Chiapas, Mexico...land of the marimba



Chiapas, Mexico--in fact, all of Mesoamerica, has been an interest of mine for a long time. I was a Fulbright Scholar to Chiapas from 1985-86 and have written a book about the marimba traditions of that state:

Maderas que cantan. Tuxtla Gutierrez: Institute of Chiapan Culture, 1991.

The Wood That Sings: The Marimba in Chiapas, Mexico. Everett, Pennsylvania: HoneyRock Publications, 1992.

I also lead a professional Mexican ethnic music ensemble called Marimba Yajalon.

In 1996 I received a grant from the University of Missouri Research Board to fund three projects . I did field work in Chiapas in April, May, June, and August of 1996, with two trips in 1997. The primary focus of this work was:

1) Compile a complete discography of Mesoamerican marimba repertoire, with a focus on the music of Chiapas, Mexico.
2) Transcribe 12 representative Chiapan marimba pieces from this corpus of heretofore unnotated works.
3) Add two additional chapters to an expanded second edition of my book Maderas que cantan (containing information on placing the Mexican marimba within the context of other extant Mexican popular/folkloric musical traditions, as well as providing information on the marimba traditions in the rural areas of Chiapas).

In September of 1996, I received a $20,000 grant from the U.S.-Mexico Fund for Culture to create a virtual museum for the Mexican marimba, as well as create a third compact disc release with Marimba Yajalon.This recording of the 12 transcribed works funded by the UMRB Grant listed above, was released in 1997. It's titled "Echoes of Chiapas".

Virtual Museum of the Marimba


Here are some other great links regarding Mexican music, Chiapas, and or my research interests with the Mesoamerican marimba:

Marimba Yajalón The magic of the Mexican marimba

The Chiapan State School of Music

La Musica Latina

Puro Mariachi

The Latino Connection: Mexico

LatinoWeb

Annual Chiapas State Marimba Competition



Laurence Kaptain's Homepage

kaptainl@umkc.edu