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Rafael Camino
Living Cultural Heritage
- HISTORY - RAFAEL CAMINO FOR LIVING HERITAGE
a) Place of birth, family identity
Rafael Trajano CAMINO Collantes was born on October 25, 1948 in the barrio (neighborhood) of 4 Esquinas (4 Corners) of the community of Pilligsilli, belonging to the Parrish of Poalo, Latacunga County, in the Province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador, South America. He came into the world assisted by the loving hands of Mama Maria, the local midwife. His parents were mestizo –half Indian, half Spanish; the father, Neptalí Isaías Camino Herrera, was a landowner of the Parrish of Poalo, a resident of Pilligsilli and the mother Mercedes Collantes Muñoz, an illiterate housewife from the area.
He was the sixth child of the Camino Collantes family, his brothers and sisters: María Soledad, Jose Humberto, Laura Leonor, Libia Isolina, Manuel Remigio y Mercedes Cecilia.
From the earliest memories of his childhood he recalls the mestizo and Indian coexistence and his close relationship with the children of the men and women who worked the lands of his father, living and being part of the local traditions and way of life, particularly the Fiestas of the Catholic religious calendar such as the Lord of Macas, the Virgin of Transit, the Christmas Pageant of El Niño Parade, the Fiestas of Saint Joseph and Corpus Christi; apart of innumerable community and family festivities such as funerals, weddings, santos (birthdays), audates (ceremony on the death of a baby), mingas (community work) and invocations (prayer processions i.e. for rain in times of drought).
His development as a sensitive human being began at a very early age, with the close contact with nature, the cosmos and the mestizo-Indian world: the colors, the textures and the nourishment from the products of the land such as corn, lima beans, chaguarmishqui (pulque), ucto tortilla (like a corn bread), fingerling potatoes, ocas, fava beans, split white corn, barley rice, capuli cherry, machica (toasted barley flour mixed with lupins), and toasted corn kernels.
The process of his evolution comes freely; his aptitudes and skills have their own spaces, shapes and the taste of liberty in life.
Many of the elders still remember their playful young neighbor who ran up and down the mountain paths, following the contours of the mountains, reading the trunks of the trees and enjoying the pure colors of the wild flowers.
He recalls the different social upbringing of the children of the owners of Hacienda La Compania, who received a special treatment; and the liberty that was expressed from his soul in every aspect of his life and environment. He has fond memories of Taita Pancho, Manuel Duque, José Velasco, Enrique, Leonidas, Mama Cunshi, Cunshi Loma, Clementina Flores, Rosa María, and particularly mama Shuli, a pure bred Indian from Maca Grande who always fed him ocas (oxalis tuberosa), fingerling potatoes, mashuas (Tropaeolum tuberosum) and fava beans.
He never knew why he did not attend the local school of Pilligsilli called Jose Vazconselo and had to walk down two hills and up two hills, to attend first grade at the Gabriel Garcia Moreno School of the Parrish of Poalo; he walked barefoot, sometimes making detours to stop to eat prickly pears from the cacti and capuli cherries from the trees; twice a day, since school had classes in the morning and in the afternoon. The first and second grades were a period of merging into a mestizo circle – school dances with the teacher’s daughter - and Mr. Cerda and Rosita Pacheco teaching the first ABC’s and 1-2-3’s; jumping and playing and going to church on Fridays, where powdered milk was distributed among those who attended, and then his First Communion, alone with his Godmother, Carlota Herrera.
He saw how the Indians from Maca come to be buried at the cemetery in Poalo, the open wooden coffin being carried for several miles, whether sun, wind or rain, stopping to rest under the largest trees and sounding bells along the way; the deceased wearing the best earrings, necklaces, rings, colorful rebozos, or ponchos, hats and aciales (leather whips); an experience that had a deep influence in his cultural process.
He knew no fear of darkness, nor for the sudden swelling of the rivers, or to fall off trees, frightening the nuns; he has fun and enjoys being part of religious festivities, dancing the Mashalla and learning the steps of immemorial dances to the Sun; closely watching every movement of the dancers, and how every character dressed and performed (the clown, the monkeys, the yumba, the tiger, the camisona); listening to the particular sound of each instrument like the box, the drum and the pingullo (a small flute); singing praises to the Lord of Maca asking for rain, caring for the nests of birds and gathering tzimbalos (solanum caripense) and uvillas (physallis) that grow in the high mountains among the local vegetation of chilcas (Nardophyllum lanatum), sigses (sword grass) and pencos (Century plant).
