Preludio y Marañón
Coatzacalcos Riverside
Initially, Ernesto García de León composed Marañón as a work in six movements. He scored it for strings, guitar and percussion. In 1982, García de León wrote a second version, Preludio y Marañòn, for solo guitar. In the solo version, he develops the themes from Marañón in a different way. In both works, however, the composer attempts to evoke the nostalgia for the lost jungles of the Coatzacalcos Riverside, devastated by the effects of “progress”.
García de León premiered Preludio y Marañón on La Guitarra en el Mundo (The Guitar in the World), a radio series broadcasting since 1971 through Radio UNAM, each Monday at 10:00 p.m., from México City. Currently, the radio show has become a point of reference for guitar matters in México, as various international and local guest artists have been featured since its beginnings.
The composer performs Preludio y Marañón.
The series’ host and founder, Juan Helguera, explains: “In 1971 composer Raúl Cosío invited me to write a guitar series that would update the status of the instrument. Hence, La Guitarra en el Mundo was born.” Juan Helguera also mentions that Mexico today has a very important school of guitar: “In México you can find excellent guitarists, composers, scholars, and teachers who are internationally acclaimed.”
Circa 1983, Canal Once TV (Channel Eleven TV) featured García de León’s guest appearance on La Guitarra en el Mundo.
The Program
I. Partita in A Minor................. Johann Anton Logy (ca.1650–1721), Prague
II. Theme, Varie et Finale.......... Manuel M. Ponce (1882-1948), México
III. Mapeyé............................Ernesto Cordero (1952—), Puerto Rico
IV. Preludio y Marañón.............. Ernesto García de León (1952—), México
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Editor's Note: In addition to hosting La Guitarra en el Mundo, maestro Helguera is also a guitarist, composer, and scholar. He was born in Mérida, Yucatán, México.