Ojalá

World Music Sung in Spanish & Persian

 



Ojala has just released its first self-titled CD.
Order it here!




2001 Texas Top 10

Our thanks go to David Lynch of Austin Chronicle for selecting the Ojala CD #6 in the Top 10 Texas CDs of 2001! See the details here.



Customer reviews and 5-Star rating from Amazon.com




Audio samples on Iranian.com

Check out new audio samples of Ojala CD tracks on the Iranian.com magazine here



Interview on National Public Radio


Click HERE to listen to National Public Radio's Latino USA program when host Maria Hinojosa interviews Ojala founders Kamran Hooshmand & Javier Palacios. (June 22, 2001)




*** 1/2 Stars!
The Austin Chronicle

Read the review of Ojala CD by the Austin Chronicle's David Lynch.




Interview article on the Austin Chronicle
by Belinda Acosta


Here is an in-depth interview article by Austin Chronicle's Belinda Acosta about the creation of Ojala.
 
About the CD

Partially by research and partially through listening, we know that there are many musical links between Spanish/Latin and Persian cultures. The first link happened through the Moorish influence in Spain from the 7th to the 14th century. According to the Grove dictionary of music, among the musicians who were influencial in introducing Eastern musical modes to Spain was a freed Persian slave named Zaryab (Ziryab) who established the first school of Andalucian music in southern Spain. After the conquest of the Americas, many of these modes and rhythms made their way to the Americas.

A much more recent connection between the two cultures was made during the decades extending from 1950's to 1970's when Latin American popular music was spreading all over the world. Iran was no exception. Much like many American jazz musicians of this era, Iranian "pop" musicians would "dub" popular Latin tunes with Persian lyrics. And they would sound great because the feel of the scales used in Latin love songs would fit well with Persian musical tastes, and thus would sound pleasantly familiar to Iranian ears. One of the most prolific Iranian singers of this era is none other than the great Armenian singer Viguen, nicknamed the "Sultan of Iranian Jazz". Some of the songs on this album were popularized by Viguen in Iran during this era.

This album is a mixture of the old and the new connections between Latin and Persian musics. We have translated our popular tunes back to each of our own languages, often word by word. Expectedly, the lyrics of these popular romantic songs in both cultures often speak of the same things: Love, passion, loss, beauty, and deep and powerful sadness. Some are very danceable and some contemplative.
   
Ordering Information

To order the Ojala CD online, use our authorized online retailer, CCNOW here.

 
 
 
 

ojala@ojalamusic.com

 

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