“¡Hola, clase!” greeted Lower School Spanish teacher Isamar Rosado as she welcomed all Class 2 students into the Assembly Room. Sitting crisscross around the room’s perimeter, they echoed back: ‘¡Hola!’
“I’m super honored and proud to have the opportunity to share a little bit of my culture and music with the Chapin community – especially our students!” Maestra Rosado said. “Welcome, Los Pleneros!” She waved her arms towards a group of five standing by the stage at the front of the room.
“¡Hola! I’m Juan Gutierrez and this is Julia, Matthew, Victor and Carlos,” said the man sitting in the middle of the group, gesturing to each guest as he said their name. “We are Los Pleneros de la 21!”
With drums in hand, the ensemble immediately dove into a fun, pulsing beat and the students began clapping along. They played two songs of the Afro-Puerto Rican population before chatting with the second graders.
“Music is like food,” Juan began as he travelled to the center of the room. “There are so many kinds!” He explained that the dance-inducing music that students just heard was called Plena and it is one of the most popular forms of music in Puerto Rico. Los Pleneros de la 21 are a Harlem-based performing ensemble that has pioneered the road for Plena (and Bomba) performance around NYC for over 40 years.
“In what ways are these instruments the same or different?” asked Julia as each member held up a hand drum that resembled a tambourine.
Several hands shot up and she called on a student who answered, “Some drums are smaller than the others and each makes a different sound.”
Julia nodded, admiring the student’s astute observation. “Ah! Clap if you agree!” she said, and the room erupted in claps.
“They’re also different colors,” Juan said, pointing to the rim of his drum. “The different sound is what we call tone and rhythm in music,” he explained.
The group revealed that the unique drums are called Panderos. Each performer demonstrated the different sound of their instrument, noting that the largest drum creates the base sound – which has the lowest pitch – and the smallest drum has the highest pitch and a louder sound.
“The middle drum is called a segundo, can you all say that?” said Julia. The class repeated the word back with ease. “Now, when we all play together, does it work? Does it sound good?”
The enthralled second graders shouted ‘Yes!’ and Julia explained that La Plena music is meant to be played by a family of drums along with güiro, a small gourd-like instrument.
“Would you believe me if I told you this instrument is actually a vegetable?” Julia asked. Victor stepped forward, holding the güiro with arms outstretched as the children gasped and gazed in amazement. He walked around the perimeter so that each student could get a good look. Several ‘Wows!’ echoed through the room.
“It is not a vegetable you should eat every day,” Julia clarified, “Because you should eat vegetables every day – but it is one that makes sound!”
“The vegetable instrument gives us a heartbeat,” Juan added smiling.
Next, the group introduced the students to a music genre called Bomba. “This music has been passed down through many generations. Our elders taught us, and we will pass it down too, which is important to keep songs and traditions alive.”
“This song is about community and family celebrations,” Juan continued, who was now seated at a drum that resembled a large wooden barrel.
Thus began a rhythmic, fast-tempo song and, in the midst of it, Julia migrated to the middle of the room and began to twirl, holding the hem of her long black and white skirt up by her hips. The skirt swayed in a beautiful blur as she moved gracefully on her bare feet.
When the song finished, the ensemble members asked the students how Bomba is similar to Plena. One student said, “It represents you and the instruments look similar.”
“Yes, it does represent us because we are Puerto Rican,” Julia affirmed. “What instruments are these? Are they pianos? Flutes?”
The students giggled and yelled out ‘Drums!’ and noted that they are much bigger than those used for Plena. Julia explained that in Bomba dancers get to compose the music. “The way I move tells Matthew what he should play,” she said and instructed the students to stand.
“We’ll do some movements together and we’ll tell Matthew what to play. Sound good?” The students cheered and, to conclude this jubilant workshop, began swaying, hopping and twirling about as Los Pleneros played lively music.
As their time together came to end, students skipped out of the Assembly Room, hearts full of music and joy.
