by Martin Johnson

Every year for about a decade, I'd make the same New Year's resolution: travel more. Yet every December, my globe-trotting would be limited to trips to Texas to see family and New England to see friends.

In my defense, what was the incentive to visit exotic lands if representatives from those places were constantly visiting?

This was especially true during the early '90s when a world music invasion was in progress. It seemed as if every night a new superstar from a different country was playing. However, by the end of the decade, the influx of foreign musicians had slowed considerably. After Sept. 11, 2001, it became even more difficult for foreign musicians to visit America, and the world music scene suffered.

Which is what makes this weekend's globalFEST so vital. Saturday night at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., 13 artists from five different continents will perform at the venue. The festival, a co-production of The Public Theater, the World Music Institute and CRASHarts, premiered last year to great acclaim. The second edition of the festival will feature Juana Molina, the Argentine songstress who sings in both Spanish and English and works with both folkloric and electronic music backing.

Mali's Rokia Traore and Peru's Eva Ayllon are among the festival's other highlights. Ayllon's songs blend Peru's native traditions with that of its African communities, and Traore mixes in elements of American pop. More stripped- down fare will be offered by the Warsaw Village Band from Poland, and Mory Kante from Guinea. Other travelers include Noche Flamenco, the Spanish music and dance group; Paris Combo, a gypsy swing outfit; and the French Congolese guitar hero Lokua Kanza.

Typical of New York's international flavor, some acts in the festival live and work here. These include Antibalas, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Ollabelle and DJ Rekha, who will close the festival with a late night set at Joe's Pub. Festival tickets are $40. For more information, call 212-239-6200 or visit www. globalfest-ny.org.