#2
el
Gordo
Guatemala is an incredible country, but it is a complex place and at times can be a bit crazy. These videos are actually from our second attempt to work with Carlos Hernandez, better known by his alias, El Gordo. The first time we tried to record together was about a year ago. We had decided to record his songs at night on a street corner next to a really cool piece of street art. This night in particular was perfect. A full moon lit up just the right amount of fog, there was an old wooden water tower in the backdrop, the air was crisp and silent. The ambiance fit the mood of the song like a tailored glove. We all thought it would be a fun and easy expierence. but that night, guatemala had different plans for us. Inspired by a La Blogotheque video of Grizzely Bear, the plan was that I would start a bit further down the street with the camera and then walk and film until Gordo came into frame. Virtually the moment I began filming, the silence was broken by a garage door opening and two armed men in ski masks riding out on a mortorcycle, I went undetected as they sped past me in the direction towards where gordo and our sound man trevor stood. As they reached the corner where Gordo was playing they stopped.
My heart skipped a beat as I set the camera down and thoughtlessly moved towards everybody, Gordo and Trevor stood frozen as the two masked men seemed to be confused and perplexed as to why there was a musician and a man with a boom poll standing on this street corner at 3 in the morning. Lucky, whatever the men had set out to do in the first place must have been more important than us, for after a tense and confusing few seconds, they sped off. I am not the smartest person when it comes to making sensible decisions and so I pushed to try and film the song one more time, but Gordo and trevor had enough sense of mind to insist that that was enough excitement for one night.
It would be almost a year before we would have an opportunity to revisit our intenion to record a song with Gordo. Having spent some time in southern mexico in the months following that night, the Good Friend crew had an opportunity to shoot a film in Guatemala city, where El Gordo lives. Finally our schedules lined up and we found a day to try once more. I love guatemala city, it is one of my favorite cities in the world, but it is a bit intense to say the least, and given what had happened last time, we decided to go and film in antigua, a more traquil town about 30 mins outside of the city. Antigua serves as one of the main tourist destinations for foreigners in guatemala, but it also serves as an escape for Guatemalan's who desire (and have the means) to take a small break from the rustle and bustle of life in Guatemala city. As always we had a great time with Gordo as we spendt the afternoon trying to find his favorite cafe and recording a few songs around the town.
BIO
Usually when you mention his name around most parts of Guatemala, youll here somebody say, “El Gordo, el es un buena onda.” Literally everybody I've ever talked to about Gordo have responded in the same way, stressing how nice of a guy he is. Laid back, funny, and genuine, he stands apart from the hand full of musicians that have had some commercial success in Guatemala.
Born Carlos Rafael Hernandez, El Gordo started playing piano at about 5 years old, switching to the guitar at age 12, he has always felt a special connection with music. Interestingly, he explains, “Siempre me gusto escuchar de todo, pero la música del cine logro captar mi atención.” He has this love for music in cinema, and this love for music in cinima has encouraged him to work on soundtracks for and even act in a few movies. You can see him (as long with some of his music) in the Guatemalan film “Aqui Me Quedo”, a dark comedy about a man taken hostege in Queztaltanegno.
Influeced by the argentinian rock scene Gordo began composing his own music in 2001, “Luego me interese por el rock argentino que es de sin duda donde obtuve mi referencia. Compongo canciones dependiendo de mi estado de animo y me interesa mucho una buena melodia. En el 2001 arranque como compositor y desde ese moemento no he dejado de componer temas.”
If you can make it to guatemala (or if youre lucky and happen to be in spain or in another part of the world at the right time) be sure to catch one of his shows, or you can check out more of Gordo's music here.
http://soundcloud.com/el-gordo-guatemala
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