Harpists bid for U.N. title (Paraguay)

[Judi Lynn]

Harpists bid for U.N. title
Harp music is so big in Paraguay that the country is seeking U.N. cultural recognition.
Posted on Sun, May. 11, 2008Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY JACK CHANG
McClatchy News Service

ASUNCION, Paraguay -- The sounds of heaven, plucked on 36 strings, fill the ramshackle houses and potholed streets of this sleepy capital.

Some of that music comes from the basement of harp master Adolfo Bernal, better known here as Papi Galan, who has spread the distinctive folksy strains of the Paraguayan harp all over the world.

The music also drifts from the living room of Cristian Ramon Portillo, a 14-year-old who says he's ''enchanted'' by the harp and aims to join his uncle, Martin Portillo, as one of the musical legends in this nation of 6.8 million people.

Paraguayans of all stripes have plucked the instrument since Jesuit missionaries first brought it to this impoverished, landlocked country nearly five centuries ago. Paraguayans have since made the harp their own, composing thousands of songs for it and even inventing their own smaller, more versatile version of the instrument.

Now, they want international recognition for their harp magic.

MODERNIZING LEGACY

To be precise, Paraguayans want UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural wing, to designate their capital, Asuncion, ''the world capital of the harp.'' They deserve no less, they say, for carrying the instrument's long legacy into the 21st century.

''The harps we have here are copies and maybe bad copies, but for us, they're perfect,'' said Bernal, who spent three decades playing in Europe and Brazil and builds his own pine-and-cedar harps in his basement. ``You could be anywhere in the world, but as soon you hear one note, you know a Paraguayan's playing.''

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/528173.html

Found some examples on YouTube:

Francisco Yglesia plays Cascada on the Paraguayan Harp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlmXHD3eJdg

Paraguayan Harp: Guarania Medley by Harpist Mariano Gonzalez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuAQG7j3yf8&feature=related

La Partida - played on Paraguayan harp
http://www.broadcastyoutube.com/watch?v=7-KZpSZVSJ4

Guy Forsyth- Playing Saw-Over the Rainbow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAEOmHxN4QQ&feature=related

You're welcome!