CANTO CALÓ (2023)

for Mezzo-Soprano and String Quartet or Mezzo-Soprano and Piano

Duration: 16 minutes

Written for Melinda Martinez Becker & Anne Rainwater with support from InterMusicSF

Canto Caló (I sing Caló / Caló songs) was originally commissioned by New Moon Duo and conceived at Avaloch Farm in New Hampshire and has since been arranged for Melinda and Friction Quartet. Caló is the language created by Pachucos in the Southwest through California, commonly associated with mambo dancing, zoot suit wearing Chicanos from El Paso to California, but it’s become a national movement with language, fashion, food, and art still taking inspiration from it decades later.