For some time now, an interesting debate has arisen regarding the lyrics of the gaita margariteña "La Concha," one of the best-known pieces in the traditional repertoire of Margarita Island, in the Nueva Esparta state of Venezuela.

The chorus of this gaita says:

"They say there was, there was nothing,

I’m going to Yoco at dawn;

at dawn I’m going to Yoco

because the guayabo has me crazy."

The controversy revolves around a single word: Yoco or Yopo?

This article seeks to clarify the doubt from three perspectives: geographical, musicological, and documentary.

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1. Geographical Context: the Guaiquerí Territory

According to researcher Verni Salazar, around 1498 the main nucleus of the Guaiquerí (or Waikerí) ethnicity was originally located in the Cumaná region, extending throughout the Paria peninsula, the northern slopes of Trinidad, and Margarita Island, considered their main historical territory.

Similarly, in the study "The Guaiqueríes of the Caserío Francisco Fajardo" (Petra Melania Aguilera and Nancy Gómez), it is noted that:

"By the time the Spaniards arrived in Venezuela, the Guaiqueríes were scattered along the coast of Sucre state, in the Paria and Araya peninsulas up to the bay of Mochima; their main nucleus was in Cumaná, and they also inhabited Margarita Island."

These sources allow for locating the traditional geographical scope of the Guaiqueríes, which included eastern Venezuela and its nearby islands.

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2. Musicological Context: the Record of Rafael Suárez and Quinteto Contrapunto

The margariteño gaita "La Concha" was incorporated into the repertoire of Quinteto Contrapunto in its Volume 1, published in November 1963.

A few months later, in the first quarter of 1964, journalist Alí Brett Martínez published in the magazine Momento the article "A Miracle Named Contrapunto," where he included excerpts of the lyrics performed by the quintet. There the word "Yoco" is explicitly cited, along with a footnote that says:

"It was collected by the director of the quintet, Rafael Suárez, and he claims that it is one of the best-known gaitas —it is also referred to as décima— in Margarita Island."

Master Rafael Suárez, director and arranger of Quinteto Contrapunto, was born in El Poblado (Caserío Fajardo), in the Nueva Esparta state, one of the historical areas inhabited by the Guaiqueríes.

This town was known for its maritime tradition and its constant contact with the Sucre coastline, especially with the Araya peninsula and the coastal communities of the Gulf of Cariaco.

Among those communities is precisely Yoco, in the current Punta de Piedra parish, Valdez municipality of Sucre state, less than 25 km from Margarita Island.

In May 1964, Quinteto Contrapunto released their second record, and subsequently, the record label Polydor launched a double album that brought together the first two volumes.

In the insert of this album —which included the complete lyrics— it reappears:

"I’m going to Yoco at dawn;

at dawn I’m going to Yoco..."

This constitutes a second direct source coming from the group itself, which confirms the mention of Yoco in the lyrics.

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3. Other Documentary and Oral References

The margariteña composer and collector Modesta Bor recorded another popular gaita in which the chorus sings:

"Lend me the pipe of your drum

to lend it to my lady,

at dawn I’m going to Yoco

because the plague has me crazy."

This version, also arising from the eastern heritage and linked to the Guaiquerí cultural sphere, reinforces the historical existence of the toponym Yoco.

Similarly, performers like Dueto Criollísimo —contemporaries of Quinteto Contrapunto— and later artists like Ilan Chester retain the form "Yoco" in their versions of La Concha.

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4. The Origin of the Confusion: "Yopo"

The variant "Yopo" seems to have been introduced with the publication, in 1999, of the arrangements by Rafael Suárez published by the Vicente Emilio Sojo Foundation (CONAC).

Following that edition, scores and choral versions began to circulate that replaced "Yoco" with "Yopo." Before that year, only one foreign recording is known with that form, suggesting that it was either a typographical or transcription error.

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5. What is Yopo (and Why It Does Not Fit)

Yopo (also known as cohoba, niop, yupa, or yopa) is the common name for the South American plant Anadenanthera peregrina, whose seeds contain psychoactive alkaloids.

When inhaled, they produce hallucinogenic effects and are used in ceremonial rituals by ethnic groups from the Orinoco basin, the northern Amazon, and the Venezuelan plains —such as the Piaroa, Yanomami, and Tamanaco— but not by the Guaiqueríes.

Therefore, both by cultural and geographical context, it is unlikely that the margariteño gaita La Concha refers to the hallucinogen Yopo.

In contrast, the existence of the Yoco population within the historical Guaiquerí territory confirms that this is the correct form in the original lyrics.

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Conclusion

The documentary, musicological, and ethnographic evidence converge in one direction:

The correct word in the gaita margariteña La Concha is "Yoco," not "Yopo."

The confusion, likely arising from an editorial error in the transcription of the scores published in 1999, has given rise to subsequent interpretations detached from the cultural context of eastern Venezuela.

Thus, "Yoco" is not just a name in a song: it is a living vestige of the Guaiquerí territory and the musical memory of Margarita.

As in all research, there will be those who have divergent opinions, which are entirely valid and respectable when they are based on documentary facts.