Felipe, Emilio José and María Falcón are irrefutable proof of the popular saying that reads: “like father, like son”. Grandfather, son and granddaughter are part of three generations of guancho musicians, members of the La Esperanza de La Guancha Musical Group (AMLE), founded 99 years ago by the Orotava priest Domingo Hernández González, when he perceived that in the festivals and processions of the municipality the music was always missing.
The priest had some knowledge and motivated by Vicente Carrera, a teacher from the town and of Sevillian origin, he did not hesitate to share it with the students and act as director, “despite the fact that it was not very well seen that a priest was one”, Felipe points out.
There were 18 children who formed that first band, which played with used and borrowed instruments, and others that people made, such as the bass drum, whose head was made of goat leather. They were all men, among whom was Juan Luis Reyes, one of its founders, director for many years and the true architect of its survival because he fought hard for it not to disappear. In addition to being a trained musician, he was Felipe’s uncle and the one who motivated him to study music from a young age. He left it for a while, “because at that age what one wants is to play”, and then he returned to take up his classes again and play the requinto, “a shorter clarinet tuned in E flat and not in Yes, because I didn’t have arms to reach the clarinet, which was what I liked, although they are two very similar instruments”.
At the age of 13, Felipe joined the band. The same age as his son Emilio and his granddaughter María, when they joined. And although it is a coincidence, they put superstitions aside because in their family this number is synonymous with luck.
It was a time when almost everyone studied music, perhaps in La Guancha more men than women, because there was no cultural offer like the current one, and the fact that there was a band and music classes were taught, attracted the most youths. In addition, at that age, being a member of it meant going out and getting to know other towns, especially in summer, a time when there were always performances. “We were practically always playing in a town. In addition, the uniform was attractive, at that time it was a white jacket and blue pants and I dressed quite well to be a musician”, says Felipe.
Pasodobles, zarzuelas, boleros, waltzes, tangos, and some danceable theme of the moment were part of the repertoire. At the age of 17 he combined it with the Coimbra orchestra, in which he spent 20 years, and playing the alto sax in a self-taught way. He went through various instruments until he reached the saxophone, which he accompanies him to this day.
Music was and is the center of his life. And although she sometimes thinks that he has to make way for the new generations, then he wonders “what does he do if he has always been around her”. Also familiar. His brother dedicated himself professionally to music in Venezuela, his two sons are also musicians (Emilio’s brother plays in the Community Orchestra of Gran Canaria), his granddaughter is a member of the band and his youngest grandson is asking step to enter
In June of this year, Felipe will be 63 years old in the AMLE, thus becoming the oldest member, by age and for being the one who has been there the longest. “And I will continue to be until my colleagues allow me to,” he jokes.
His son Emilio has been linked to chords and sheet music since he was born, as part of his family’s nature. He was always attracted to music and that is why he often went to see his father rehearse.
Unlike him, he chose the trumpet, despite the fact that his first choice was the oboe, a very expensive instrument that the band lacked. “By chance I went to an orchestra rehearsal with my father and I saw Jorge, an old musician, playing the trumpet, I decided to start and I’m still with it”, he says.
In addition to being a member of the band, Emilio is a school teacher and director of the youth band, although his profession has little to do with music: he is a rigger. “This is a hobby”, he stresses, but he loves it and doesn’t mind spending as much time as it takes.
Maria was also born sucking music. “The band has seen me grow,” she adds. She started as a child, at the age of four, learning music and movement and then, at seven, she chose the instrument. “I got to know the flute, it caught my attention, and I made up my mind,” she says.
Contrary to what many people suppose, young people are encouraged to be part of the group, also directed since 2015 by Jesús Agomar, a young baton. Half of its 47 components are under 33 years old, over 70 there are only two left. “The youth that came in now has given the band a lot of life,” says Emilio. Curiously, at the moment there are more women than men “and that’s good”.
One of the requirements to be part of the band is to attend rehearsals, twice a week, and commit to performances. There is no age to enter, except when you are ready. There is a case of a boy who did it when he was 10 years old “and promises a lot”, Emilio qualifies.
Generational relief
The generational change has been gradual. But regardless of age and youth, Felipe, Emilio and María agree that the band is a very heterogeneous group of people, in which all of them, regardless of age, are friends. “I have 13-year-old friends, like 70-year-old friends, we are a big family,” summarizes María.
And that has been the objective that AMLE has always maintained, “to keep the flame of hope always burning, because if it goes out and the band falls, it is very difficult to raise it, as has happened in other municipalities.”
Felipe recalls some performances while he was president of the XVIII de Enero Music Board, such as the one they offered at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo, representing the Canarian Federation of Music Bands at the third national festival held in November 1997, “And we played a great role.”
The group is financed with the subsidy granted by the City Council and with the fees of the students of the School of Music. She has always had a traveling vocation, interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and sometimes, due to lack of financial means, as happened in 1988 when she was invited to participate in the music festivals of Promenade, Holland, and, in 1989, at those of Göteborg, Sweden. An objective that they intend to recover on the occasion of its first centenary, on January 18, 2024.
first centenary
The AMLE celebrates its 100th anniversary on January 18 and they have already begun to organize the program of events. A commission of young people has been formed, always under the supervision of the Patronato de Música XVIII de Enero, linked to the band since its inception.
Not only will there be a great concert, but practically all year round there will be performances on the occasion of the first centenary and a competition will also be held to design the logo, as was done for the 75th anniversary, among other initiatives that are already being prepared, since ” not all bands can boast of turning one hundred years old”, emphasizes Emilio.
Gold Medal of the Island and of the municipality and reason for a book
The Band is governed by the XVIII de Enero Board of Trustees which, with the collaboration of the City Council, manages the School of Music where classes are taught in musical language, harmony and composition, instrumental specialties, a classroom for adults, a youth band and, for the little ones , Music and Movement. It currently has 70 students. On the occasion of the merits incurred and coinciding with its 90 years, it was awarded the Gold Medal of the municipality in January 2014, being the first institution to receive this distinction. In April of that same year, his first record work, Semblanzas de la Pasión, was released. The processional music of the Canary Islands and the book La banda en la vida 1924-2014, by the writer, teacher and journalist Salvador Pérez, in which the 90 years of the life of a band with great cultural and human projection are collected. In January 2017, the Cabildo de Tenerife awarded him the Gold Medal of the Island, rewarding, in addition to his career, social merit and his cultural involvement with Tenerife society.
