Artists

                     Guitarte..Mexican guitar quartet

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    This fine guitar quartet from Mexico City consists of;

    Alejandro Salcedo ( Director)
    Angel Alvarez
    Angel Alamilla
    Eloisa Lafuente

    In 1985 Alejandro, University Teacher in Mexico City,  created an octet
    with his more advanced students, travelling and making concerts in small
    towns outside the City. Later, the number was reduced to a quartet.

    Eloisa Lafuente joined the group in 1987.


                        




    It's my pleasure that I recorded the following interview with Eloisa.  In
    response to my question about the origin of the group, and present
    musical direction, Eloisa replied;   "Now we have matured and the group
    try to make new arrangements and to look for new  places to play in order
    to make people know new types of   music, different from the
    commercial one."

    What recordings have you made, and what are you doing at the moment?

    Some years ago we made a recording for the Mexican Universidad
    Metropolitana Collection. This Is one of the most important Mexican
    public universities, and they used to support classical guitar. They had one
    of the first important competitions in Mexico and they made a series of
    records in which played many important guitar players at that moment.
    We were invited to record  only one piece.. Brouwer " Acerca del cielo el
    aire y la sonrisa " ...
    We also made a recording for a commercial records company in which
    we recorded the famous Moncayo´s Huapango in a octet version and
    some Piazzola pieces.
    At the moment we are doing an independent recording in which we are
    playing different type of pieces. Vivaldi, Renaissance pieces, some Mexican
     modern composers , Piazzolla pieces and some Mexican folk music
    arrangements mainly made by our partner  Angel Alvarez. We hope to
    finish it by March next year and as it is independent recording we will
    have to look for the ways of letting people know the recording  and
    distribute it.

         When you record, do you play together or record parts one at a time?

    In the case of the Brouwer piece we recorded it together several times to
    choose the best. This way was nice because the result was kind of alive
    and fresh. In the case of the Huapango and the Mexican pieces
    arrangements who are kind of difficult to ensemble we made it separately
    with a back up. In the case of the other pieces we have done some parts
    together and some parts separated.

    I know you are performing a  play, can you tell me a little about those
    please?

    This is a dance play by my Friend Christa Lledías, a teacher of ancient
    dances. It is about dances of the time when we had the Maximiliano de
    Hasburga government here . Chirsta is very nostalgic about this period
    because the Father of her Gran mother came to Mexico with maximilianos
    French army so she made this play with the elegant dances of the time and
    the folk ones as well. I play in the guitar these old dances while an
    excellent pianist and friend Luis Guzman plays the salon dances.



    Eloisa with Luis
    Guzman.







    You have also written a book?

    I wrote a textbook for high school students. Here in Mexico our prep
    students have a music class in which they sing for a choir or they play an
    instrument. The book includes the theory contents of their program and a
    couple of things more like a chapter about improvisation , which I think it
    might be attractive for them. It was launched last month and now I am
    doing the presentation in several places.

    You told me you started with guitar aged 10...What are your main music
    influences, or composers you like to play most for solo?

    I think I have had different favourite composers in different times of my
    life. I like very much Villa-Lobos, Dyens, Brouwer but I have had times of
    playing some ancient music and some Spanish music. I am even doing
    some efforts to play flamenco.

    You are a versatile lady! I also happen to know you have an on line
    collaboration for recordings, with a duet partner in United Kingdom? Is
    this something you are serious about or just for pleasure?

    Oh yes this was a very nice experience! We had very good time but I took
    it seriously. Unfortunately we both have a lot of work and we stopped our
    recording s but I hope some day we will make a new work or even better
    we will play together alive.

    Thank you very much, Eloisa Lafuente, for taking the time out of her busy
    schedule to talk to me about your profession!