This October the second edition of the International Street Organ Fest “Manuel Lizana” was held on Valparaiso City in Chile. For a second time the street organ players from Chile and Mexico showcase their music instruments and the typical “chinchin” dance at main square Plaza Sotomayor.
At the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Patrimony (Centex) families from long tradition and various generations taked the week from the 17 to the 22 of October to commemorate the oldest organ players in the city. On an expo the Lizana family with the heritage of master builder Manuel Lizana showcase their beautiful and magnificent sounding instruments to the young students from local schools.
One of the old families from the port of Valparaiso is the Castillo family. This family show in a booth old pictures of the generations of members of their family. With an open street organ on the table showed the pieces of the instruments and how they learned the mechanics to become one construction firm of the street organs in Chile.
Within the activities of the Fest was held a summit where Chilean and Mexican street organ players talked about the history on their respective countries on the street organs and also about the relationship of this two communities over the last twenty years. Researcher and book making Gabriel Cardenas was present also and gave a mater class about the ways the academy in Chile had been making discoveries about the legacy of this musical tradition.
At main square “Plaza Sotomayor” and with the view of Valparaiso´s port, families of chinchineros danced along with the music of the street organ as is done every day in the streets of Chile. Whitin the families on stage from all over Chile were: Lara, Castillo, Ayala, Lizana, Oyarzo, Aravena, Guajardo, Saavedra, Toledo, Casanova, Chavez, Osorio, Toledo and Estay. The delegation from México attending this year was in stage Maya´s family with his Stuber street organ. Along this delegation Mr. Adair Vazquez, Edgar Martinez and Ms. Eveling Ramirez with his two daughters Tabatha y Kyra, all of them mexican street Organilleros.
This second edition of the Chilean Street Organ Fest comes after the First Street Organ Fest in Mexico in May 2023 when chileans traveled to Mexico City with their instruments to perform . Both Fests will be again celebrated next year and performers from Germany and Europe are expected to attend.
Valparaiso/2023/Victor Maya