Chihuahua /
Originating from the Tarahumara Mountains, Romeyno Gutiérrez Luna, had the privilege of getting to know the world of classical music and is now considered the first indigenous pianist in Latin America.
Born 38 years ago in the community of Retosachi, in the municipality of Batopilas, in ChihuahuaRomeyno was destined to live like most of the area’s inhabitants: with little chance of advancement.
But everything changed when he appeared in her life Romeyne Wheeler, an American musician, composer and concert performer who decided to move to the remotest part of the Sierra Tarahumara, more than 40 years ago.
Wheeler was amazed by the mountains, the Rarámuri culture and above all the connection between music and nature; He got quite inspired and there he met Romeyno’s father, with whom he made a close friendship.
“One day he took me to the piano and that’s how we started having little lessons when I was barely five years old. I always admired him and said: I want to be like him, although I had other dreams, I wanted to be a doctor, a teacher or an engineer, but music was finally the one that won and today we completely live music,” confesses the artist.
Wheeler decided that his home had to be in a cave he found in The Eagle’s Nest, in that same town. He built his home to be as far away from the outside world as possible and had his grand piano brought with many difficulties, as he had to buy a ton of potatoes to cushion the instrument while it was transported through the complicated reliefs of that labyrinthine path.
It was with that piano that Romeyno first heard the pieces of Chopin and Mozart and being shocked, it didn’t take him long to learn them.
“At that time when we were taking piano lessons my godfather bought me small music books, by different authors and I think that later I was impressed by the music of Chopin, Mozart, it is also music that suddenly has some similarity with dances.” “rarámuri of the same lightness, the same joy that the great composer Mozart captures,” he says.
At the age of 18, he moved to the city of Chihuahua where he studied music and people began to identify him as the artist who always wore his typical costume in local presentations, which later took him to national stages and later escalated to foreign venues, in USACanada and Europe.
“We have carried out musical programs with a contrast of classical music and my music, our culture and dances. It has been a great project of mine, to be able to spread Rarámuri music through the piano in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, England, Austria and Italy, Canada and we have had a very good response from the public,” he explains.
Romeyno has not only ventured into music, with fame other doors opened for him in politics and in 2021 they looked for him to be a candidate for federal deputy with the party Citizen Movement.
Although he did not win the race, he had a position as director of Culture of the municipality of Hidalgo del Parralwhich concluded this year.
“As the pandemic had just passed, music was put on pause and this offer came to me. It was a nice experience that did not benefit us, but I had the opportunity to participate in the administration as Director of Culture.”
Although Romeyno assures that his true passion is music and that it will be something he will continue doing, by announcing that he has a plan to create a music school for children and young people of the Tarahumara.
“That knowledge was transmitted by my godfather and whom I consider an adoptive father. Music is food for my soul and it is my duty to transmit that knowledge. It is something that I have been thinking about for a long time and that I long to do. Present a project to build that school with the support of key people who support the culture,” he added.
As part of this plan, Romeyno will hold charity galas for the remainder of the year in favor of the Sierra to rraise funds for young people who want to study a career in Nursing and for those who also want to set up a sewing workshop to make traditional costumes.
EHR
