Pictured from left to right: Lucia Torres (Hugo Macario’s wife), Lecturer Hugo Macario, and Professor Ruth Hellier in Santa Barbara at Ruth Hellier’s house on June 18, 2019 Phone image: Hugo Macario’s family in Pátzcuaro Laptop image: Ruth Hellier with Leobardo Ramos of Jarácuaro
Historias que contar / Stories to tell A connecting relationship through the Island of Jarácuaro By Ruth Hellier, Professor, Department of Music, UC Santa Barbara Although I had known Hugo for some time as a musician in Ensamble Vientos del Sur, it was only in early June 2019 that Hugo and I discovered our deep shared connection to one very tiny and specific place in Mexico: the Island of Jarácuaro. Hugo’s family is from the Island of Járacuaro, Lago de Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, part of a region with a remarkable legacy of teachers, teacher training and vibrant musical and cultural practices (and, significantly, home of P’urhépecha peoples for many centuries). For my part, I had spent much time living on or near the Island of Jarácuaro from the mid1990s onwards as part of my research on musical practices, teaching and transmission. I played violin with an ensemble from Jarácuaro and knew so many people who were connected with the dance of the old men (la danza de los viejitos) and who were teachers. Of course, I knew of the Macario family as a family of teachers from Jarácuaro who, like others, lived in the nearby lakeside town of Pátzcuaro. UC Santa Barbara Department of Music | Summer 2021 Newsletter | 7
