Volume 37
Spring-Summer
2011 |
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My name is Julissa Vale, a native New
Yorker born of Puerto Rican emigrants.
I do not remember a time in my life when
the sound of music was not present. I was
raised on Spanish ballads, salsa, and the Jíbaro
music typical of rural Puerto Rico. During
the holidays, bomba and plena were also played
at home. The songs played in my household
weren’t just from Puerto Rico, but from all
over Latin America. My father loved the romantic
ballads he associated with his idyllic
upbringing in provincial Puerto Rico, and his
memories enriched my childhood. One of
my earliest memories is singing along with
my dad as he strummed on his guitar to a
Felipe Rodriguez song.
Julissa Vale at Camaradas el Barrio, April 2009. Photo: Elaine Eversley
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As the oldest child of two hardworking
parents, I was taken to a local daycare center. The Hart Street Daycare Center was
administrated by a largely African American
contingent of instructors and care providers
who introduced me to other musical worlds.
I embraced these worlds with as much joy
and excitement as I had the music of my
home.
My favorite drummers were always
Mongo Santamaría, Manny Oquendo, Ray
Barretto, Kako, Louie Ramirez, and both
Titos. But it wasn’t until I heard Archie
Delerme’s band at New York’s SOB’s that I
knew I wanted to play percussion. I wanted
to inspire all that I’d felt that night in an
audience of my own. I began studying music
theory and percussion with “Mr. Boogaloo
Blues,” Johnny Colon. I next studied with
Jimmy Delgado at Boys and Girls Harbor Conservatory in Harlem. By the mid-1990s,
I was studying Afro-Cuban percussion with
John Amira.
My interest in percussion expanded to
the drum set. The “kit” led me to one of
my mentors, Paula Spiro, and the Female
Drummers Workshop. Drummers Collective
with Memo Acevedo and Adriano Santos
followed shortly after, as well as djembe
studies with Michael Markus and timbales
with Johnny Almendra. In my never-ending
pursuit of rhythm, I studied with New York
City–based Afro-Brazilian drummer Dendê
Macedo, as well as Mestre Paulinho, Mestre
Neco, and Macambira in Bahia, Brazil. When
my Puerto Rican roots music, bomba and
plena, called, I looked to the Pleneros de la
21 and Tito Cepeda.
Julissa performing at La Casita at Pregones, August 2010. Photo: David Cajigas
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In the late ’90s, Ronnie Roc invited me
to play with his trio. When jazz drummer
Victor Jones called, I joined his Cultur-Versy
project, which included Dario Boente, Saul
Ruben, and Mino Cinelu. Mr. Jones’s and
Mr. Cinelu’s mentoring paved the way for
my sound and exposed me to the world of
jazz. They sharpened my performance as a
musician, my understanding of melody and
dynamics. They also created a desire to refine
my understanding of music in a broader
sense.
Since then, I have played with New York
City–based bands such as Fluid, Purple
Crush, Jason-Michael’s Tuesday’s Child, Ya
Está, and Mireya Ramos y Movimiento. My
musical journey has led me to venues such
as Joe’s Pub, CBGB, CBGB’s Gallery, Zinc
Bar, Trumpets, Cecil’s, Smoke, The Cutting
Room, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Town
Hall, Symphony Space, and Central Park’s
Summer Stage. I was featured in 2007 in
Emmy Award–winner Jason Samuels Smith’s
A.C.G.I. show at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in
London. I’m currently working with Boricua
roots music groups Tato Torres and Yerbabuena,
Cultur-Versy, and Song and Beat.
I teach percussion at the Harbor Charter School and Exponents, an outpatient drug
abuse and HIV/AIDS clinic.
I consider women “the rhythm of life” and
believe it’s our inherent right to play percussion.
There have been some obstacles—some
male drummers refusing to teach women how
to play or not allowing us to play specific
drums. My optimism persists, despite stereotypes
or gender roles assigned by cultural
tradition and, in some cases, even religious
belief. My mind and heart expanded my own
realm of possibilities.
Music is a never-ending journey. In five, ten,
and twenty years, I expect to be playing and
singing and researching in Haiti, Cuba, Africa,
or India. I would really like for music to go
back to a time when everyone on the stage was
an actual musician, and not just an entertainer
accompanying a track or drum machine. As
many have noted, “Music is love in search of
a word.” My musical journey will end once I
find that word.
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In this issue, Eileen Condon’s In Praise
of Women column morphs into something
a bit different: a new offering
called First Person. The new column is
a natural outgrowth of the fact that so
many of the women Eileen interviewed
by e-mail for In Praise of Women spontaneously
opted to craft their responses
as a complete narrative—a story of
their own. So rather than continuing to
summarize artists’ and cultural workers’
vocation stories, First Person creates a
space for women—and men—to share
stories of their lives and work in folk and
traditional arts.
This issue’s First Person features
Latina drummer and music educator
Julissa Vale’s life and career in music,
written in response to a series of questions
provided by Eileen. Voices is
proud to present a traditional musician’s
tale in her own voice, and we encourage
other traditional artists and culture
workers to share reflections under this
column heading. To share your own
story or suggest a colleague to be featured
in First Person, email nyfs@nyfolklore.org |
I consider women “the rhythm of life” and
believe it’s our inherent right to play percussion.
Julissa at Nuyorican Poets Café. August 2010. Photo: David Cajigas |
This column appeared in Voices Vol. 37, Spring-Summer 2011. Voices is the membership magazine of the New York Folklore Society. To become a subscriber, join the New York Folklore Society today.
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