The economic crisis is embodied at every moment in growing poverty and inflation, but it also permeates other invisible corners: minimal stories with unique characters whose voice is at risk of ceasing.
This is the case of the Cantoría de la Basílica del Socorro, the choir that accompanied Ariel Ramírez in the emblematic original recording of the Creole Mass and the second oldest in the city of Buenos Aires, although for a few weeks it no longer
has economic resources
to continue functioning.
That is why its director has been disseminating - at the top of his lungs - a pleading letter addressed "to whom it may concern", which he wrote after learning that the bank that had been sponsoring the choir "decided
not to continue
this collaborative relationship."
“With very little you can do a lot,” explained the musical director of the choir and also composer Giovanni Panella, Italian (and for a few more weeks, in his thirties), in reference to the sponsorship that the Cantoría had been receiving from the bank in question (which they asked not to accept). name), with which they are “more than grateful,” Panella told
Clarín
.
The “
much with little
” has to do with the money that an artistic space like this ultimately requires in order to keep the flame alive and continue giving a dozen solemn masses (on the different patron saint dates that the Basilica celebrates) and close to three annual symphonic-choral concerts, with the participation of various orchestras or a notable soloist.
For the entire 2023 season, the choir received
1.7 million pesos
, the equivalent - in March of that year - of 4,300 dollars, an amount clearly gasolero, taking into account the small international reputation that the Cantoría was able to achieve in its 65 years of life, thanks to the international tours carried out, journalistic articles in prominent publications in the sector (for example, the Italian classical music magazine
L'Opera
) or having been able to hold concerts with figures of the stature of the organist Karl Richter or the famous tenor José Carreras.
Giovanni Panella in the Basilica del Socorro, in front of the choir in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Retiro.
“We operate with an expense that is not very large.
I am sending letters to get a new sponsor and everyone is surprised when I tell them
how little budget
we manage, in relation to the social and liturgical task we generate,” shared Panella.
Part of that task is, in truth, a mission.
A mission that he patiently embodies in several of his concerts, when in the pose of a "professor" he transmits musical knowledge to the non-specialized public.
Going down to earth what for many is an incomprehensible activity because it is elevated: classical music.
A historic chorus, against the grain of the Argentine crisis
However, these are difficult days to be successful knocking on doors in search of sustaining a cultural activity.
It's not that it was so easy: the patronage provided by the City is poor in terms of budget, even for an activity like that of the Cantory.
With the money they had, the only one who came charging fees was the director, while (cool) the 40 choristers historically participated
ad honorem
.
The rest of the money from the
annual donations
was used to pay for the participation of additional soloists and musicians for specific concerts.
But now, different spheres, such as film or theater production and a good part of academic-university activity, are receiving questions (or darts) from the environment of the new Government management.
It is measured by the yardstick of profitability, something that did not seem to matter even when the Cantoría was founded more than six decades ago, driven by the renowned priest-musician Jesús Gabriel Segade, who directed the choir until 2007, the year of his death.
The public attends the choir's presentation at the Basilica del Socorro, in Retiro.
Despite everything, Panella retains the optimism of a good musician.
He knows that, brought to fruition, music distances the spirit from all dissatisfaction: musical enterprises, as soon as they are started, come to fruition.
The national ups and downs, thus, do not intimidate him: “The experience is dual.
I left my country to be able to express myself with new stimuli.
When you do something like that, you focus a lot on what's around you.
And that means seeing what you can provide and what you can receive."
"What each of us as artists and people have to do is improve our own environment. The macro affects, obviously, but I realized how important and effective it is to improve one's own environment," he added.
Clarín
asked him if, despite his optimism, he felt worried about what was happening at the national level.
He said no: “Do I have the power to do something forceful on the macro level?
No, but there is a truth the other way around: I can do a lot in my environment, which is where I have control.”
With the tone of a leader specialized in “coaching,” he added: “Sometimes you lose that focus and you open the window to the storm: you feel more vulnerable to the outside, but having an active and purposeful attitude to get away from it, the things change.
You can't keep the storm away from the entire country, but you can keep it from your life and those around you.
If we all did this, society would improve.”
For Panella, “in times of crisis it is especially important to maintain social and spiritual health.”
That is, he concluded: “The plate of food is very important but the food of the spirit is also important.
Avoid becoming basic beings.
We can dream and make others dream.”
To collaborate with the Cantory of the Basilica del Socorro (Juncal 880, CABA), write to panella.giovanni85@gmail.com.
P.S.