Gavin Mendonza represents Guyana at largest Latin American music festival
LAST week, thousands of musical artists and other music industry professionals converged in Colombia for the eighth annual CirculArt Festival, the largest music industry summit for Latin American, South American and other Spanish speaking countries in the world. The four-day event, which this year, lasted from November 2-5, served as an annual mass- networking platform for world musicians to share experiences, cultures and form lasting connections that could see future collaborations between countries.

Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America, has never before been part of this festival, but this year, that all changed when local musician and `Feed The Flames’ band member Gavin Mendonca answered the call extended by CirculArt to attend the summit; a call which allowed this young musician the chance to experience a musical awakening that has infused endless ideas for how to improve the music industry in Guyana.

In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, a visibly excited Gavin explained that the opportunity to attend the event arose when Director of the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival, Dr Bob Ramdhanie, asked Gavin to represent the local festival at the international event in his place. “Bob was directly invited to attend the event as a roundtable professional representing the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival (RMAF), but he was heading to WOMEX in Poland to represent RMAF there. So I took his place,” Gavin said.

Having never travelled to that part of the world, Gavin had to figure out how to get there on his own and after much deliberation and juggling of flights, the young musician arrived in Colombia to be an ambassador for Guyana’s biggest music festival. Gavin also took this unique opportunity to make representation for other music affiliates from Suriname(Unkies Events and Bookings) and the Skyy Rock Festival from Trinidad.

“The roundtable event was held on Sunday and I was there as a Seller of Cultural Goods and Services and was placed in a position where I was able to meet and interact and receive pitches from musical artists from all across the world,” Gavin said. He was scheduled to meet with 27 musical artists who booked appointments with him in an interest to come to Guyana for the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival. He added that the interest in Guyana was so much, that he ended up staying beyond the scheduled time to meet with a number of other artists who insisted on making connections for future trips to Guyana.

“So I acted as a bridge between Latin America and Guyana. Lots of people wanted to meet me because Guyana was there for the very first time and everybody saw it as a new opportunity. I felt like I was playing a very important role and it was a very rewarding one,” Gavin said.

LESSONS LEARNED
After just four days in Colombia, having been exposed to the workings of the international music industry and making lasting connections, Gavin has returned to Guyana with a renewed sense of inspiration on how he can help to build his own music career, as well as, the local music industry. “Prior to going to Colombia, I thought I knew what I needed to do. I use to think outside of the box as much as possible but there was a cap because there was a realm that I had never visited.

I had no idea of its existence outside of my realm of thinking,” Gavin said. “What I was exposed to was a fully functioning creative industry, I was exposed to a whole new level of professionalism from the roundtable experience – every artist had a manager or representative on their behalf. That showed me the importance of having a manager, whether a tour manager, booking agent etc. There was a lot of structure; there was a business model that works. A lot of these countries also have extraordinary support within their countries, their industry, among their peers etc.; people were actually working together for collective goals.”

Moreover, after seeing the performances of these artists, many of whom have travelled the world and accumulated international acclaim and some of whom included winners and nominees from the Latin American Grammy Awards, Gavin is now infused with new ideas on how to promote and present his own music. “Many of these artists depicted particular genres, but in each stage presentation, they ensured that they infused strong cultural aspects into their wardrobe, their instruments, and their sound. Their presentations were creative and out of the box and their delivery was impactful,” he said.

Gavin, whose own music at home has been known to transcend genres and promote traditional culture through his fusion of rock music and Guyanese folklore, has therefore seen a new avenue through which he can present himself as an artist while promoting Guyanese culture.

Business model
But more than that, Gavin is now back hoping to incorporate some of the things he picked up from the business side of the music industry. “I have been exposed to these business models and formulae of how to sell a product. I was studying each of those persons I met. I went with zero experience and came out with a wealth of knowledge. I have paid close attention to the manager aspect and the importance of having a business-savvy manager,” Gavin said. “Now that I have come back, I want to raise awareness. I believe that I can be a catalyst for positive conversation on social media. Everything is always problem-oriented but nobody can see the solution. It is about being proactive, solution-oriented in order to initiate change. So I want to start conversations, hear the problems and seek to get solutions.”

This is a small step, but in Gavin’s head, there is a big picture, one that he hopes will benefit future generations. The young man admits though, that this festival and the knowledge he garnered from it are just the beginning. He will now seek to gather more information and see how he can bring it home.
“Music is now my career. I want to make that possible for younger generations. My main goal is not necessarily to travel the world or get famous or get a lot of money but to ensure our culture and heritage are preserved and young people are offered the opportunity to appreciate these things. If all they are hearing is American music they will have zero appreciation for what is ours,” he said.

Stemming from CirculArt, the local musician has been invited to three other festivals: the Quelonios Festival in the Dominican Republic in January, the Folk Alliance International Conference in the US in February and the Eco Festival in the Canary Islands just off the coast of Spain in September. If he attends, Gavin will be sharing his folk-song infused Guyanese music to other parts of the world; something that, if not a first in the country’s history, is certainly a first for someone from this generation.