Local creole rock musician Gavin Mendonca brought the curtains down on his multi-country tour in Trinidad and Tobago, where he introduced young persons in the Twin Island Republic about the sweet melodies and cultural underpinning of Guyanese folk music.

His tour, ‘Folk it Up’ began after he stumbled upon a book of 100 Guyanese folk songs, and realised that he didn’t know too many of the songs. And building on his inclination to foster cultural preservation in Guyana, he decided that he would begin recording all of these folk songs.

“My plan is, over the next three to five years, release all of the folk songs in a series of albums called “Folk it Up”,” he shared with the Buzz.

And so, he begun his endeavours, and just recently launched Volume One in New York, at the Guyana Folk Festival. He also started his tour earlier this year, where he along with the leader of the Buxton Fusion Drumming Group Marlon ‘Chucky’ Adams, began singing these folk songs in open spaces be it the Courtyard Mall, Main Street, at the Seawall, Giftland or anywhere they could possibly go.

“We were just playing folk music so people can hear it because it’s not playing on the radio or TV and we have been, and we’ve been successful in that mission of raising awareness on our folk songs,” Mendonca highlighted.

While in New York for the launch of his album, he spent four weeks there doing a few gigs, including a few Caribbean gatherings, the folk festival and at the United Nations. And, he was also subsequently invited to China by the Guyanese embassy there to represent Guyana as part of the cultural presentation.

That was an experience of a lifetime, he said, as he recounted the surge of pride he felt being on the other side of the globe basically as an ambassador for his country’s folk culture.

But, he had one more stop to make before he returned to the land of many waters. That was to Trinidad, where he decided to end his tour by reaching out to the youth, to help them understand the value of their culture and in keeping it alive.

He performed at theSt. Dominic’s R.C., a primary school, where the children were unfamiliar with the music but were still vibrant and enthusiastic about the folk songs and culture.

He also reached out the Guyana Students Association in Trinidad and Tobago (GuySATT), which is an umbrella organisation for tertiary students and organized a pro bono gig at the University of the West Indies (UWI)- St. Augustine Campus. Not only did he get to perform the classic folk songs for Guyanese and give then a taste of home, but he also allowed other Caribbean students to indulge in the culture of Guyana.

“It was good to see young Guyanese and young Caribbean persons who were real interested in folk songs and folk culture and it was a real refreshing way to end my tour,” he said. “I think right now a little shift in culture and consciousness is happening as this new generation is becoming adults and I think little by little the young people of today are realizing the importance of cultural preservation and we’re all trying to find our identity as young Guyanese and young Caribbean folks.”

His album, Folk it up Volume One will be in stores in Guyana shortly, but interested persons can contact him on info@creolerock.com, and he is willing to deliver it to persons in Guyana. The music will also be available on all online streaming platforms soon.