Esteban and the Children of the Sun

Esteban and the Children of the Sun is a suite of fourteen songs that tell the story of Esteban, the first African to travel across North America.

A musician wearing glasses and a cap holding a guitar and conducting with outstretched arms on stage during a performance

An illustrated portrait of a Native American man with a large head sculpture behind him, set against a cloudy sky with a yellow sun symbol at the top center.

Artwork by Gary Kelley

About Esteban

A multi-media production combining music with dialogue, images and projected text, Esteban & The Children of the Sun was a multi-genre collaboration between composer, musician, and educator, John Rapson; composer/musicians Daniel "Nielo" Gaglione; lowa City blues musician and songwriter, Kevin Burt; and Denver-based flamenco guitarist and composer, Miguel Espinoza. Writer and spoken-word artist, Caleb "The Negro Artist" Rainey, offered contemporary insights and reflections through a series of dialogues interspersed with the Rapson-orchestrated tunes and the improvisatory contributions of Mektoub Arkestra.

Esteban & The Children of the Sun invited the audience to sonically explore Esteban's travels from his birthplace in early 16th-century Morocco to enslaved servitude in Spain, a transatlantic journey as part of the 1527 Narváez expedition to Florida, and his eventual multiyear crossing of the American southwest as one of only four survivors from Narvez's failed attempt to colonize the Gulf coast.

Combining imagery with music from multiple times, styles, and cultures, Estaban is a testament to Rapson's practice of what he called "communal composition." It also speaks to his ability to locate echoes in history with current issues. As Eric Neel wrote in his liner notes: "John was drawn to the story because its recovery and retelling might enrich our understanding of the story of America, in all its imperfect collaborative origins and experiments."

Esteban was performed at The Englert Theatre on October 3, 2021, with Dave Hagedorn filling the role of conductor in his friend's absence. Thirteen musicians filled the stage for a sold out show that was the theatre's first major event following the outbreak of Covid-19. The performance was filmed and the recording is available to purchase.

Prior to Rapson's death, he and the musicians recorded Esteban, which can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and CD Baby. A full video recording is also available.