He still recalls his first hen, a gift from Laura Leonor, that for the first time made him realize the value of his first coins (the real, the medio, the peseta) that were given to his mother for safekeeping inside a pot beside the cooking fire, or placed on the tangan (a square board suspended from the ceiling, where groceries were kept), or under the bench beside the washing board. He learned to count, to add and to subtract, as the hen lay eggs, the eggs became chicks, the chicks became pigs and the pigs sheep, until the Dollar was bought – a beautiful bull for reproduction.
The family kept growing; sister Maria who lived with Granma Andrea had married Leonidas; and Pepe had married Ester, Laura married Rigo, Libia, Elias, and Manuel, Nelly and there are now 42 nephews; but there is not much time to share with them as he is now going to school in Latacunga, much farther, to the third grade at Simon Bolivar School. On Fridays he ran as fast and as straight as he could towards home, passing by San Felipe, Tulipulo Grande, Santo Samana to get his mother’s blessing and be part the community life, sharing toasted corn and cheese with his friends from school. In the fourth grade he was the best student of his class and he spent the mornings in class, had lunch at the market and was on the streets in the afternoons, shouting, running, sitting , living every moment of that other world, a life that did not belong to him, but to which he must adapt.
He got up very early every day, to pray for everybody he knew. At his stage he dreamed of going into the Seminary to be a servant of God.
b) Studies (Schools García Moreno, Simón Bolívar, Colegio Vicente León in the city of Latacunga)
In the city of Latacunga he got used to sleeping on a hiata (an abandoned old house), to eat at the market, to sell the local paper Gaceta and to shine shoes; but he also woke up very early on Thursdays to attend a special mass to the Santisimo at the Church of La Merced. His classmates at the Simon Bolivar School belonged to the middle class, but little Rafael spent his time with children of a lower class, who could barely go to school and when they did, they would hurry out to help with the economy of the house.
He clearly recalls the sixth grade, as he had to take a course to pass the entry exams for high school; he found no time to study for this, as he was working on the streets of the city and only the week prior to the exams he dedicated to these studies, sometimes until dawn, with his feet in a washbowl filled with water to prevent him from falling asleep. Finally, on a Friday, he took the tests to enter the Minor Seminary in Ambato and was the first to finish, but could not remember the definition of “sentence”. Professor Quevedo apparently tried to help him, but gave him the wrong information – as his classmate Semanate informs him – he was taken aback, as he thought the Professor was his guide and would help him to be better.
In high school he attended Colegio Vicente Leon, and was the smallest of the students; during recess the older students would make him put on boxing gloves and blindfold him, so that he tried to hit the older ones – they had fun and laughed, he was happy too.
He took notice at the system of discipline by force of the school, with harsh physical punishments; he played basketball and was the coordinator of protests as well as the first flute at the school’s band; he was a leader. At the same time, he helped his mother wash clothes in the Cutuchi River, while his friends watched from the bridge above, and admired him.
At the graduation ceremony, he wore a poncho instead of the toga, and some made fun of him, but he felt proud to defend his mestizo identity.
In 1967 he watched how his classmates, Lechuguin Hidalgo and the brothers Icaza, performed as dancers of the Ballet of Patricia Aulestia, in a presentation at the local Rex Theater. He felt like jumping from his seat to the stage to dance – was greatly motivated by the lights, the scenario, the public and the culture.
After graduation from high school he traveled to Quito to study to become a veterinarian, and at the same time attended the Ballet of Patricia Aulestia for only four days, as the Ballet moved on to Mexico that weekend and he remained alone, his illusions lost, until he found a place at the Center for Artistic Promotion “The Magic of the Ecuadorian Folklore” directed by Paco Coello and Oswaldo Guayasamin, who was at the time the President of the Ecuadorian House of Culture. After 21 days he was named sub-choreographer, taken to the theater to dance dressed as a danzante; he lost his alpargatas (slipper-like shoes) that fell to the front seats, but the public was marveled at the dance, and asked for a repetition. They told him that was the Sucre Theater.
