Friday and Saturday, June 18-19: ticketed showcases,
6pm–midnight for tickets go to:
http://www.elmuseo.org/en/calendar/date_all_6
Saturday, June 19: Target FREE Super Sabados, 1-4pm

Totó la Momposina arrives in NYC for the seventh annual Encounter of Colombian Musicians in New York, founded by Colombian bandleader, pianist, composer Pablo Mayor, to feature nearly 20 acts of New York’s renowned Colombian musical ensembles and exciting guests from Colombia. The Encounter convenes this year at El Museo del Barrio, the prestigious cultural institution on Fifth Avenue where Manhattan’s Upper East Side meets Harlem. This celebrated event builds on last year’s success at the Highline Ballroom, and highlights Colombia’s musical treasures, notably guest of honor and renowned folkloric singer Totó la Momposina and her son and musical director, percussionist Marco Vinicio Oyaga, on the eve of the nation’s bicentennial year. The festival will feature the rhythms of cumbia, currulao, joropo, and bambuco, among a myriad other styles, both as they have developed in New York and in their traditional guises.Totó la Momposina arrives in NYC for the seventh annual Encounter of Colombian Musicians in New York, founded by Colombian bandleader, pianist, composer Pablo Mayor, to feature nearly 20 acts of New York’s renowned Colombian musical ensembles and exciting guests from Colombia. The Encounter convenes this year at El Museo del Barrio, the prestigious cultural institution on Fifth Avenue where Manhattan’s Upper East Side meets Harlem. This celebrated event builds on last year’s success at the Highline Ballroom, and highlights Colombia’s musical treasures, notably guest of honor and renowned folkloric singer Totó la Momposina and her son and musical director, percussionist Marco Vinicio Oyaga, on the eve of the nation’s bicentennial year. The festival will feature the rhythms of cumbia, currulao, joropo, and bambuco, among a myriad other styles, both as they have developed in New York and in their traditional guises.

The Encounter, or Encuentro, has inspired, educated, and delighted its audiences with its varied artists showcases since 2003. From the poetic songs of Marta Gómez to the fire of virtuoso percussionist Samuel Torres and the Afro-Colombian joy of Diego Obregon’s marimba de chonta, this year’s Encounter will range to subtle sounds of Spanish-derived Andean guitar music by Plectro Trio, direct from Colombia. Powerhouse dance bands include La Cumbiamba eNeYe and Pablo Mayor’s brash orchestra Folklore Urbano, with jazz and avant-garde veterans Hector Martignon and Samuel Torres aboard to display how Colombian music thrives at the forefront of the world music scene, in New York City and beyond.

The Encounter brings the finest contemporary and traditional Colombian music together on El Museo’s stage for one of New York’s distinct “hot ticket” events. The festival developed from an all-day event in Bogotá in 1998, when bandleader Pablo Mayor was directing the jazz program at the Universidad Javeriana. Mayor had students present music that utilized Colombian rhythms and melodies, with results so productive and enjoyable that Mayor used the same model in New York in 2003. That first Encuentro was organized during a visit by the Gaiteros of San Jacinto, as an homage to the Gaitereos’ storied history playing Colombian folkloric music. And it showcased talented acts including singer Lucía Pulido, jazz pianist Hector Martignón, the dance orchestras Folklore Urbano and La Cumbiamba eNeYe, and Iván Benavides.

Thus was born an annual event uniting the work of Colombian musicians in New York, bringing them before international audiences of all ages, eagerly appreciating the beauty and diversity of this unique culture.

The VII Encounter of Colombian Musicians in New York features two ticketed evening showcases, and an afternoon of educational workshops and presentations with a lecture by a leading ethnomusicologist as part of El Museo’s Target FREE Super Sabados on Saturday. The artist showcases will feature the following, stay tuned for a detailed schedule in the coming week!:

Dance Orchestras: La Cumbiamba eNeYe, Pablo Mayor-Folklore Urbano, Gregorio Uribe Big Band, Harold Gutiérrez

Singers: Marta Gómez, Johanna Castañeda, Guest of Honor Totó la Momposina

Jazz with Colombian rhythms: Hector Martignón, Samuel Torres, Ricardo Gallo-Tierra de Nadie, Carlos Renjifo–Citizens of the World (from Dallas)

Folkloric/Atlantico/Pacifico/Andean: Rebolú, Diego Obregón–Grupo Chonta, Plectro Trio (from Colombia)

Andean/Guitar-based Originals: Alejandro Flórez-Tibaguí, Parias Ensemble

Jazz-Rock: Sebastián Cruz and the Cheap Landscape Trio

Workshop Schedule for Super Sabados, June 19th, 1-4:30pm
(free admission)

1-1:30 Johanna Castañeda y su cuatro
Storytelling through music with Johanna Castañeda, voice and cuatro, playing "música llanera"---music from the plains region of Colombia 1:30-2pm La GAITA
Martin Vejarano from "La Cumbiamba eNeYe" presents a workshop on the native flute from the Caribbean region of Colombia 3-3:30 El Piano de la Jungla/The Piano of the Jungle
Yiyo Obregon presents the "piano of the jungle", marimba de chonta, an instrument from the very African influenced Pacific coast region of Colombia 3:30-4pm Música de los Andes
Alejandro Flórez on tiple leads a workshop presentation on the Andean music from Colombia, featuring Anna Povich de Mayor on flute. 4-4:30 Caribbean drums from Colombia
Featuring students of the Harbor Conservatory