ASWM Conference May 5-6, Syracuse NY
Registration Links and Conference information here
Guadalupe Urbina is a Costa Rican singer-songwriter, poet, and activist who champions and celebrates Indigenous peoples and women. She is a folk musician whose compositions reflect the oral tradition of Guanacaste, her birthplace. She has performed in both Europe and the United States and has won various awards for her work domestically and internationally. She researched the oral tradition of Guanacaste starting in 198,4 during which she collected hundreds of songs, with grants from ACAM and the Spanish Cultural Center. She then published the song book Sones de mi Tierra Caliente, which contains unpublished and anonymous songs of the Guanacaste province, and she performed these songs at a concert at the National Theatre of Costa Rica. Her creative work includes numerous albums and three books, most recently Palabras de Larga Noche.. Guadalupe is the subject of the 2019 documentary film Los caminos del amor, which covers her life and work.
THE SACRED FEMENINE IN THE WATERS OF ABYA YALA
Abya Yala is the oldest name so far known referring to the Americas as a territory. It means “land in full maturity” or “land of vital blood”, in the Dulegaya language spoken by the Guna ethnic group that inhabits Panama and Colombia. In the visions of people whose center of life is water as a vital and sacred element, the Mother Water (original grandmother) is the Origin and renewal of the life.
The work of Marija Gimbutas opened an immense door for the knowledge of the sacred feminine. Although her research was carried out far from our continent, we discovered between the lines a hermeneutic that made it easier for us to read our archaeological discoveries and our myths. And it is with these tools that I have been studying the deities and magical beings of the waters in Abya Yala. There have always been the founding tales that validate human existence, the terrifying urban legends that give credence to our deepest fears, and these legends are strongly linked to nature and wildlife. One of the most crucial protagonists of these legends is the woman in her most elemental form.
In addition to her panel presentation, Guadalupe will also share her music with us in our Saturday evening showcase, Celebration of the Waters.
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