Ceferina Banquez una voz que teje memoria y esperanza

Abstract

In March, the Inaugural Lecture of the Master's in Artistic Studies program, hosted by the ASAB Faculty of Arts at the Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, featured Ceferina Banquez, a bullerengue singer and composer, as its guest. A woman who is a victim of the conflict in Colombia, she today personifies the resistance of Afro-descendant communities and the importance of women in building regional and national memory. Ceferina Banquez was born in María La Baja, in the northern part of the Bolívar department. From a very young age, her father nurtured the tradition of bullerengue in her, but it wasn't until 2007 that her voice rose up as a cry of resistance. She recalls that upon returning to her land six years later, she saw how relatives and friends had disappeared or been murdered as a result of the armed conflict between guerrillas, the State, and paramilitaries. In this academic space provided by the Master's program, Ceferina recalls and sings verses that portray painful moments and are part of the tragedy of our country. She serves as a testimony and history of the dynamics of violence, dispossession, and displacement: “Goodbye, goodbye mama, since I am displaced, I left the mountain, the Montes de María, at six in the morning, I heard some gunshots. Since I was scared, I paced and paced from the living room to the kitchen and now I go with my godmother, I cried without solace. My grandfather came to warn me, they killed my nephew, oh Colombia, oh Colombia, the nation is complicated, the violence doesn't end, and they never put a stop to it... We have to forgive to achieve Peace, we are all Colombian, oh Colombia my homeland, I didn't have a peaceful life, neither night nor day, we have to forgive to achieve Peace, oh Colombia oh Colombia,” she recites. These verses are also the expression of a moment of sadness—what it meant to her when the "No" vote won in the 2016 Colombian Peace Accords Plebiscite. Her repertoire includes over 30 songs, highlighting her musical work “Cantos ancestrales de Guamanga” (Ancestral Songs of Guamanga), which was awarded by the Ministry of Culture (2013) in recognition of her contribution and dedication to the enrichment of the culture of Black, Raizal, Palenquera, and Afro-Colombian communities. Ceferina is a testimony; she is a voice that weaves memory and gives hope. She is the keeper of the knowledge of our indigenous and ancestral communities. We share the dialogue we held with her, which deeply moved the attending public.