MUSÉ Intercultural • Mochila
World affairs made me completely discard what I was preparing as the first newsletter from MUSÉ Intercultural. I'll go straight to a core belief of this organization, which is that intercultural understanding offers a path forward for humanity. Our work explores this idea of intercultural dialogue through music, storytelling and art, and we believe that the lessons we gain from this exercise can be applied to humanity's greatest challenges.
These past couple of days surely scream of a hurt people; a civilization in peril with wounds so deep and painful, it becomes hard to comprehend on any level. With deep humility and a soft voice I want to offer what I've learned through intercultural dialogue as possible way forward.
There are people in this world —many, unfortunately,— for whom this year has meant a catastrophe of unfathomable proportions.
I write from Los Angeles, where this has been unquestionably true.
510 Erskine Dr. Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 photo by Andrés Ospina
There is no person on this planet who can ensure going through life without any loss, and no one who can for sure avoid pain and suffering. We all have our stories, and our dreams, and we must all contain our uncertainty. All religions and nationalities, and anything else we can point to as differences, will not save us from the implacable whim of whatever is going to happen next.
How we react to what happens to us is perhaps the only thing we can truly control.
I was recently in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where I had the good fortune of coinciding with a mentor of mine, Wade Davis. In coversation, he said something in the context of what it means to incorporate teachings from other ways of seeing life into our own experience; in the context of intercultural dialogue. He said (paraphrasing) "It doesn't matter who is right or wrong, in seeing a mountain as a pile of rocks or a spiritual deity, what matters is the relationship you hold to that mountain depending on how you look at it. Our task is to be able to hold other perspectives and know be able to understand that there are other relationships to be had.
Mamo Camilo, under the tree in Kutunsama, in the Sierra Nevada. photo by Andrés Ospina
For someone whose spiritual training consisted of heightening his atunement to the universe's messaging, a fire that destroys is also one that clears the way. Again, a relationship to the world which allows for a novel interpretation of everything can yield insights rich in solace and acceptance.
Mochila by Monte
MUSÉ Intercultural set out to realize an intercultural musical project. Teto Ocampo (pictured on the right) had reached the pinnacle of rockstardom and musical prowess in any western standard. Awards, records sold, collaborations etc. and he then proceded to dedicate more than two decades of his life to deepening his understanding of indigenous music from the Sierra Nevada. Many dismissed his exploration, but Teto, a profoundly sensitive human being, discovered deapths of spiritual sophistication in this music, and eventually used his mastery of western music's language to make 'arrangements' of ancestral melodies as an exercise in translation.
After his death in September 2023 (not long after this picture was taken). Jose Castillo (2nd from the left) and myself (center) set out to create an album of electronic interpretations of Teto's arrangements.
A carefully curated list of producers were approached with the task at hand. The project will eventually be released as a vinyl record, and our first public release from is the track Mochila, by Monte.
Founding expedition for MUSÉ Intercultural
photo by Pablo Trujillo
MUSÉ Intercultural (https://www.museintercultural.org/) has earned the support of the Students Rebuild Campaign (https://studentsrebuild.com), steming from our many years of involvment with Creative Visions Foundation (https://www.creativevisions.org/). This partnership has provided for an intercultural exploration that is building bridges of understanding.
Thank you. I am Andres—storyteller, musician, cultural entrepreneur, eternally curious about what emerges when we listen across cultural differences.
Welcome to our newsletter.
You'll find work from MUSÉ, discoveries from my circle, and stories that perhaps help us make sense of the world and emerge hopeful for the world we will .
DUNI,
Andrés Ospina