Biography of Agustin Barrios Mangore - Part 4

The birth of Cacique Nitsuga Mangore

Around 1930 Barrios made his mind to leave southern South America and make his way towards northward from Rio de Janeiro, arriving to the United States. He invented the character of Nitsuga Mangore, the “messenger of the Guarani race... the Paganini of the guitar from the jungles of Paraguay”, presenting himself in concert with full Indian costume, with feathers, bow and arrows.

Barrios in 1930 before changing to Nitsuga Mangore

He started this approach mainly to attract a greater public. But I think that he also was disillusioned about his lack of success as Agustín Barrios. The man who was rejected in Buenos Aires and couldn’t make his way to the United States and Europe. To know more about the story of Mangore and the reasons why Barrios might have had invented it, click here.

Barrios started to add pieces to his repertoire that reflected his “Guarani origins”, like Diana Guarani and Poema de America. He also changed the name of the piece “Souvenir de un reve” to “Un sueño en la floresta”, that is, a dream in the forest. Apart from these and others original compositions, he continued playing his now standard repertoire, that included Sor, Tárrega, Albéniz and transcriptions of the classics.

He projected Europe and the United States as his future destinations and sometimes as places he had been to attract more public.

On february 20 1931, Barrios gave a concert in Fortaleza where he played pieces by Bach as the fugue from the first violin sonata, transcriptions of Mozart and Beethoven and, according to one critic he was less well received by the public of Fortaleza due to the “excessive classicism of the composer which requires a strict musical education to be duly appreciated”.

The guitarist who was rejected in Chile and Argentina for playing popular tunes now was criticized due to “excessive classicism”!

Touring America

Barrios gave concerts in Brazilian cities and towns until August 1931. On September he journeyed to French Guiana where in the capital city of Cayenne he gave a concert. Two months later he landed in Martinique where on December he gave a concert in the capital Fort-de-France, including a work by the French composer Jules Massenet to please the French-speaking public of Martinique.

From Martinique he traveled to Trinidad, in 1932. At this time the noted British conductor Sir Henry Joseph Wood was in Trinidad and, after hearing Barrios declared:

“Señor Barrios is quite a unique artist, his tonal variety obtained by plucking the strings at three or four different points, his colorful playing, rhythm, perfect intonation and splendid interpretive ability, make his playing a real pleasure and delight to all music lovers.”

Great success in Venezuela

In February he departed to Venezuela, which would be the place where he would have one of the best periods in his career, as the Venezuelan public was one of the most appreciative of Barrios’ music.

Over the next two months he would play 25 concerts in Caracas, proving to be a sensation with the public. He was constantly praised by the press and invited to numerous prominent social functions.

Barrios’ impact on the Venezuelan guitar community was profound. Antonio Lauro, viewed as one of the most important guitarist/composer from Venezuela, met Barrios around this time, he declared:

“Mangore was a very open person and on certain occasions shared his knowledge with us. Whatever anyone asked of him, he would give them. With each question, he would give a long reply, almost a complete class you might say. He gave long explanations regarding pulsation and set us to practicing ligados, arpeggios, general sonority and aesthetics of performance.”

Barrios’ was such a celebrity in Caracas that he even was featured in advertisements! In a poster showing Barrios playing there is a caption saying:

“Barrios is without any doubt, in the world of art, the Indian guitarist who leaves on our souls the imperishable taste of his music without precedent. In the world of the Venezuelian industry, it is something authentic, genuine, incomparable: Caracas Beer”

Colombia, Central America and El Salvador

On May 1932, he suddenly became dangerously ill. There is no records of concerts until September 3 and 4 in Barquisimeto. By October he was by Bogotá, Colombia. The Colombian composer Guillermo Uribe-Holguín attended one of is concerts and declared: “Mangore is the reincarnated soul of the musical geniuses and never again will it be possible to hear an artist of such magnitude.”

Great was the success of Barrios in Colombia, where one critic observed that Barrios had “awakened an enthusiasm never seen before with the cultured, music loving public who admire the great geniuses of classical and modern music.” During the five weeks that he was in Bogotá, he gave a total of 17 concerts.

