Sara Curruchich (GUATEMALA)
TD MAINSTAGE BANDSHELL
FRIDAY 5:00pm-5:45pm
SOUTH STAGE
SATURDAY 4:30pm-5:15pm
SOUTH STAGE
SUNDAY 11:30am-12:15pm
Being a woman in Guatemala is an act of resistance. Being a Kaqchikel Mayan woman and artist in Guatemala is an even bolder political statement, but at the same time, a radical gesture towards life, and this is the best way to introduce Sara Curruchich. Sara was born in 1993 in San Juan Comalapa, Chimaltenango, a community in the Central Guatemalan Highlands where its people have a long tradition of art and knowledge yet are also a great force of resistance and struggle.
She is the first indigenous Guatemalan singer-songwriter to go international with songs in Kaqchikel (her mother tongue) and Spanish. Curruchich’s voice, and messages of love, conscience, and respect – a defense of life in all its forms – have made her a bearer of light and hope for many women and men. Last month, she was warmly embraced at the inaugural edition of the International Indigenous Music Summit (IIMS) in Toronto. Since her beginnings in San Juan Comalapa, Sara has traveled to many corners of Guatemala, performing not only in its art and music spaces, but also in its social meeting places and rural community centres.
Sara Curruchich’s latest album Mujer Indígena is full of reflection, resilience and vindication. It continues her use of music – mining various genres like rock, folk and traditional Mayan Kaqchikel – to denounce, to heal, and to safeguard memory and history, of which Sara is a great champion.