congaplace.com

I've gone into full time production seeing how I was recently let go from my architecture firm,
seems even wanna be rumberos can be victims of the recent economic downturn.

So I've gotten around to the shekeres and guaguas that have been cluttering up my place for awile.

The guagua's are nearly done, another day or two (I've been saying that for a week now )
They just have to be cleaned up a little bit.

The shekeres take longer, half of these are cleaned out and have linseed oil coats drying, and I'm
cleaning the other ones..

The 3 gourds on the right are an agbe-guiro set for me, the 3 in the middle are and agbe set to be sold,
and the one lone gourd on the end is for a buddy in Brazil doing Carnaval right now, must be rough huh?

Anyways I'll update thise thread when things are done and as they progress, the guaguas are for sale, and I'v had a
few inquiries on those, I'll post which ones are availabe and such, probably $20-$22 + shipping.

The shekere set is hard to put a price on, we'll see how they turn out first...............

After these things are done I'm going to see what I can make from some used wine barrels
from our Northern California wineries, stayed tuned..................

BNB sorry to hear about your job loss, I hope all things work out for you.

How much for the gourd on the end (with shipping to the middle of the country)?

Hey Mike,
It's cool about the job, I hated my boss anyways.
I'm sorry to tell you the gourds are all spoken for, except maybe the one in
the middle, but I'll be going to the gourd farm next harvest this spring, I
think April, I'll be happy to get a gourd for you, they are cheap,
around $5 for a gourd, I'm assuming you want to make your own.

bongosnotbombs wrote: It's cool about the job, I hated my boss anyways.

Hey Geordie, I am really sorry about your loss of job
I am feeling with you about this hardship.
Keep it up, brother, I wish you best of luck!
And I am sure you will be successful with gorgeous gourds
and your brilliant-looking guaguas!

All the best!
-Mike

Nice work Geordie.. I may be into getting a new gourd set. Mine's too big and heavy. BTW, they are definitely for sale.
I sure hope you can find your way into a good position somewhere around there!
You gotta believe there's always room for a good guy like yourself.. Can't wait to travel out that way again this summer!
I just found out that Humboldt Afro-Cuban Workshop is ON THIS YEAR!!

Just came back from the Gourd Festival at the Gourd Farm.
http://www.gourdfarmer.com/festival_2009?res=original

It was super hot, about 100 degrees I think.

It was pretty cool, amazing the stuff people make from gourds, and there
was African music. One booth made these djembe looking drums from gourds.

Anyways, I picked up another batch of gourds for shekeres. I think this batch of gourds is
really special. They are going to make some really cool instruments.

I gotta finish those frickin' guaguas, man they have been up on my shelf for weeks.
Maybe this week.

BNB,
Wow. I wish I could some day have the experience of going to a farm and picking the gourds myself! Those are incredible looking gourds...Congratulations.
You must be excited about the new creations ahead!

Nice haul man! Some of those are huge , that one next to the gon bops has to be 24 inches?

seisporocho1 wrote:BNB,
Wow. I wish I could some day have the experience of going to a farm and picking the gourds myself! Those are incredible looking gourds...Congratulations.
You must be excited about the new creations ahead!

It's a 1 hour and 45 minute drive, and the gourds are in the hot sun. They are covered with black dirt and hot to
touch. Then you have to clean them like you see me in the picture.
For every gourd I picked I must have tried out and looked at 5 others. But your right, it is totally worth it. When I pick
a gourd it means it feels right in my hands and I can picture it as a shekere.
It's a good trip out of the city and the couple that runs the farm are really nice.

deadhead wrote:Nice haul man! Some of those are huge , that one next to the gon bops has to be 24 inches?

Yes, but that one is going to be an ipu heke, a hawaiian drum, a gift for a hula instructor I know.
It's a drum played by the leader of the hula, while he is chanting and sitting on the floor.
I also got 4 much smaller gourds that are held by the hula dancers, and played while dancing, those are ipu's.
I am also donating those to the class. They are not in the picture.
It's nice that the gourds crossover genre's.