Robert Garfias at Barcelona #
A few days ago, Robert Garfias visited Barcelona with some Japanese investigators. They were going to film the sardana, the Catalan dance, and to attend also the performance of la Principal de la Bisbal.
On September 10th, we finally met him and also his friend Josep Martí, also an anthropologist, during the performance of the Unió de Colles Sardanistes.
We could talk for a while with Robert, who fascinated us with his anecdotes and his knowledge. Son of Mexican parents, was born in San Francisco. He speaks nine languages and has travelled all around the world filming in situ traditional music performances.
Regarding the guqin, Robert met Robert H. van Gulik once; Robert learnt to play the guqin from Tao Zhusheng; he also has worked with Fredric Lieberman (author of the Meian Qin Pu english translation); and also knows John Thompson ( external link ).
Thanks Robert for your time! We hope to see you again soon!