MUSIC
LA MANO AJENA
Anyone who doubts that Chile boasts some of the region’s boldest musical experimen- tation has only to listen to
La Mano Ajena. The seven-member
group, which blends traditional Jewish
and Eastern European klezmer music
with Latin American rumba, joropo and
tango, returned to Chile’s music scene
in late 2011 after a three-year hiatus,
and is currently preparing for a two-month European tour this summer.
The group first won critical acclaim
with its 2005 debut album. Its second release, Radio Galena (2008),
was equally well-received and bold. It
connected distinctive sounds of early
twentieth-century radio (jingles, narrations and popular Chilean oldies) with
obscure instruments such as the ther-emin, an electronic instrument that
produces sounds by sensing the player’s hand movements.
La Mano Ajena’s latest album, Raza
Quimera (2011), represents another
step back in musical time. According
to the band’s vocalist, María Fernanda
Carrasco, the album is “a return to the
classic spirit of rock.”
The group has shared the stage
in Chile with New York’s gypsy punk
band Gogol Bordello, and in Europe
with Bosnia’s gypsy rockers Emir Kus-
turica & The No Smoking Orchestra.
Its appearance at the 2009 Küsten-
dorf Film and Music Festival in Serbia
marked the first and only time a Latin
American band has
played the event.
With a full con-
cert schedule for
Raza Quimera at
home and abroad,
fans farther north
are wondering
when the group
will announce a
U.S. tour.
c R
La Mano Ajena’s most recent album,
Raza Quimera (2011).
14
Americas Quarterly SPRING 2012
ADVENTURE
Colchagua Wine Tours
Wine lover’s
paradise: A
view of the
fields at Cali-terra vineyard
in Santa Cruz—
epicenter of
the Colchagua
Valley.
Wine connoisseurs have long admired the Bordeaux, Car- menere and Syrah varietals of Chile’s
Central Valley. Only recently,
though, have the vineyards themselves become popular destinations for tourists seeking the
wine-tasting experience of California’s Napa Valley or Argentina’s
Mendoza province.
Chile’s Colchagua Valley, at the
southern end of the Rapel Valley
and about 100 miles (161 km)
south of Santiago, was designated
in 2011 as one of Wine Enthusiast
magazine’s “ 10 Best Wine Travel
Destinations.” Nestled between
the Andes Mountains and the
Pacific Ocean, the combination
of mountain winds and marine
breezes makes the valley perfect
for growing red varietals. Its
proximity to both also makes it a
good stopover for travelers.
Visitors to Colchagua
wineries can choose between
independently arranged trips
to individual vineyards and
tours departing from nearby
Santa Cruz. One vineyard that
should not be missed is Viñedos
Emiliana Orgánico. It started
in 1986 as a traditional winery,
but in 1998 shifted to organic
and biodynamic viticulture. It
cultivates grapes in five valleys
across Chile, but one of its
best-known wines, Coyam, is
produced at the Bodega Los
Robles in Colchagua. Visitors to
Los Robles can take a walking
tour, see the winemaking process
and taste two reserve wines.
AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG
