On the first day of rehearsal for “Ainadamar” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Brazilian director and choreographer Deborah Colker led the singers, dancers and soloists in an exercise in movement. 

Although opera stagings are sometimes static, with singers standing, facing forward and singing, Colker said that she wanted a more kinetic, fluid staging to complement the musical rhythms and the story that “Ainadamar”tells.

lena Villalón as Nuria and Angel Blue as Margarita Xirgu in a scene from Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” Marty Sohl/Met Opera

“It’s about passion,” Colker said. “It’s about love. It’s about poetry. It’s about what’s happened in the streets. It’s about friendship. And we need to move. We need to dance. We need to sing.”

That is something each opera house’s cast members learn anew, with each staging. The production, which opened at the Scottish Opera before going to Wales and Detroit, plays through Nov. 9 at the Metropolitan Opera. In the spring, it will move on to the LA Opera. 

A scene from Golijov’s “Ainadamar” with Angel Blue as Margarita Xirgu. Marty Sohl/Met Opera

“Ainadamar” delves into the relationship between the famous Spanish playwright and poet Federico García Lorca and Maria Xirgu, the actress who was his muse. Xirgu was performing in one of Lorca’s plays in Cuba when the fascists jailed and murdered him in Spain in 1936. The opera is told from her perspective in the final moments of her life, 40 years later.

This is Colker’s first time directing an opera. She runs a dance company in Brazil and has directed Cirque du Soleil’s popular show, “Ovo.” 

“Ainadamar” has been done a lot since it premiered at Tanglewood in western Massachusetts 21 years ago, but Colker’s interpretation leans into the music’s flamenco rhythms and flamenco dancing, according to Argentinian-born composer Osvaldo Golijov who created the music (the libretto is by David Henry Hwang). 

Angel Blue as Margarita Xirgu and Elena Villalón as Nuria in Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” Marty Sohl/Met Opera

Golijov said that he was surprised and delighted by the results. 

“It’s a real revelation for me,” Golijov said. “Because I never imagined that the opera could be danced from top to bottom.”

When the curtain rises on “Ainadamar,” a man does a Spanish dance surrounded by a circular, beaded curtain. A video of a bull is projected behind him as the sound of hoofbeats melds into flamenco rhythms.

A scene from Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” Marty Sohl/Met Opera

That kind of physicality runs throughout the performance — something that soprano Angel Blue, who plays Xirgu, stressed as well.

She said that at one point during the show, “I’m doing a very deep squat, and the dancers are actually assisting me and pulling me up.”

Angel Blue as Margarita Xirgu and Elena Villalón as Nuria in Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” Marty Sohl/Met Opera

It took a lot of rehearsal: “We had, I don’t know, how many hours a day of training to be able to do that — there’s those two specific moves in that scene that are very hard to do.”

Blue, who’s sung Puccini and Gershwin at the Met, but calls herself a “theater kid” at heart, said it was a liberating process.

 “Deborah created a space that was safe to rehearse in,” the singer said.

Angel Blue as Margarita Xirgu in Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” Marty Sohl/Met Opera

The rehearsals were so creative and open, she added, “maybe that’s why this is my favorite opera that I’ve been in, in my professional career, as an opera singer.”

Mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack plays the passionate, doomed playwright in what is called in opera a “trouser role.” She said when she was offered the part, “They were very clear that it was a very physical production, and that I was going to have to move on the stage, not just sing.”

Flamenco dancer Isaac Tovar in a scene from Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” Marty Sohl/Met Opera

Mack, born in Argentina and raised in the United States, danced as a little girl, but not since. When she joined the production, it took a lot of practice, the singer recalled: “I remember in Detroit taking the fans home to work on my little choreography in my hotel room. But it’s been a real, wonderful environment, too, because Antonio, the flamenco choreographer, is the most patient and wonderful man. And so, he really made the process a happy one.”

Elena Villalón as Nuria and Angel Blue as Margarita Xirgu in Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” Marty Sohl/Met Opera

Antonio Najarro, who ran the Spanish National Ballet, was brought in to work on the flamenco moments in the opera, but also add contemporary flourishes. 

