Venezuelan Embassy Washington: Flute and Piano Converge in the Venezuelan Sounds Series

As part of the fifth edition of the “Venezuelan Sounds” series in the United States, two of the most talented Venezuelan musicians, Huáscar Barradas y Leo Blanco, will perform in Massachusetts and in the nation’s capital, in order to promote Venezuelan popular culture.

Flutist Huáscar Barradas will captivate audiences in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a “neo-folk” style and his blending of salsa, ballad and merengue rhythms on the “cuatro” (a Venezuelan stringed instrument), drums and maracas. He will perform Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19.

Pianist, arranger and composer, Leo Blanco, will once again perform in this concert series on Friday, July 18 in the renowned Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. There, the audience will be able to enjoy Blanco’s style, which employs a mix of Venezuela folk music with jazz and musical traditions from Africa and South America.

There are more performances to come in this fifth edition of Sounds of Venezuela, including Alfredo Naranjo y Guajeo, En Cayapa, Chamber Ensembles from the National System of Youth Orchestras of Venezuela, Maestro Rafael Rincón Gonzalez, and percussionist Jackeline Rago. They, among others, will allow audiences to experience the diversity of Venezuelan popular music.

These performances are brought to you by the Chevron Corporation and the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Washington, D.C., who over the past five years have joined together to promote Venezuelan culture throughout the United States.

For Patricia Abdelnour, cultural attaché of the Venezuelan Diplomatic Mission, the main success of these past five years has been the opening of opportunities for Venezuelan artists in the most important cultural venues of the United States. “We have performed in new places; new audiences have learned about and enjoyed the rich cultural and musical diversity which exists in our country,” said Abdelnour.

Performances:

Leo Blanco
July 18: Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Time: 6 p.m.
2700 F St., NW. Washington, DC 20566

Huáscar Barradas and his “Maracaibo” Ensemble
July 18: Ryles Jazz Club. Time: 9 p.m.
212 Hampshire Street. Cambridge, MA 02139
www.ryles.com

July 19: Festival Betances. Time: 6:15 p.m.
85 West Newton Street. Boston, MA 02118
www.iba-etc.org

Sounds of Venezuela 2008 Calendar

July: Performance by Vibraphonist Alfredo Naranjo y el Guajeo on the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Washington, D.C.

August 1: Performance by Alfredo Naranjo y el Guajeo in La Pena Cultural Center. Berkeley, CA. www.lapena.org