President Velasco Ibarra shut down the University and he had misunderstandings with the people who lead the arts; he could not find work so he returned to his homeland for a while, until 1972 when he went back to the city to study at the School of Physical Education. There he met Mr. Guzman, who provided support to form the artistic group RUNAPAC CUCHICUNA with his classmates.
He found it imperative to perform the Ecuadorian dances, as the dance teacher was an Argentinean lady, who taught the Dance of the Cat and the Cueca, which had nothing to do with our identity.
The first dancing group was created in 1973-1974, with 90 presentations and was the winner of three local Festivals; he traveled throughout the country with Master Cachaflor mixing gymnastics and dance. He had to give his physical ed exam of gymnastics in 24 tempos, but Rafael does 240 tempos, so he gets a zero; he complains and get another zero… he feels the mediocrity of the education, the egoism of the professor, books that do not help the student to learn, wiping out individual creativity and the liberty of movement in life.
He started working at the Colegio Fiscomisional of Guaitacama where he met many Indians that invited him to their communities – among them José Quishpe, Lauro Sarango and Miguel Vacasela. He also taught at the Colegio Belisario Quevedo of Pujilí, under the direction of Pepe Calvache, and the dance just flowed, cheerleaders danced and the young people started to create a space for their own identity. Every morning he got up at 4:00 AM to arrive on time to Pujili.
In 1974 the first National Institute of Dance was created, and he was the first to enroll, so after three years he was the first man who had graduated in dance in the country. Great and good teachers are delighted to see this dance movement in Quito and in 1977 the first dance professionals received their titles. Professors Leonardo Tejada and Gerardo Guevara recommend Rafael to be a teacher at the institute, and the first official position as Professor of Folkloric Dance is created.
He began to put in practice what he had learned, and there was a sudden surge of dance groups and performances at the Bolivar Theater, the Sucre Theater, the National Institute of Dance, the National Dance Company and the traditional groups of Marcelo Ordoñez and Virginia Rosero return from Mexico. There is intense dance movement in the Provinces of Esmeraldas, Ibarra and Tungurahua.
Rafael saw the need to create a large Dance Company, but people did not understand this. Ecuador’s capital Quito, was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site, but there is no culture, everything came from abroad, there was nobody dedicated to create what is ours. In 1982 Rafael started to travel, and during a nine-month stay in Brazil he became familiar with the Waldorf pedagogy, eurhythmics and understands anthroposophy, as his essential need of life, like hunger or thirst, with a deep respect for life and the cosmos.
He taught dance and music for children at the UTE in Quito, and was a professor of Child Pedagogy at the Central University of Ecuador. He also worked with a large number of schools in Quito to prepare choreographies for shows and parades.
Rafael Camino attended seminars and congresses in Mexico, Cuba, Spain, Venezuela and Colombia, with the idea to create the National Folklore Ballet Jacchigua.
For a whole year he knocked on doors to obtain support for this project, but nobody could believe that an individual born in Pilligsilli of an illiterate mother could achieve such a purpose.
In 1988 the Ecuadorian Bank of Development granted him a loan of four million Sucres, that has to be repaid in three years – four times that amount, as there was even interest on interest.
Many nights and many days were spent organizing the dance group, with the participants themselves embroidering, knitting and sewing the dresses for the ballet, this marks the start of this great cultural commitment; with discipline comes a creative conscience of dance, the men and women were now able to perform the danzante, yumbo, yaravi and sanjuanitos and they started to create their own rhythm, with the steps that are imbedded in the ancestral memory of their people; taboos are overcome. Then they met Mr. Jose Vicente Mantilla, who wished this to be a “show for exportation”, he provided the Bolivar Theatre and the show was prepared.
Jacchigua was legalized as a dance group. The first presentations took place at the Bolivar Theater on July 6 and 7, 1989. It created great admiration, people could not believe what they saw, what a show! Where does this ballet come from? Is the choreographer European? Where is Pilligsilli? The Ecuadorians who attended the first shows did not recognize they own culture, one that refuses to disappear, that must live on so that the Ecuadorians realize that they have a pluri-cultural and multi-ethnic country. Then, after Mr. Eduardo Proaño of Metropolitan Touring saw the Ballet for the first time he exclaimed: “At last, my dream come true! Quito and Ecuador now have a ballet as in the great cities of the world”. The Ballet now has regular presentations for tourists, with performances at the Sucre Theater; and this great man, paid the debt of Jacchigua to the bank and in two years the production of the NATIONAL FOLKLORE BALLET JACCHIGUA was able to repay this debt.