“Deborah [Colker], she wanted everybody singing, everybody dancing, everybody acting,” Najarro said. “The goal, it was that you don’t have to know who is the singer, who is the dancer. I think this is amazing in this opera.”

Elena Villalón as Nuria in a scene from Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” Marty Sohl/Met Opera

The post New York’s Met Opera debuts ‘Ainadamar’ about Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca and his muse  appeared first on The World from PRX.

South Korea’s influence on global popular culture is hard to miss. In fact, we are living in an era known to some as the Korean Wave, or Hallyu.

At the forefront of this wave is BTS, the iconic K-pop sensation with a worldwide ARMY (that’s the fandom name) of supporters.

Stunning films such as Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 dark comedy thriller “Parasite” and the Netflix streaming phenomenon “Squid Game” have broken into Western culture as cult classics and have influenced everything from Halloween costumes to demanding college waitlists for entry into Korean-language learning courses.

Props used for the TV series “Squid Game” are seen on display at the “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum in London Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP/File

The Gangnam district of Seoul is the heart of it all. 

Most of the world became familiar with the cultural hub in the summer of 2012, when South Korean performer Park Jae-sang, whose stage name is Psy (pronounced “sigh”), released the global smash hit “Gangnam Style.”

That was the first time many people had heard of Gangnam. 

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek recently walked the streets of Gangnam. It’s the latest leg of his more than 11-year journey on foot, tracing the paths of our earliest ancestors from East Africa to the southernmost tip of the Americas, that’s being documented in a project called Out of Eden Walk. 

He joined The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler to discuss his Hallyu experience.

Carolyn Beeler: Paul, I have heard and sung along to “Gangnam Style” so many times, but I do not know what Gangnam is like. You describe it as the “Beverly Hills of Seoul.” Can you tell me more about that neighborhood? Paul Salopek: So, as you know, I’m walking through South Korea, and Seoul, of course, the capital, is obviously an important stop along my walking route. And Gangnam, within the capital, is legendary. It’s a district of the city that’s, like, the most exclusive neighborhood. It’s where elites hang out. It’s where the rich play, that’s full of clubs. It’s got exclusive shops. It’s glitzy, to say the least.  And what drew you to this neighborhood? Why did you choose that path through Seoul? My project started in Africa years ago. I’ve walked with farmers, shepherds, factory hands and refugees. I thought I’d dip into a little bit of the stardust of K-culture, if you will, which, as you noted in your intro, is global now. It’s been hugely successful. I’m a writer. I’m a storyteller. I was curious to see firsthand this most popular global product of the 21st century coming out of South Korea.  So, you always walk with walking partners. And while walking through Gangnam, someone who you walked with was a South Korean film and TV actress, Lizzy Cho. Tell me about her.Well, when I knew I was walking through South Korea, and because I’m interested in popular culture, I actually approached Psy, the [“Gangnam Style”] guy, to see if he’d be walking me through his home turf of Gangnam. He actually replied and said, “You know, I’d love to, but I’m on summer tour.” So, I tried to find another artist. And Lizzy was perfect, actually, better even than, I’d say, a superstar from the K-Pop world because she was more an embodiment of an everywoman. A young woman who’s trying to make a breakthrough in film. In her case, she’s an actress, as you noted. And I was able to talk to her about the struggles that young Korean artists face in a very, very difficult, bruising, competitive entertainment industry in South Korea. South Korean singer Psy performs during his concert “Summer Swag 2023” at Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, June 30, 2023.Ahn Young-joon/AP/File photo You wrote about the schedule of voice, dance and acting classes she took as a kid and as a teenager, stretching until midnight, you said. Now that she is well into her career, how does she feel about what it took to get her to this place? And as you said, she’s still trying to make it big. Yeah, she’s still knocking on doors, right. So Lizzy‘s in her 30s, which, by cultural standards, as a youth-orientated culture, is quite mature. She’s an amazing, energetic, attractive, smart young woman. But the way she explained it, Carolyn, is that there’s such a kind of conventional standard of beauty that’s required both young men and young women going into the industry that if you’re not in her words, “perfect”, you don’t get the best roles. And so, she was struggling with that after spending her entire life [preparing] since she was in elementary school. So, she was conflicted. It was an interesting walk, kind of a sobering walk, actually, about the cost of fame.  Actress Jiseung “Lizzy” Cho walks past a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district, the heart of South Korea’s entertainment industry. Paul Salopek/National Geographic, Out of Eden Walk So, K-Pop stars, as you have mentioned, have to look perfect based on a fairly narrow standard of beauty. Does Lizzy feel like that is what has been holding her back from big breakout roles that might launch her into the next level of her career? Yeah, indeed. I mean, she has, as I mentioned, spent her entire life studying the craft of acting. She’s done sophisticated roles, but she feels that she doesn’t fit this precise kind of crystal picture of what feminine beauty should be in the entertainment industry. And she feels that directors praise her work but say, “You know, your face doesn’t fit the role of a leading lady.” So, she’s often typecast into a secondary role, supporting roles. She said even roles where she ends up being a villain, right, a feminine villain.  Actress Jiseung “Lizzy” Cho and walking partner Lee Junseok pass a building filled with plastic surgery clinics in the Gangnam district of Seoul, South Korea. Paul Salopek/National Geographic, Out of Eden Walk So, we’ve discussed the challenging beauty standards that K-pop stars have to live up to. There’s also very controlling management that controls the lives of their K-Pop stars and fans. Fans are very enthusiastic but can also turn against stars if they do something they don’t like. Are those things that Lizzy has come up against? Quite sobering, her stories. One of the things that you see walking through Gangnam, apart from these exclusive cafes and these Instagrammable 5-star restaurants where you sit in the garden, is a lot of plastic surgery clinics. In fact, entire buildings, multistory buildings. I counted one seven stories tall that was given over entirely to plastic surgery clinics. That tells you something about the pressures that these artists are under. To be absolutely perfect, right. In every way. And people forget that South Korea, at some level, remains kind of a conservative, Confucian society. So [what] Lizzy told me, is that in Hollywood, an actor, actress can have an affair, can get arrested for drunk driving, and still survive. In fact, it’s considered kind of like ordinary. In South Korea, one kind of mistake like that could actually kill your career. Not only do they kind of force these really inhumane levels of human beauty on you, but you’re supposed to be a saint at the same time. Tough. She said that in the past year, two of her actor friends had committed suicide. So, that tells you the kind of pressures they’re under. Wow. So, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that looks different from the glitz and glamour we see when we consume K-Pop. Yeah, kind of, you know, an invisible cost. Although it’s getting more and more visible. A lot has been written about. These management agencies … just to give you one other example: If a young person comes in with stars in their eyes, these management agencies put them through two years of training, voice lessons, dance lessons. They police their diets, they police the way they cut their hair, they police their makeup. It is like a boot camp. 

