration of the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA), New England Public Media and GBH Music, which originally published a version of this post.