Internationally acclaimed performer Cristina Pato of Galicia, Spain, brought her message and musicianship to Ohio University on Monday.
The show highlighted Pato’s vocal talent, as well as her skills on the bagpipe and piano.
Her accompanying band, the Cristina Pato Quartet, included a cellist, a drummer and an accordion player.
She phrased her set as a journey rather than just a show or performance. Audience members listened to the songs from her album Latina, which explores the sentiment behind her Spanish heritage as she travels around the globe.
Pato explained how her identity changed as she crossed borders with her musical endeavors. She said immigration was a rich part of Galician culture, and people have left Galicia for centuries, searching for a better life in countries like Argentina and America. Her parents emigrated to Venezuela and married there before returning to Galicia.
That history inspired Pato to travel from Galicia to Africa to emulate the Egyptian sounds she heard before coming to the U.S. She said that when she launched her career in the U.S., she had trouble understanding which part of her cultural identity would carry her message the farthest through music.
“In the last 14 years since moving to the United States, I have learned so much about us as a humanity,” Pato said. “Tonight’s journey is about how much diversity is in a room. Wherever you go with music, you bring your roots with you — something so rich and full of life is born out of that.”
Each beat of her songs reflected her rich experiences, as no second was the same. Pato cleanly shifted her expertise from the microphone to the piano keys and the bagpipe. During her transitions, there was no shortage of sound from the accordion, cello or drum kit. Each instrument harmonized together in fits of climatic passion, but they also had their respective solos on stage that left audience members captivated through the entire two-hour show. The moments captured Pato’s message: any identity, especially her Latino heritage, is not uniform. It is ever-evolving — sometimes loud and triumphant, sometimes quiet and reflective.
Audience members and Athens area residents Linda Sauer and Kay Cleland agreed that the concert was a new experience for both of them.
“I knew pretty much zero about the bagpipes,” Sauer said. “I had no idea that bagpipes could be used to play jazz. It was my first time seeing anything like this, and it was awesome.”
Cleland agreed by saying the experience was incredible.
“She made it so relevant, talking about how music transcends all kinds of cultures,” Cleland said. “We had no idea that it was even bagpipes. It was incredible.”
