Irka Mateo is a
Taino Dominican singer-songwriter and
world music artist.
Career
Her artistic sensibility incubated in Spain, France, Brazil, Canada, the United States and her native Dominican Republic. In the late 1970s and early 1980s she lived in Europe (Spain and France) where she immersed herself in the emerging world music scene. In the late 1980s she moved to Canada, where she worked with the best artists in that country performing regularly at the
Montreal Jazz Festival
The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fes ...
and other events and venues. It was also in Montreal that she recorded the Spanish-language version of Sucre Amer, a song in defense of Haitian sugar cane workers – the recording that led to her opening for
The Fugees
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
when they played in Haiti in 1996.
In 1998 she returned to Quisqueya (Hispaniola). Along with performing in the country and the wider Caribbean she spent the next 10 years immersing herself in the islands its folk music; founded on popular religious celebrations and Taino culture. The result is music much more infused with Afro and
Taíno
The Taíno were a historic indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the pri ...
traditions. This work also lead Mateo to co-founding Guabancex, Wind and Water Society dedicated to the popularization and preservation of native culture. In her performances she dons a native headdress during the singing of "Anacaona" — a song that is essentially a
passion play of the Taino queen hanged by the
Spanish Conquistadors
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...
.
During this period she also collaborated with
Luis Días (composer)
Luis Díaz Portorreal, best known as Luis Días, was a musician, composer and performer of popular music born in the Dominican Republic.
He was immersed in the popular music and customs of Dominican folklore. In the artistic realms he is known ...
on his recording EL TERROR EN VIVO (with Transporte Urbano)
Along with this field work in the Dominican Republic, Mateo has toured performing in concerts and festivals in the Caribbean and Latin America; including a performance in front of 100,000 people in Mexico City.
In 2008,
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
-winning producer, Daniel Blumenfield, of GoodandEvil, Inc. discovered Mateo music and brought her to New York. She followed up with the release of the album ''Anacaona'' in 2009.
On November 16, 2017, Mateo & La Tirindanga released ''Vamo a Gozá'', an album with 9 tracks. The album is described as "expanding the boundaries of Dominican music, while building bridges to Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and the United States."
See also
*
Culture of the Dominican Republic
*
Tainos
References
External links
Official site* [http://www.ny1noticias.com/13-portada-news-content/cultura_y_sociedad/libros_y_m%C3%BAsica/103431/en-entrevista--cantante-dominicana-fusiona-m%C3%BAsica-ta%C3%ADna-con-sonidos-del-mundo/?ap=1&=Flash Interview on NY1 Noticias: August 2009]
The Dominican musician, composer, and musicologist Irka Mateo
Review of Anacaona
*Brazilian beat hits Bam Boo : IN Edition (August 10, 1990). Toronto Star,p. E16.
*KATHRYN GREENAWAY. (June 27, 1995). Sucre Amer: how sweet it isn't; CD by Quebec foursome to aid exploited Haitians : INAL Edition The Gazette,p. D.6.
Encuentro Irka Mateo y Voces NewsIrka Mateo y La Tirindanga – Vamo a Gozá (2017)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mateo, Irka
Living people
21st-century Dominican Republic women singers
Dominican Republic songwriters
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
20th-century Dominican Republic women singers