Burundanga from Zocotroco
José M. Umpierre
The concert is love.
At this point, it would be absurd to deny the irrefutable. Despite the many evidences and experiences to the contrary, I have not lost the fascination with falling in love. Reading the findings of the Psychology Research Center – Human Area of Spain on the subject is nothing less than an incentive to resume the matter and contemplate it from the perspective provided by the accumulation of my years.
Peninsular science defines falling in love “as a transitory emotional state, characterized by a strong biochemical and physiological activation, whose main trait is the intense desire for union with another person.” They point out that it is not “a voluntary act,” but a biological and psychological response that alters our perception of reality, focusing all our attention on the object of our desire.” So no one chooses when or where to fall in love.
It is presumed that falling in love is activated in the brain: dopamine is mobilized, which activates motivation and the search for reward, phenylethylamine comes into action, in charge of overflowing energy and serotonin means that we cannot take the other person out of our thinking.
It is clear that the object of falling in love is usually people. My proposal is that the object can be varied and diverse. One can feel the exaltation with ideas that are rooted in thinking; concepts such as freedom, justice and truth, which influence with lasting insistence. I am moved by the patriotic feeling, dazzled by his beauty, proud of his achievements and hopeful in his future.
This is a feeling that received extraordinary encouragement with the recent Tres Mujeres Cuatristas concert.
The Puertorican cuatro.
Emma Colón Zayas, Maribel Delgado and Fabiola Méndez gave the national instrument sound, displaying a virtuosity that springs from the marrow of our identity. The cuatro is the musical flag of the homeland, I learned, and it could not be said in a better way. Executing it is another thing. I am a mere spectator and, as such, I just have to recognize the excellence of three women who made a unique display of what is talent, that fills one’s chest with pride, the senses of rhythm and the spirit of melody.
Together and, in their moments, each one made clear the breadth and range of the cuatro instrument, which was adapted to samba, fox trot, guaracha and mambo; and dance could not be missing, a Bach suite and the peasant rhythms that highlight the sound uniqueness of the instruments of the patio: the tiple and the bordonúa. Accompanied by Camilo Faud, Pedro Irizarry, Neftalí Ortiz, Williann García and Omar Soto, the trio combined to give a party for the senses and feelings that tie us to this terroir. One of those moments that challenges the transitory nature of falling in love.
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Copyright 2026 by José M. Umpierre. The concert publicity and image of the cuatro used under fair use proviso of the copyright law.