Eustiquia

This limited edition, 2-track, 7” 45 vinyl RPM record, was made possible by a partnership between Los Herederos, 32A, and Miscellaneous Discográfica.

It includes two original tracks from the landmark album “Yo Soy Eustiquia” by renowned Bullerengue artist Eustiquia Amaranto Santana produced by Nativo Sounds Records – Colombia. The record arrives in a hand-pressed silk screen case featuring artwork by Mixtiiii (Image Creator) inspired by the album artwork of Linda Montoya.

Side A: “Yo Soy Asi”
Side B: “Borracha”

Records are $20 each + $3 flat rate shipping for the continental U.S. Additional shipping rates apply to orders of 3+ records. When placing an order through our Venmo Account please include your email as a note in the transaction so that we can follow up regarding the shipping address and order details with you directly.

Album available for pre-order HERE.

Eustiquia Amaranto Santana, “La Justa,” was born on September 29, 1929 in the town of Turbo, Colombia. A lifelong keeper of the culture urabaense, Eustiquia has worked as a midwife, a spiritual & medicinal healer, a miner, a fisherwoman, a traditional chef and in agriculture before becoming the bullerenguera that she is today. Eustiquia is the proud mother of 10, grandmother of more than 40, and great-grandmother of more than 30 children. Already in her 90s, Eustiquia represents one of the oldest living exponents of the Bullerengue tradition in Colombia today.

Originating in Colombia’s Caribbean regions (and Panama’s Darién province), Urabá, Cordoba, Bolivar and Atlantico, Bullerengue is a ritual practice and cumbia-based style of music/dance historically sung by daughters of the African diaspora. It developed as a uniquely expressive tool for women to share their stories, frustrations, and ecstasies in daily life through song. The combination of guttural earthy vocals, syncopated hand drums and improvisatory dance, remains a largely oral tradition to this day and is one of the nation’s lesser known artistic exports.

From Colombia to Panama, it is said that Bullerengue is the musical fire that lights up the palenques (historic settlements of formerly enslaved free black communities in the region); an eternal flame of ancestral memory and embodied wisdom that connects these important sites of refuge, freedom and resistance. Shared between families, friends, and neighbors Bullerengue is at its core, a communal practice driven by the female spirit and the healing properties of the drum.

Eustiquia’s debut album is a musical triumph proving that it’s never too late to leave your mark on your community’s legacy. A storied performer and respected tradition bearer in her own right, Eustiquia first recorded with Nativo Sound Records at age 92, ensuring that her melodies, messages and voice are permanently inscribed within an important generation of Bullerengue singers, considered to be the last of the pre-digital age. What ensued was a landmark 8-track ethnographic album released in Colombia in 2019.

This limited-edition vinyl release shares two tracks from the original album and represents the next step in Los Herederos’ ongoing work investigating Bullerengue and other Afro-Colombian musical traditions in transnational contexts. For years we have been working closely with partners on the ground in Colombia and NYC, conducting fieldwork from Necoclí to Bogotá to Brooklyn and back again. Through our unique digital platform we seek to make meaningful connections between these generations of female practitioners, map the relationships of sound to place, and build social power through traditional culture.

Additional Publications: Darlina Saenz | Carolina Oliveros

Liner Notes: Naomi Sturm-Wijesinghe
Audiovisual Production: Mauricio Bayona

Album Credits

Project Development
Maria Mónica Manjarrés
Mauricio Araya Sandoval
Brayan Medrano Velásquez
Urabá Ruiz Tabares

Music Production: Mauricio Araya / Juan Henao
Record/Mix: Mauricio Araya / Juan Henao
Photography & Audiovisual Work: Ivén Martinez (Changuito)
Masterization: Chaco World Music
Album Artwork: Linda Montoya
Graphic Design: Sergio Chaparro

Artists on this Album
Eustiquia Amaranto Santana: Lead Vocals
Carlos Mario Cuesta Mena: Tambor Alegre
Eder Quejada Murillo: Tambor Mamador
Pedro Escudero Caicedo: Tambor Alegre
Artemio Acosta: Totuma
Brayan Medrano Velásquez: Chorus & Guapirreo
Febe Merab Córdoba: Chorus
Xiomara Valderrama: Chorus
Ana Maria Valderrama: Chorus
Patricia Henao: Chorus
Jairo Romaña: Guapirreo
Vilma Yudys Álvarez: Chorus
Maru Borras: Chorus
Diego Valbuena: Chorus

Special thanks to: Universidad de Antioquia, Seccional Urabá (Coordinación de Extensión Cultural y Grupo de Investigación Interdisciplinar en Dinámicas Regionales, Cultura y Transformación Social), Turbo District Government - Secretary of Education & Culture, Casa de la Cultura Distrital "Hernando Delgado Orrego", Parroquia Divino Ecce Homo, Colectiva Útero Goloso, Corporación impactarte, Giovanna Sosa, Escuela de Danzas Nubalé, Orito Cantora, Esteban Cardona, Julissa Maldonado, Estefanía Carvajal, Diana Fula, Bulla en Austin, Yessica Cascavita, Sergio Chaparro, Maria Jose Sierra, Juan E Buitrago, Floida Lamilla, Laura M Hoyos, Claudia Carreño, Sergio Espinosa, Jario M. Tovar, Diana Ramirez, Eugeny Yunis,
Paola Galeano, Carolina Saldarriaga, Melissa Vargas, Natalia Martinez, David Portela, Juan S. Rojas, Valery Neira, Dala Mutis, Andrel Hortúa, Catalina Monsalve, Andrés Cruz, Andrés F. Atehortúa, Mauren Villamil, Daniela Adarve, Javier Vega, Carlos Rueda and other individuals who supported the Vaki crowd sourced campaign.
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