Chihuahua, Chih.- The word “Rojisopoli” means ‘Morning Star’ in Ralámuli, the mother tongue of Anarely Espino Sotelo and Cristina Rayo Bernal. It is also the name of the musical project made up of these two talented performers from Norogachi, Guachochi municipality who currently reside in Chihuahua, Capital. They seek to publicize their roots and their ethnic music.
His foray into music
In an interview for El Diario, Anarely and Cristina told how they started in music.
“My mother gave me my first guitar at the age of 16. Music is something that I have liked a lot since I was a child, but there were never any chances of having an instrument due to the extreme poverty in which we lived in the mountains,” Anarely said.
It was when he had his instrument that he entered some cultural mission courses in Guachochi and learned to play.
“Then I started looking for him, I went to study in Parral and there I had the opportunity to buy a better guitar and continue practicing. Then I came to live in the city of Chihuahua, and this is when I joined some musical groups from Sierra. But the music of my culture, which is rarámuri, is always present,” he added.
On the other hand, Cristina revealed that her beginnings in music occurred in a choir when she was 18 years old. She later belonged to other groups in which the indigenous culture was represented through songs, matachines, pascol and pinto dances.
“I was born in Norogachi, but I grew up here in Chihuahua and I started in the choir, then in the group, then the group broke up and I started working, and I started playing on my own and then Anarely contacted me and we started this project” , said.
The duo of enterprising women, who perform music in Spanish and Ralámuli, have a musical heritage, since within their families they possess musical talent and they continue the legacy.
“In addition to having music in our blood, it is a divine gift that God gives us,” they agreed.
Social networks, a watershed in his career
Anarely started uploading videos on the Facebook social network and it was there that she found some videos of her colleague Cristina, who also posted material playing and singing. Without hesitation, Anarely contacted her to invite her to be part of the musical project that she already had in mind.
“I told him my idea and the main objective of forming this ‘Rojisopoli’ group, which is to implement the cultural issue. He liked the idea and we started rehearsing and that’s how it all started,” he expressed.
The talented duo had their first presentation before the public in Ciudad Juárez in November 2022 at the UMUKI Indigenous Festival, where the response from the people was impressive.
“When we went to Ciudad Juárez, Mr. Leonardo Padilla, who works at the XETAR radio station in Guachochi, on the day of the presentation did a live on his page that went viral on social networks, with more than one hundred thousand reproductions. in less than a month. We were very excited to see that response and we really didn’t expect it,” they talked.
Then they received the support of the Multilingual and Community Cultural Actions Program (PACMYC), in its 2022 edition.
“What prevented us from moving forward with the musical project were our instruments, we want to offer the best to the public. PACMYC has supported us, for which we are very grateful. Our plans are big, so with God’s help, we’ll see what happens,” the artists concluded.
