open society archives budapest | february 2016
The discovery of the Mexican Suitcase, containing long-lost photos taken by Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, David 'Chim' Seymour and Fred Stein during the Spanish Civil War, was as great a sensation in 2007 as if a secret chamber had been found behind the tomb of Tutankhamun. The Soharóza choir was invited to perform a side-programme at the exhibition, compiled from their own adaptations of songs of the Spanish Civil War. The repertoire turned out to be diverse since the songs – at least their melodies – were brought to Spanish land by volunteers of many different nations. Just to name a few examples: a German march from a 16th-century peasants' war, Jarama Valley performed by the American Woody Guthrie, or an interesting oratorical adaptation of the Spanish Anarchist Anthem.
