Esperando el tsunami

Juan Bertel, or Pampei as people call him, lives in Isla Grande, in the Rosario Islands on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. He is a farmer and lives an extremely simple life, taking everything he needs from the land. With barks and sticks that he finds daily around his house, he builds the Arco de Boca, a practically extinct musical instrument.

Pampei says that the originary tribes of the Island used to play it as well, and that he simply remembered how to make it and play it. He also sings verses of his own that tell of the life in the island (our favorite song is about a group of marine turtles that were set free at the local aquarium); and sometimes he blends his own lyrics with old bullerengue verses.

He is accompanied here by Urian Sarmiento (percussion), Luis Maurette (electronics) and Alejandra Ortiz (small percussion).