 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
To listen to audio on Rock Paper Scissors you'll need to Get the Flash Player
|
Sample Track 1:
"Dervish" from Avant Ango, 2003 CD Mixies
|
Sample Track 2:
"Amanecer" from Noche Flamenca, Album de Steve Cordeau
|
Sample Track 3:
"Site Contara" from Joe Vasconcellos, Banzai
|
Sample Track 4:
"El Caiman" from Semilla, Semilla
|
Sample Track 5:
"Canda Munani Ishcay" from Yarina, Ñawi
|
Sample Track 6:
"El Hueso" from Petrona Martinez, Bonito Que Canta
|
Sample Track 7:
"Boricua en la Luna" from Roy Brown, Coleccion (Disco 1)
|
Sample Track 8:
"Alfonisna y el Mar" from Tania Libertad, Alfonsina y el Mar XX Años
|
Sample Track 9:
"El Baile De L. Alonso" from Banda Sinfonicade Vall De Uxo, Paso Doble Y Seleccionde Zarzuelas
|
Sample Track 10:
"Cancion Mandala" from Coba, Coba-Cancion Mandala
|
|
|
 |
Concert Preview
|
| Click Here to go back. |
New York Daily News, Concert Preview >>
-by Albor Ruiz
Fest showcases rich diversity of Latino cultures It is that time of the year in New York, when the Latino Cultural Festival brings to the Queens Theatre in the Park the best of the music and art of Latin America and Spain.
"This is the largest and most diverse Latino festival in the city," said festival director Claudia Norman. "It offers a wide range of culture, from traditional and folkloric to new and popular voices."
This is the festival's 11th year, and it will feature 18 events over 12 days, encompassing film, concerts, theater, dance and spoken word. It will run from July 25 to Aug. 5 at the theater in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
It is only fitting that such an event takes place in Queens, one of the most diverse areas in the U.S.
Across Latin America, there are many artists who, although legends in their own right south of the border, are practically unknown in the U.S. The festival offers New York audiences the opportunity to enjoy these artists' extraordinary talents. Some of them are:
Singer-songwriter Roy Brown, who became intimately involved in the major issues rocking Puerto Rico in the turbulent 1970s: civil rights, the independence movement and the Vietnam War. His love for writing songs and poems led him to record several albums, including the groundbreaking "Yo Protesto."
Peruvian-born Tania Libertad lives in Mexico, and her songs span the Americas. She became popular for her performance of the protest songs of the 1970s and 1980s, when songwriters across Latin America battled oppressive regimes.
Blending Brazilian beats, Chilean folk music and politically charged lyrics, Joe Vasconcellos made a breakthrough leap from the underground to multiplatinum popularity thanks to his folk-rock en español.
Festivalgoers also will have a chance to get to know many other excellent performers, such as Colombia's folk singer Petrona Martínez, who has deep roots extending back into her country's African past; the Ecuadoran ensemble Yarina - "remembrance" in the Quechua language of the Incas - which performs and playfully reinterprets the indigenous traditions of the Andes through jazz, classical and Latin genres.
The young performers of the Queens-based Semilla, who have their roots in the "Costa Chica" - the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca which have sent many immigrants to New York - also are part of the roster of performers, as is Noche Flamenca, a group that has become one of the most highly respected flamenco companies in the world.
Yet the festival will never be able to truly claim it spans the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean as long as the art from one of the world's musical powerhouses is not represented. Amazingly, Cuban artists - and even Cuban music - are completely absent from this year's festival.
Nevertheless, the Latino Cultural Festival is like no other in New York. It is a whirlwind tour through the richness and diversity of the cultures of Latin America and Spain. Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase, the festival has taken place every summer since 1997.
"The festival stands out because our vision has been not only to bring the icons, the very well-known artists to New York's mainstream audiences, but also to identify and support young performers by providing a serious platform," Norman said.
"I think people keep coming to the festival because you can share your cultural identity with others, as well as find something new," she added.
And also because it is lots of fun.
For a schedule or other information, call the Queens Theatre in the Park at (718) 760-0064 07/01/07 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
