Help get Cornish tartan kilts for St Piran's band in Mexico

In 2024, we celebrated the Bicentennial of the arrival of the first Cornish mineworkers to the silver mines of Real del Monte. Last October, the Bagas Sans Piran (St Piran’s Band) was set up to coincide with this important 200th anniversary. They performed at the annual Pasty Festival in Real del Monte, celebrated by scores of the descendants of immigrant Cornish mineworkers.

Mexico has a thriving Cornish cultural scene which has developed organically. It is the only Spanish-speaking part of the Cornish Diaspora to have forged close links with Cornwall, exemplified by the twinning of Redruth with Real del Monte and the Friendship Agreement signed between Camborne and Pachuca in 2008. Each year delegates from Redruth and Real del Monte visit each other’s towns to celebrate the annual international pasty festival hosted in each.

Bagas Sans Piran brings the tradition of Cornish bagpipe and drum music to Mexico through their rousing songs and ballads, including 'Trelawney' and 'Cornwall My Home'. The band is led by César Ramírez whose ancestors hail from Cornwall. The band aspires to build upon their Cornish heritage and the wearing of traditional Cornish regalia will greatly increase the recognition and importance of Cornish history and culture in Mexico, which will be brought to a new audience through music. We aim to fund quality woollen cloth to allow at least 10 band members to have kilts in the Cornish national tartan.

We’ve all heard of the Trelawney Shout. So, let’s send a Trelawney Hug throughout the Cornish Disapora to get our Cousins in Mexico their Cornish national tartan! Kernow Bys Vyken!

For more details and a video of the band performing, see Cousin Jacks World website