Parts of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.

Writer and National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has embarked on a 24,000-mile storytelling trek across the world called the “Out of Eden Walk.” The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonders of our world, has funded Salopek and the project since 2013. Explore the project here. Follow the journey on X at @PaulSalopek, @outofedenwalk and also at @InsideNatGeo.

The post Out of Eden Walk: Walking Gangnam Style appeared first on The World from PRX.

Comedian Barry Ferns has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe almost every year — coronavirus pandemic aside — since 1999. 

The very first year, his show played to sellout audiences, but he still walked away $6,500 in debt. 

The following year, he returned and ended up further in the red. Eight years after his first Fringe show, Ferns said, he was $45,000 in debt. By 2007, Ferns, who that year formally changed his name to Lionel Richie as a publicity stunt, was declared bankrupt.

“I had to put my hand on the Bible in the Royal Courts of Justice in London and say, I, Lionel Richie, do solemnly swear … Technically, I didn’t go bankrupt, Lionel Richie did,” he said.

Ferns added that he blames the festival for putting him in dire straits.  

Barry Ferns changed his name by deed poll to Lionel Richie as a publicity stunt for one his shows. Courtesy of Barry Ferns

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which runs through Aug. 26 this year, is the biggest performing arts festival in the world, and it has catapulted the work of some artists to the West End, Broadway and television. But the road to the festival is also littered with stories of career-ending performances, mental health distress and financial ruin.

Any artist can perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is now in its 77th year, but they must cover their own accommodation costs and the price of hiring a venue. 

