The Troubadour of Morazán

“I have more than 3,000 song titles written in a notebook, when I want to write a song, I look for a title and compose whatever first comes to mind.” During a night of conversations, told me the Trovador de Morazán -what he called himself and how they knew Carlos Cabrera-. At his mid-forties, he has a repertoire of more than 200 of his own songs, or who knows how many. The amazing thing is that he always has his guitar at hand, and he doesn't have to think “but what am I going to sing now?”. His songs flow like a breath. His style recalls the best years of Silvio Rodríguez.

Carlos on any given morning waiting for the coffee to boil 

Carlos has been playing the guitar since childhood and now he is one with it. He has composed for the disappeared, for the loves and the heartbreaks, for the plumbers, for the deceased, for the water, for the objects of daily life and for the animals.

We arrived at his house by pure coincidence, our friend Syama from San Salvador had contacted us with him, who offered us to stay for a few days. Cristian and I wanted to close our journey in Perquín, a municipality in the border department of Morazán, a stronghold of the guerrilla resistance during the Salvadoran civil war during the 80s. There was no better opportunity than to attend the 2nd edition of the “Chicharra Fest” in Los Quebrachos. A pleasant and excellent self-managed community project with a wide selection of cumbia, merengue, ska, trova, folklore and metal from the region. Here, in this corner of a department that survived the harshest of the conflict, the ideas of the old and the new cultural school of El Salvador mix in harmony.

A whole day of wandering up and down trying food from almost every cook at the festival, talking and laughing with new acquaintances, sharing stories from here and there and understanding through experience that we are all a different world that converges through stories made of words.

Honduras, Utila, May 5, 2016

Finally edited on April 27, 2023, Irvine, California

Carlos... we don't know if he speaks or sings

Downtown of Perquín

Merengue and cumbia on the stage

On live performance

The artisan spirit drink that brought fluidity and joy to the attendees of the Chicharra, without excluding me.

Friendship

The owner of the fire on one side and on the other "when you realize you drank too much" but you're in a safe place that no one wants to bother you

Frienship and solidarity, the essence of humans. That night we stayed at Gerson's who without knowing us offered us shelter and food