Valona pal Covid

August 19, 2021

Los Originarios del Plan is a traditional Arpa Grande group playing the music from the Tierra Caliente of Michoacan, Mexico. This four-man band plays acoustic strings (harp, violin, vihuela and guitar) with the signature calenteño (natives of Tierra Caliente) high pitched vocals. Their composition, “Valona pal Covid,” draws on their regional tradition of “la valona,” a popular musical and literary form characterized by an acid sense of humor and social concerns. Its lyrics are composed of stanzas of ten eight-syllable verses and musically, valonas are sung to the same musical tune.

Part of ACTAvando Contra COVID, a program of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA). ACTA produced new works in Spanish and Mixtec in music, poetry and theater by four beloved Latinx artists and ensembles in the San Joaquin Valley. These new pieces all animate public health messaging for the prevention of COVID-19 in the valley, a region which has experienced both high level of infection and low vaccination rates during the pandemic.

ACTA's program is one of 14 public art projects organized by the CA Governor's Office and the Sierra Health Foundation.

Listen to the original song "Valona pal Covid" here.

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