In a remarkable gesture, the President of Argentina issued a special decree to honour the Jamaica Folk Singers during their visit for the Argentine National Folk Festival. Despite it being a designated non-beef week – a period when beef is restricted due to Argentina’s high export demands – the decree allowed the group to enjoy a traditional Argentine barbecue. This rare privilege highlighted the deep admiration and respect the festival organizers and the Argentine government had for the Jamaican performers, who captivated audiences and claimed first place in the competition.

Published Sunday, February 6, 1972 

Ja Folk Singers receive OAS plaque

The Jamaica Folk Singers made a triumphant return to Jamaica last Tuesday after placing first in the Argentine National Folk Festival. They took the lead from a field of some 50 folk groups from Central America, South America, and Europe, who participated in the festival at Cosquín, Argentina, and won the coveted OAS plaque.
The Folk Singers left the island on Sunday, January 23, on the invitation of the Festival Commission of Argentina, extended through the OAS, to participate in the week-long festival of folklore to be held at Cosquín.
They arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday, where they were met by state officials and the OAS representative from Washington, Mr. Norberto Ambrose. Remaining in Buenos Aires overnight, they arrived at the festival centre, Cosquín, on Tuesday.
In Cosquín, they were given a Mayoral welcome. The Mayor, Sr. Esteban Ruiz, presented each of the women in the group with a poncho into which was woven the national design of Cosquín. He presented the whole group with a copper-bound volume of the works of Martín Fierro, a famous Argentine folklorist-poet. The Municipal Band performed for the Jamaican visitors.
In an interview with The Gleaner, leader of the Jamaica Folk Singers, Miss Olive Lewin, ethnomusicologist, said that some 250,000 people flocked to Cosquín for the National Festival. These included Latin, Central, and North Americans, as well as Europeans. Some 50 groups performed during the festival. Each night, the Cosquín plaza was packed as people sat in 45-degree temperatures and listened to folk music and watched folk dances from different countries from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
The Jamaica Folk Singers, the only English-speaking group in the festival, gave three stage performances on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. In addition, they gave several impromptu and informal performances in restaurants and in the festival tents. There were numerous radio and newspaper interviews, Miss Lewin said, and several radio performances, as all radio stations suspended their regular broadcasts to tune in to the folk festival.
Miss Lewin said she was most struck by the professionalism of the participants in the festival and the total involvement of everyone in the music: “There was a feeling of humanity and a closeness which transcended all barriers, even that of language. It was as if nothing mattered but the music,” she said.
Cultural Roots
There was also, she said, a deep love and respect for their cultural roots, and this was apparent in everyone. The children, who were some of the liveliest participants in the festival, were extremely conversant with history and folklore – the first-year school syllabus in Argentina is devoted to the teaching of history, geography, and music, Miss Lewin said.
The guitar playing in the festival impressed all members of the group, and it was interesting to see the musical instruments of other cultures and recognize similarities with Jamaican instruments, they said. Miss Lewin mentioned the “Charanguito,” a tiny guitar with six pairs of strings from Bolivia. The predominant instrument in the festival was the guitar.
Costumes, she said, were very colourful. Most attractive were beautiful hand-woven laces and hand-embroidered coats with sequins, silver, and gold threads.
But on to our music, which gained the group first place in the festival. Everyone, Miss Lewin said, was struck by the African rhythms. “At the same time that we were regarding their expertise, they were regarding our playing of the drums with equal awe,” she said. The revival and Pocomania sections of the performances, with the costumes and songs, were the talk of the festival.
Although the Folk Singers were unable to stay until the end of the festival, as they were expected in Buenos Aires for television performances, the judges had already selected them as winners of the festival.
Mr. Ambrose, the OAS representative, presented the winning trophy to the group – a metal plaque, mounted on wood, with the emblem of the OAS on top.
Barbecue
The Folk Singers received another honour when the President of Argentina issued a decree, during the non-beef week, that the group could be entertained at an honour. Because Argentina has a large export trade in beef, there is not enough left over for local consumption. Beef is available only on alternate weeks. The festival was held during a non-beef week, but the special presidential decree enabled the Jamaicans to get a taste of the famous Argentine beef.
Friday saw the group back in Buenos Aires. On Saturday, they performed live on Buenos Aires Television and videotaped a 30-minute broadcast for future showing.
The Folk Singers' next major performances after their Argentine triumph will be two concerts, at Holiday Inn and Rose Hall Great House, on Saturday, February 12, and Sunday, February 13.

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