Santander (EFE).- The craftsman David López has turned the remains of “El Cajigo Jubilón”, an oak tree about 1,200 years old that was knocked down by a storm in the eighties, into traditional Cantabrian instruments such as the flute, the tambourine, the rebec -similar to the lute- or the pitu -a type of clarinet-.
All of them, deeply rooted in Cantabrian folklore, will be exhibited at the Museum of Nature of Cantabria in Carrejo (Cabezón de la Sal) and will be played for the first time at Cabuérniga Folk, which will be held this summer at the Castañera de Terán.
“The Cajigo Cubilón was the tree that gave the most acorns in Cantabria,” David López assured this Wednesday during the presentation of the traditional instruments.
The regional vice president and Minister of Culture, Pablo Zuloaga, the general director of Cultural Action, Gema Agudo, both acting, and Nicolás Toral, from the Castañera cultural association, also participated.
The project “El Cajigo Cubilón, a second life for its wood”, in addition to having a musical aspect, responds to the memory of that “so important” tree, whose remains lie on Mount Aa, in Ruente, and which for the artisan could not have a better destination than this lot of instruments.
“Our DNA”
“These initiatives must be supported because they are our identity and our DNA,” added López, who appreciated that El Cajigo Cubilón “can have its own voice” thanks to the project.
Nicolás Toral has indicated that, from the Castañera cultural association, they helped David López to process permits with the owners of the mountain and put him in contact with the Ministry of Culture.
The acting vice president believes that this project is “especially symbolic because it shows the roots of the traditional culture of Cantabria and how an illustrious tree of our land comes to have a new life.”
“It is essential that the Government of Cantabria listen to the groups to generate transcendental projects like today’s, especially due to their ethnographic and cultural impact,” Zuloaga added.