Gonzalo Brenes

Gonzalo Brenes Candanedo was born in Panama in 1906 and trained as a composer, researcher and teacher. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory with Sigfrid Karg-Elert, and on his return from Germany, the book Tradiciones y cantares de Panamá by Narciso Garay may have sparked his interest in the popular music of his country.

He undertook research in the provinces of Los Santos and Herrera, where he collected folk tunes and data on instrumental music and popular rhythms. Between 1933 and 1940 he taught music at several institutions in Panama, and between 1943 and 1948 he did so in Costa Rica, where, at the request of the writer and social activist Carlos Luis Sáenz, he founded and directed a choir made up of Costa Rican workers and peasants. He was later elected deputy and served as Secretary of Culture of Panama.

His fieldwork gave rise to works such as La cucarachita mandinga, with a libretto by Rogelio Sinán, and Tonadas del trópico niño, a collection of more than seventy songs set to texts by Latin American poets, intended for primary and secondary schools. Brenes introduced these songs into the repertoires of the institutions where he worked, which changed the way music was taught in those countries. Some have also been performed by professional singers.

His legacy rests on the union of art music and Panamanian popular tradition. He continued composing and teaching at the National University of Panama into a very advanced age.