Musicians, calling themselves, “Olga Cerpa and Mestisay,” from Canary Islands, south of Spain, were in Eunice Monday at the Cajun Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
The musicians were particularly interested in Joe Falcon, an accordionist from Bayou Plaquemine Brulee, just north of Rayne. Falcon and his wife Cleoma Breaux were the first musicians to record Cajun music. Their song, “Lafayette,” better known as “Allons a Lafayette,” was recorded in New Orleans on April 27, 1928. Falcon was inducted into the Cajun Music Hall of Fame in July 1997.
Wade Falcon of Lafayette, a descendant of Joe Falcon, said that the group’s interest peeked when they learned that Joe Falcon’s ancestry is from the Canary Islands.
Falcon added, “Their interest is world folk music and when they learned that Joe Falcon’s ancestry is from the Canary Islands, they were even more interested in his music and his culture.
This past year, several groups from the Canaries have expressed interest in the Falcon musical family and have traveled to understand the local Cajun culture.
Falcon said, “While researching the music of Joe Falcon and Cleoma Breaux, they learned about Eunice’s vibrant history surrounding Cajun music.”
The group of musicians wanted to record in Eunice because the town has one of the finest displays of Cajun music, specifically the Cajun Music Hall of Fame that contains the mannequins of the couple.
Falcon said, “It was also their chance to touch and feel the music that has influenced the region located 4,500 miles away. Musicians today are finding out about our music and those lucky enough to make a trip to Louisiana try to stop by and visit the museum.”
While visiting Eunice, they requested to not only play at the Cajun Music Hall of Fame, they also wanted to perform a small cultural exchange.
The cultural exchange of their visit included Wade Falcon. He said, “Rusty Sanner of Pot Cove and myself of Lafayette joined in to play and record one of their Spanish folk songs, having Cajun instrumentation alongside their Canarian instruments.” Rusty played the accordion, and Wade played the fiddle.
Falcon shared some history he learned behind the Canaries. He added, “In 1778, many colonial immigrants arrived from the Spanish territory known as the Canary Islands and settled in parts of Louisiana, many alongside the Acadians.”
“Today, they are known as Isleño descendants and you can find their heritage in their names, such as Alleman, Domingue, and Falcon.”
There are many Falcons in the island of Gran Canaria, the home of many of the musicians. Falcon added, “They felt a personal family tie to the region because of Joe’s roots and the music he influenced around Evangeline and Acadia parish.
The musicians arrived in New Orleans for the St. Bernard “Los Isleño Fiesta.” Their week long stay included the fiesta, playing Spanish folk music at events throughout the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas, including several concerts.
They specifically wanted to make a trip Monday to the museum in Eunice. Falcon added, “Each place they have visited, they have documented with photos and video. Not only did they want to know more about Cajun musical heritage, they also were here to spread their own culture among a few cities in Louisiana.
Falcon added, “They plan to use this in their promotion and bring it back to the islands to share with others interested in the culture. They plan to use these series of events in Louisiana to kick off their tour in the United States.”
The group travel all over Europe, much of it in Spain. Their own songs are modern adaptations of traditional Spanish and Canary Island folk songs. They have families and some have other music projects when they aren’t touring.
Falcon added that while the group was in Eunice, they recorded a Canarian Spanish folk song called “El Reto” with both Spanish instruments and Cajun instruments.
Falcon added, “In turn, they recorded Rusty and I playing “Allons a Lafayette” on fiddle and accordion, while Olga learned the French words and sang along.”
The “Olga Cerpa and Mestisay” band includes: vocals-Olga Cerpa; guitar-Manuel Gonzales; clarinet/saxophone-Juan Carlos Leon Mosco; timple-Pancho Delgado; ukelele-Hirahi Afonso; bass guitar-Marco Valero; percussion-Gilberto “Toto” Noriega; videographer/camera-Braulio Perez; fiddle-Wade Falcon; accordion-Rusty Sanner.
Wade Falcon’s grandfather, Edward Falcon, and Joe Falcon were first cousins. They grew up together in Rayne and Crowley.