Rafael met Mr. Hernan Crespo, Director of the Museum of the Central Bank of Ecuador, and upon seeing the show he tells Rafael: “This is a marvel of marvels, you must take care of it.” When he visited him at the Central Bank and than on a trip together to Ingapirca, Rafael makes him understand more and more about this marvel of marvels, and value even more objects like bracelets, necklaces, textures, embroidery, ponchos and woven belts as expressions of the popular culture.
Mr. Delgado, Sub-secretary of Culture decides to close the Sucre Theater and the Municipality gives Jacchigua some space to place their things at Plaza Belmonte –an old bullring. Performances continue first at the San Gabriel Theater, then at the House of Culture, at the Quito Hotel, at the Airport Theater, Bolivar Theater and currently at the Demetrio Aguilera Theater of the Ecuadorian House of Culture.
It is now the permanent Ballet of the City of Quito, a World Cultural Heritage Site, a reference of the Culture of Ecuador to the World, promoting the popular Ecuadorian culture in many countries and continents, and performing as representatives of Ecuador at the World Soccer Championship in Germany in 2006, having been selected by the FIFA (World Soccer Federation) for the circuit of world cultures. The performance was at the Doors of Brandenburg, before 750.000 attendants, with 35 dancers and 4 musicians. Jacchigua also boasts other recognitions, such as obtaining the second place in tourism promotion in South America, being the best Ballet of Folklore Projection in the Continent and the only Living Museum in the World, with its own style and technique: recovering, valuing and promoting Ecuadorian traditional culture with its colors, textures and ethnic elements immersed in the movements, the emotions, and rediscovering the cultural events of the past, where Rafael Camino acts as a designer, choreographer and dancer at the same time that he creates conscience about the values, identity and solidarity.
- LIVING IN A COMMUNITY
All his life, ever since he was a very small child, Rafael came to know his land along mountain paths past gorges, valleys and mountains; living with the Indians and mestizos, sleeping in huts and under the sigses in the fields; planting, weeding and harvesting; dancing and smiling; learning how to dress and observing how others dress, the textures and the colors; living every stage and moment of happiness, sorrows, hunger and solitude, but always very close to the earth, to the sun, to the moon, no matter the intense rays of the sun, the strong winds, rains and hail storms, thunder and silence. This is how he learned about the earrings, necklaces, anacos (skirts), fajas (woven belts), embroidered camisoles, bracelets, hats, tupos (pins), chaps, rebozos, ponchos, aciales, a whole world that was being taken away, but that had to be kept, cared and protected, so that the children of our children will know what we are, what we have, our sensibility. This is why Rafael believes that his arms are the mountains that hug Ecuador; we must know to love.
This comes hand in hand with the Social Folklore taught by Paolo de Carvalho Neto and his disciples, with mingas, fiestas, music, dances, fairs and family events like funerals and audates (funeral of a baby), weddings and christenings.
And there is also de Hergology Folklore – everything that we ceased to use is also part of our life, our history and our culture: what was cooked and how it was done; where we slept and what was used as blanket; how bread was made and eaten, how the soil was plowed with oxen, with shovels and spades. What were our drinks –the great diversity of chichas (maize beverage) and many other uses for corn, lima beans, mellocos (Ullucus tuberosus), ocas (Oxalis tuberosa) and mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) whose flavors blended perfectly with the machica, the chaguarmishqui and the ucto tortilla. How the Indians dressed before, the diversity of hats, ponchos, anacos, camisoles, earrings and much more.
The Narrative Folklore with poems, oral narrations, songs, amorfinos (love ditties), myths and legends that are transmitted from generation to generation.
And the Magical Folklore, the profound knowledge of our ancestors, how they used the medicinal plants, their relation with the cosmos and nature, with the sun and the moon. Here enters Anthroposophy, the respect to life, with life and for life. The witchcraft and the spells, the good and the bad, the white and the black, the Ying and the Yang.
Folklore is a science born on August 22, 1842; Folklore is culture because all those who read are cultured.
Folklore is the ancient knowledge of the people since 1982, because it is anonymous, because it is the knowledge of the people that is transmitted from generation to generation.
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