José Lopez Carrasco has 130 chickens in his backyard in Litchfield. He started with four but decided to expand the coop to honor his grandparents, who taught him how to raise them back in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It was part of their lessons about Mother Nature and how his ancestors honored it.
Chickens are one way Lopez Carrasco keeps up ties to his homeland. Music is another —and it’s a family affair.
On the day I visit him, he, his two brothers and his niece play a folk song about Achacachi, a town near Bolivia’s capital, La Paz. It is a cheerful song that showcases the charango, a small stringed instrument traditionally made with the shell from the back of an armadillo.
They named the group Manases. Its eight members sing lyrics about traditions and their great love for Mother Nature, an essential component of the Bolivian indigenous cosmovision.
Lopez Carrasco came to New Hampshire 40 years ago after he married his wife; the pair met on a Mormon mission. It took him 17 years to bring his parents, five brothers and sister to the U.S. All of them were born in the silver mines of Oruro, but their father took them out of that difficult life when they were children.
“We are grateful we did not continue the life of slavery they went through,” he says.
Since arriving, the family has put down roots in southern New Hampshire. Most of them work in the medical field, and that takes up almost all their time. But every Sunday, the now 60 members of the family gather to celebrate their passion: Andean music.
“I think we are all the Bolivian community,” Lopez Carrasco jokes.
After all, in all his years living here, he hasn't met other Bolivians who are not part of his family; he says he is constantly looking for more.
The first time the group played, back when they did not even have a name and the youngest was only 11 years old, they had a lucky streak. They were supposed to be the opening act of a big Bolivian band called Los Kjarkas, which is famous across Latin America. But the band did not show up, and the brothers ended up giving the whole concert. They rocked — the public was euphoric, and they wanted more.
Jorge Lopez Carrasco, who taught himself how to play the charango, remembers the adrenaline rush of that moment.
“It was so competitive, but we were playing on a big stage,” he says, “even if it was pure luck.”
Their first concert in New Hampshire was at the New Hampshire Technical Institute. They usually play at multicultural festivals in the summer.
Julian Lopez Carrasco, who plays the pan flute, says raising kids in the U.S. has been challenging. He feels Hispanic children lose a lot of their culture at school.
“When my daughter was 8, she asked me, confused, if she was born only American and not Hispanic,” he remembers, “even after I taught her constantly about her culture.”
That confusion also happened to his nephew, Deniss Lopez Carrasco, who arrived in New Hampshire when he was 2. He was constantly teased about being Hispanic through elementary, middle and high school.
“Those were difficult moments when I was forming my personality,” he says.
But with the support of his family, he learned there is so much to be proud of. He married a Brazilian woman and has a baby on the way. His cousins married people from the Philippines, Guatemala and Russia. The family is growing, and the Lopez Carrascos are excited to expand their roots.
Denis hopes all those new babies will learn to play an instrument one day.
“I now embrace my Hispanic culture," he says, "it makes me who I am, and I am happy to be that."
