Wednesday, February 18, 2004

For the third year, CBC Radio One celebrates our country's poetic imagination by approaching it from a sports perspective. Poets will come together in cities all across Canada to perform in a live-before-an-audience poetry cabaret. In each of 14 cities, five poets will be commissioned to write and perform their work on a common theme; this year’s is «Belonging.» The audience at each event will choose a winner and the winning entry will go on to the national play-offs. These will take place on CBC Radio’s Sounds Like Canada in April. The national listening audience will then be able to vote on their favourite, and a national champion will emerge.

In Montreal, the match will be closely fought, with the old pros - Fortner ANDERSON, Paula BELINA and Alexis O'HARA - challenged by rookies Kyra SHAUGHNESSY and Osei 'Manchilde' ALLEYNE. Have no fear, your host Ian FERRIER will guide the very vocal crowd in choosing the winner of this first-round match.

Recorded by CBC Radio One for later broadcast. Produced by Katherine Gombay.

Vivan los latinos of Montreal! We’ve lived alongside them for years; they are our neighbours, friends, relatives by marriage. We think we know them well, but… things are not so simple. They may all be Latino, but a Chilean is not a Mexican, still less a Salvadorian (even if he’s lived in Mexico); a Uruguayan (who’s also a little Brazilian) is different from a Chilean (who’s passed through Peru). Add to that five, ten, or twenty years living in Montreal. The result is a complex identity, full of surprises.

From 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, come and do some shopping at the Mercado Loco, a colourful marketplace (not to be confused with a fayuca) where authentic artisans (not fayuqueros) of Latin American origin will sell their finest wares. Que oferta! But tranquilos… some shady characters are lurking nearby and Ines with the velvet voice has taken up residence at the bar. Don’t let yourself be taken in by the exile who has seen everything, done everything and lost everything, or by the revolutionary poet who woos you with ideals. Tempt fate and buy a lottery ticket, or better yet, ask the chamana to tell your fortune and sell you «what you need for what you’ve got.» But cuidado a tu cartera: there’s a peligroso gangster on a mission in the area! He’s looking for the ghost of the great Malena, whose deep, rich voice could melt a heart of stone. Let yourself be charmed by the laidback guitars and venga a ver las mamacitas! Que desmadre, que locura!!!

With actors Leo ARGUËLLO (born in El Salvador), Alejandro MORÁN (born in Mexico), Gerardo NONELL (born in Mexico), Miguel RETAMAL (born in Chile) and Luz TERCERO (born in Nicaragua); singers Ines CÁNEPA (born in Uruguay) and Mariana TAULIS (born in Chile) and musicians Sergio MENDEZ (born in Uruguay) and Rodrigo SALAZAR (born in Chile).

At 9:00 pm, discover the Afro-Peruvian group MANDINGA, whose lively shows and recent release have brought a breath of tropical fresh air to the Quebec world music landscape. The ten-member collective, started by brothers Kullak and Musuk VIGER ROJAS (virtuosos on the cajón or box drum), draws from the Afro-Peruvian tradition but spices things up with a jazz and Latino flavour and with socio-political texts and poetry. In addition to the two singer-percussionists, the group features Guillaume ADAN (saxophone, flute), André FALEIROS (bass, double bass), Joseph MARCHAND (guitar), Sacha DAOUD (drums), Mauricio VENEGAS (vocals), Jacques SÉGUIN (trumpet), Serge ARSENEAULT (trombone) and John SADOWY (piano). And, since words and music go together at the FVA, writers Manuel ARANGUIZ, Miguel RÉTAMAL and José Antonio VENEGAS (all born in Chile) will join the group for the evening to read their texts.