Recollections, A Flashback and a Hope, through Venezuelan Guitar

In the second instalment of our Recollections series, Orlando Guedez Calderin (President of the International Institute of Business Analysis in Colombia) recounts how a 1957 recording of Antonio Lauro's Guitar Concerto No. 1 by his compatriot Alirio Díaz stirs a host of 'recollections and hopes about his homeland'...

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"The record that encapsulates many recollections and hopes about my homeland of Venezuela is the Guitar Concerto No. 1 composed by my countryman, Antonio Lauro (1917-1986), performed live in Caracas in 1957 by another remarkable compatriot as soloist - Alirio Díaz (1923-2016), under the baton of the famous conductor Jascha Horenstein (1898-1973). The recording was issued for the first time in CD format in 2010 by the label Doremi, including performances for solo guitar by Díaz as bonuses. The quality of the restoring deserves praise. I bought this CD while living in Spain, in 2012.

The composition was still very fresh when this public performance took place – its premiere took place the previous year. Its three movements include typical instrumentation from Venezuela, with maracas used in folk music. Its first and third movements are named after Venezuelan dances: ‘Bolera’ and ‘Marisela’; the marisela rhythm is still danced in rural areas. This short concerto (just 21 minutes long) moves me to whistle and dance whenever I listen to it, and it takes me back to the family celebrations when visiting the farms of some relatives that lived 100 miles away from Caracas.

Díaz was arguably the most distinguished student of Spanish guitar virtuoso Andrés Segovia (1893-1987). The Venezuelan guitar master premiered many compositions by Lauro as part of his repertoire, which also included other Latin American composers like the Brazilian Villa-Lobos and the Paraguayan Barrios. I was in the audience for a homage concert to Lauro on 15th July 1999, where the 75-year-old Díaz performed. I was myself 24 years old; my late mother Tania accompanied me, and I encouraged her to go backstage with me. I still remember when Díaz approached us, and agreed to sign a copy of a CD launched by a new Venezuelan label, Caroni Music. This renowned virtuoso looked so humble and serene, and at the same time he radiated strength and nobility. The magic of that moment in my memories is augmented by the presence of my mother.

Political dictatorship and repression have been a constant in Venezuelan republican life. Lauro had been imprisoned for his political resistance against the military dictatorship during 1952, and the public performance by Díaz and Horenstein was still under that regime, which would conclude the following year. When I met Díaz in person, in 1999, I was not aware that I would leave my homeland the next year, and I am still part of the exodus of nearly 7 million Venezuelans that have fled away from our homeland during this century, running away from a new dictatorship and economic crisis. However, our musical achievements as a society continue to be one of our main exports, including new celebrities like the great conductor Gustavo Dudamel, or the rising stars Rafael Payare, Samuel Mariño or Domingo Hindoyan, to mention just a few."

Medellín, Colombia. August 2023.

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