“RAMÍREZ DAY” AT THE FESTIVAL "UN PAESE A SEI CORDE"

 

         Unforeseen events that at times get you out of your routine can be marvelous, as long as, while writing this article, you know that the person that could not travel is in good health. That is what happened. Neither my brother José Enrique nor I were supposed to attend to this lovely festival on our own. Our aunt Amalia Ramírez together with the guitarist and conservatory professor from Milan Francesco Biraghi, our Italian distributor Bode and the Cultural Association “Finestra Sul Lago” prepared with great enthusiasm an event within the festival “Un Paese a Sei Corde” and they called it “Ramírez Day”. Misfortune happened a few days before the journey, as Amalia fell ill with vertigos. It was impossible that she could leave with José Enrique, so I had to replace her.

After a busy journey with plenty of lightning and thunder, we arrived to the charming place home for the Finestra Sul Lago around the Orta Lake. A mansion with much history from the late 17^th Century or early 18^th Century (Osteria di San Giulio) opened its doors to us, and we were assisted by the hospitality of Lidia and Domenico. They are responsible for this festival; with the help of Fancesco Biraghi they have been able to create a quite interesting and special event around the finger-picking guitar, but with small incursions in the classical guitar. In a world where culture is considered less than a priority for the government, it is encouraging to find projects of disinterested people that love music. Without people like Lidia and Domenico some places might remain sterile of such an important thing as music.

Ramírez Day took place the 4^th July in an idyllic location called Villa Remigio (19^th C) on the shores of Maggiore Lake (Verbania). This village was born out of the love between two people, two enthusiasts and lovers of art, as it is impregnated in every corner. Sight, smell and hearing are captivated during this visit. And surrounded by this beauty, Enrique and I gave our first conference. I don’t think we could have found a better place to do it because our vocation is born from the same place: love. There was not obligation nor choice in our way, we both love music and art and we fully respect our tradition. Although some people consider it is a load, we feel it is a challenge and pride, and we are delighted to tell our discourse, written from the last line drawn by our ancestors.

We gave our first conference with the help of the instant translation of RominaCastagna (Bode), and it was a pleasure to feel the support of the audience from our first word. After that, we finished the first part of the day with a fantastic theatre and musical show from Domenico and Biraghi called “Dialogo divino” (Divine Dialogue). And at that moment Francesco played for the first time our Wine Traditional Guitar, designed by Amalia Ramírez and based on wine as a tradition, a craft, an exquisite product, a symbol of our culture.

During the whole morning attendants could try our guitars in the exhibition prepared by Bode and Scavino. The Vecchia Trattoria gave us a nice catering and it was accompanied by a wine tasting offered by the winery AZ. Agricola Vajradi Barolo split both parts of the day where we could enjoy the conversations of some of the participants. As the perfect end, we had the pleasure to enjoy the wonderful concerts of “TaleteDuo” (Sara Colollodel and Francesco Biraghi) and Piero Bonaguri in the San Remigio di Pallanza church. Golden notes to lie down a simply perfect day.