By March 1933 he was in Panama, where he performed for the President Abdiel Arias. He gave other performances in Panama but there isn’t records of them. The following month he arrived in Costa Rica, where he stayed and played numerous concerts until July, when he traveled to El Salvador. He received great acceptance in all the places he visited, presenting himself as the “Guarani indian” he was accepted by the “brother races”.

In September he was in Guatemala. Here a critic gives a detailed description of a concert by Barrios:

In front, a corral of bamboo and two house palms. Mangoré presents himself with feathers. An anachronism. Something for children. His costume goes with the bamboo, but not with the guitar.

The reception by the public is cold and silent, with ironic comments: “horrendous”, “stupendous”, “shocking”, “he is on marihuana”, etc.

The indian sits, strokes his instrument in a strangely smooth manner and begins. The program does not seem to be in agreement with the situation – it indicates that the indian feels he is a musician, and that he wants to play Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin on the guitar! It seems a sacrilege. We expect a disaster, a fatal musical calamity.

He plays a Serenata Morisca of his own composition. On the mark. Another of his compositions, andante and allegreto. Notable. A Chilean dance. The enthusiasm mounts. Little by little the audience warms up.

The guitar becomes a piano, violin, flute, mandolin, drum. There is nothing that this man can’t do on the guitar. At times it seems the guitar plays itself...

The applause grows, and increases with each piece until at the end of the performance the public is shouting “encore” to which he replies “thank you”, simply “thank you”.

Barrios as Cacique Nitsuga Mangore

He arrived to Mexico in late 1933. He was well received and the critics were favorable, even though Segovia was also concertizing in Mexico at that time.

Finally to Europe

In 1934 he met Tomás Salomoni who was the Paraguayan Ambassador to Mexico. He persuaded Barrios to cease his characterization as Nitsuga Mangore, as it “was not dignified and appropriate.” This way chief Nitsuga Mangore was retired, although he later presented him in concert as “Barrios Mangore”. Salomoni was very interested in furthering Barrios’ career. He knew he must go to Europe.

Salomonis became Barrios’ new patron and “manager” and in July 1934 they embarked to Havana, Cuba where they remained for two months. Barrios had great success in the presentations he made in Havana. In September they finally sailed for Europe.

They arrived in Brussels, Belgium in September of 1934. There resided Tomás Salomonis elder son and eldest daughter. They remained there for several weeks. And there is some evidence that during this time Barrios made friends with Igor Stravinsky.

He played a concert in the Royal Conservatory of Music. Before the learned professors he presented works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, etc. Which did not impress them. In the second part he started to present his own compositions and upon ending the concert the critics shouted “Bravo!”. This was one of Barrios’ greatest artistc triumphs.

Then, the Barrios and Salomonis moved to Berlin, where they lived for approximately fifteen months. Zuni Salomoni, the youngest child, who was 12 at that time recalls that “there was an organ and always on the morning Mangore would awaken us children with music he would improvise on this organ. Sometimes, to entertain us, he would take his guitar and put it up behind his head and play it that way.”

The oldest son Tomás Salomonis recalled that Barrios “had a great respect for my father, but he dod not permit any interruptions during his practicing, which could last ten to twelve hours with him shut up in his room, refusing food, until his practicing was finished.”

In all the time they spent in Berlin, Barrios didn’t play any concert. For whatever reasons, they didn’t made connections with professional impresarios. I think there was discrimination involved on the part of the German hosts.

In 1936 Barrios separated from the Salomonis and sailed to Spain through Portugal. Barrios played a concert in Madrid and met Regino Sáinz de la Maza and the poet Federico García Lorca. He also played for Queen Victoria Eugenia, whose husband Alfonso XIII presented him with a guitar by the Spanish maker Morant. According to luthier Federico Sheppard, who made a replica of this guitar and kindly contacted me, this guitar was made by Spanish maker Ricardo Sanchis and not Morant.

At that time the Spanish Civil War was about to start, and seeing the lack of professional opportunities and feeling concern for his safety, he returned to America. History didn’t give him the opportunity to succeed.