Music & Culture: ENCUENTRO NYC Colombian Music Festival
ENCUENTRO NYC Colombian Music festival, founded by musicians Pablo Mayor and Anna Povich de Mayor, celebrates its 10th anniversary. This unique festival aims to engage international audiences with the now rooted and ever-vibrant scene of renowned and emerging Colombian New York-based artists in six hours of back-to-back performances at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street. NYC) on November 16th , 4-10pm. More than 60 musicians will be on stage performing the entire spectrum of Colombian rhythms and styles.
"Since the first Encuentro, the festival has been a platform for New York-based Colombian musicians to develop and present their art. I'm proud to see the heights to which these artists have reached in these past ten years and how inspirational it has become for new musicians. This 10th celebration will be a remarkable showcase of what has come of Colombian artists in the past decade, and a chance to hear the newest voices on the scene," remarked Founder and Director, Pablo Mayor.
Starting at 4pm, the festival convenes for the third year in a row at Le Poisson Rouge, in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, with 14 bands, dance, and six hours of back-to-back performances, featuring the rhythms of cumbia, currulao, joropo, and bambuco, among a myriad other styles. In the Encuentro's signature ambiance that keeps its audience captivated from the time they enter the door until the final sixth hour, the non-stop showcase will feature music for dancing and music for listening.
With 14 bands and dance, more than 60 musicians on stage, 6 hours of back-to-back performances, experience the entire spectrum of Colombian rhythms and styles!
For more information (including the full artist lineup) please visit Le Poisson Rouge
The diverse and stellar line-up will feature: The masters and proponents of Colombia's coastal traditions with marimba, multi-instrumentalist Diego Obregón and his Afro-Colombian Pacifico band Grupo Chonta presenting the joyful rhythms and sounds of this very African region of Colombia. Barranquilla-born Ronald Polo and Moris Cañate's Grupo Rebolú bring Colombia's Afro-Caribbean sounds, and Alejandro Zuleta Vallenato Collective led by this member of the renowned Zuleta family dynasty of Vallenato musicians, share their take on the Caribbean tradition of Vallenato.
The music from Colombia's Andean, guitar-dominated, region will be represented by the lovely Andean-inspired pop singer Laura Kalop, featured at Colombia's Mono Núñez festival and who will debut at the Encuentro, as well as the Flórez/Gallo Duo (tiple/bandola/piano, based in NYC and Bogotá), carrying the roots of the Colombian Andes into new dimensions with their intelligent, sophisticated compositions in duo form.
The fusions of Colombia's traditions with contemporary sounds are with the ever popular MAKU Sound System, punk-jazz rooted in Afro Colombian rhythms; with the charismatic bandleader Gregorio Uribe and his 16-piece big band; the composer, pianist, producer and Encuentro's founder Pablo Mayor's own renowned dance-jazz band Folklore Urbano Orchestra; the earthy, urban, funky, and brilliant guitarist Sebastián Cruzand his Cheap Landscape Trio (known for his work with Lucía Pulido) and drummer Martin Vejarano (known for his work with La Cumbiamba eNeYe) presenting his Chia's Dance Party, a funky sextet blending jazz and chirimia reminiscent of a New Orleans jazz band a la Colombiana.
New to the Encuentro is renowned writer and pianist Juan Andrés Ospina. Known for his work with Marta Gómez, Lucía Pulido, Sofia Ribeiro, Banda Magda, Sylvie Bourban, Paquito d'Rivera, among others, Juan Andrés will perform songs from his album "BBB-Barcelona, Bogotá, Boston" with his jazz-inspired sextet; pianist Fidel Cuellar will present his new project with Luiz Ebert: a jazz quintet with music from their new album Audiograph-a venture to musically capture contrasting portraits of life, people and culture in NYC.
The traditional music from Colombia's Plains region are in the rhythms of joropo music with Johanna Castañeda y su Grupo Llanero. Virtuoso guitarist Nilko Andreas Guarín plays Colombia's traditions through the voice of classical composers. And Colombian dance company Pajarillo Pinta'o directed by dancer and choreographer (of Limon Dance Company) Daniel Fetecua-Soto will bring to the stage the joyful and festive steps of Colombian dance.
The festival coincides with PAMAR'S Latin American Culture Week opening series of events, using the opportunity to showcase Colombia's rich musical heritage and developments to the broader international and Latin American community. Anna Povich de Mayor, co-producer, states that "the Encuentro every year is a special occasion for the Colombians in the audience to reconnect and rethink their Colombian-ism, while teaching the international listeners about what comes out of Colombia. Like myself, a non-Colombian, our international audience leaves with their interest sparked, with the fever to hear more Colombian music and come back year after year."
Arturo O'Farrill, a renowned proponent of Latino music and culture in New York, states, "Pablo Mayor and Anna Povich de Mayor are doing an amazing work of showcasing the profoundly beautiful music of Colombia. This festival at Poisson Rouge is absolutely mandatory for anyone who loves jazz, Latin, world and just music in general. Pablo is a master composer and arranger and we have been privileged to perform and record his work! Don't miss the chance to see and hear him!"
WHEN: Saturday, November 16, 2013
HOURS: 4pm-10pm (doors 3:30pm)
WHERE: Le Poisson Rouge - 158 Bleecker Street. NY, NY 10012
TICKETS: $30 at the door, $25 in advance. Students at the door $20, minors accompanied by adults at the door $15
MORE INFO: www.encuentronyc.com
Le Poisson Rouge / 212.353.3474 Le Poisson Rouge
Dinner and drinks available.