Tish's Corner
January 2009


Hi and Happy 2009 to everyone!


Well, Inauguration Day in the U.S. has come and gone, and I believe it will be one of those days that will be vivid for us for a long, long time. We have many images, good and bad, that will live forever in our country's soul. As I remember where I was when Kennedy, when Martin Luther King died, when Armstrong walked on the moon, when the towers came down, I will always remember where I was when I watched president Obama take the presidential oath and saw so many Americans coming together that just wanted to be there to witness it and to celebrate. This day will remain one that poignantly marked a new integrity, an inclusive power, a believable and energizing new era. Yea!

Back here on earth, December was a busy family and travel month for me, so I didn't get a chance to send any holiday greetings. I hope you had a safe and cheerful holiday season. My travels took me to the U.S., to Nicaragua, then to the U.S. again. Just before Thanksgiving, my husband and I spent some time in Austin, Texas. A highlight was spending my daughter's 21st birthday at the "Broken Spoke" with family and friends, dancing to Dale Watson and his rocking country band. Nina looked great two-stepping in her new western boots!

The International Women's Music Festival in Nicaragua that I mentioned in the last Tish Note was our next stop. The host of the event was Nicaragua's beloved singer-songwriter, Katia Cardenal. She and the festival coordinators were so hospitable. The other artists, from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Holland, were all so friendly and animated. Even though some of us had not known each other previously, and not everyone spoke Spanish or English, we quickly became friends traveling around the country in a rented bus for the shows.

The Nicaraguan landscape was lush with rolling hills, a majestic volcano, and quaint villages, but in Managua we experienced the sharp contrast of new and old, picturesque and tragic, with uneasy remains of the 1970's earthquake and revolution still present. However, the music of this festival seems to have brought people from all walks of life together. The ticket prices were kept low, and our last performance, staged in the street in front of a women's shelter, was free. If you can, please visit www.mokadiscos.com to listen to songs by the other artists that were on this tour. I think you'll like them.

While on this trip, we visited Salvador Cardenal, Katia's brother and founder of their well-known duo Guardabarranco. He is also a fine painter and pre-Columbian art collector. I have admired him for a long time, and it was such a privilege to share some songs and conversation with him at his earthy country ranchito and gallery.

We had a few days off in NYC before going on to my program in Hartford, Connecticut. Holiday season in New York is especially beautiful. We wandered with our own tourist agenda of making sure we went to such sites as Strawberry Fields, and also managed to squeeze in finding the Joey Ramone street sign in the Bowery before driving off to arrive at my gig at the University of Hartford on time. There, I was surprisingly given a happy birthday serenade by the audience, as December 5 was the eve of my big day! We spent my birthday weekend with the New Jersey constituency of my San Antonio family (two of my sisters and their families). Of course, as our Hinojosa gatherings always go, there was much catching up, laughter, and good food. A fine combination of New Jersey culture and Texas hospitality.

Returning to Hamburg, I had a show to debut songs from the new CD "Our Little Planet" and to also introduce a special new band. Joining me were three wonderful long-time Hamburg musicians, Uli Rademacher on guitar, harmonica and tin whistles, Susanne Eder adding beautiful harmony and some nice mandolin, also Nils Tuxen, a celebrated Danish-German multi-instrumentalist. Backing us up on a lively up-right bass was Moe Jaksch from Berlin, and coming from Holland, Job Verweijen added some artfully played drums and percussion. We will be playing a few other dates together later this year. (To hear of these and other updates, such as the American release of the new CD, please sign up on the email list on the website.)

Recently, we got a great serving of Austin music, when my long-time friend James McMurtry and John Dee Graham played in Hamburg while on their multi-city European tour. I recorded one of James's first songs, "Crazy Wind And Flashing Yellows" on "Taos To Tennessee" in 1987. Although most of the band had come down with the flu, including James, they still played a wonderful set.

2009 has some very interesting concerts lined up for me: In the spring, the Americana Treasures tour with Peter Rowan in Holland, in the summer the Kerrville Folk Festival, and the Albuquerque Folk Festival. In August, in Silkeborg, Denmark, the International Country Music Festival. There are some more developing events and projects coming up in the last quarter of the year that I look forward to telling you about a little later.

Thanks for reading my little corner. I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and successful New Year!

Gracias!

Tish



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