Hotel and Airbnb prices in Edinburgh soar during the month of August as thousands descend on the city for the festival, practically doubling the capital’s population. Many artists say the festival is becoming prohibitively expensive for both performers and audiences. 

Ferns, who later recovered from bankruptcy and cofounded his own comedy club in London, continues coming to the festival because he said it has long been seen as the only way for comedians to break through in the industry. But it’s never been profitable for him.

One year, he said, he worked as a cleaner at the Gilded Balloon, the same Edinburgh venue that he would perform in each night to try and make ends meet. 

Barry Ferns’ poster from his performance titled “The Barry Experience.”Steve Ullathorne

“I’d be waking up at 6 in the morning and cleaning up vomit and emptying cigarette ashtrays, and then show up on stage at the same place later that day.” 

Comedians like Robin Williams, Stephen Fry and Bo Burnham are often said to have had their first big breaks at the Fringe. Others like Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby, one of the high-profile acts at this year’s event, have more traumatic memories of their early years in Edinburgh.

In 2006, Gadsby said they performed to fewer than 100 people during the entire festival run. 

“I lost an obscene amount of money and cried in public three times,” they said. 

Actor and writer Georgie Wyatt’s first show at the Edinburgh Fringe made it to London’s Soho Theatre, and she secured an agent as a result. 

But one good year is no guarantee of continued success. The following year, Wyatt returned to the festival with a new act, but in hindsight, she said she never should have gone. 

“It was a disaster, and I paid a big price for it financially and personally,” she reflected.

Actor and writer Georgie Wyatt saw her first show at the Edinburgh Fringe transfer to London’s Soho Theatre and subsequently secured an agent as a result. Kala Gowlett

The festival can also be a lonely experience for comics. Most acts have to pay for their own publicity, often handing out flyers for their own shows. The Fringe is highly competitive, Wyatt said, so it falls on a performer’s shoulders if their show fails. 

“If you don’t have a hold of your mental health or you’re feeling a bit fragile, just don’t go there — it will destroy you,” she said. 

Especially if people don’t show up. In 2019, she performed to an audience of just three people. 

The whole experience can be demoralizing, Wyatt said.

Still, Wyatt said few festivals like Edinburgh’s allow artists to perfect their craft to such an extent that they can perform night after night for up to a month in front of a live audience. 

One theater company this year has devised an almost foolproof way to stage sellout shows: performing to an audience of just one. 

Georgie Wyatt said that few festivals like Edinburgh’s allow artists to perfect their craft to such an extent that they can perform night after night for up to a month in front of a live audience. Kala Gowlett

Taste in Your Mouth, an Irish theater group, stages the show “You’re Needy (Sounds Frustrating)” in the bathroom of a house the company has rented. 

The venue also serves as the accommodation for the cast and crew during the festival. The single audience member sits on a chair as lead actress Laoise Murray performs the play in the bathtub. 

Murray said she tries not to think about whether her audience will leave during the show, and if they do, she would probably tell herself it was because the content was too unsettling. 

William Dunleavy, the company’s co-founder, said the play is an examination of the wellness industry and how it tries to control women’s bodies through capitalism. 

There are few places where a show of this kind can work, the play’s director Grace Morgan said, and the Edinburgh Fringe has turned out to be the perfect stage. 

The Irish theater group received a grant from Culture Ireland to bring the show to the Fringe, a benefit few of its British counterparts will have received, Morgan said. 

Still, the trio said they do not expect to make any money out of their first Edinburgh Fringe experience.

Brian Logan, comedy reviewer with The Guardian, who is also artistic director of Glasgow theater group A Play, A Pie and A Pint, said he believes that the festival organizers and city government itself could do more to help the artists. 

A lot of money pours into Edinburgh each August between ticket sales, hotel prices and bar bills. 

“It feels to me that the city of Edinburgh needs to stop strangling its golden goose and say, you know, how can we stop taking this thing for granted? It may not be here forever if artists are increasingly alienated from it,” Logan said.

Brian Logan is a comedy reviewer with The Guardian.Courtesy of Brian Logan

A spokesperson for the Fringe Society that organizes the festival said that “short-term accommodation costs have increased exponentially across the UK, and Edinburgh is no different.” 

The festival lobbies local government, universities and student accommodation providers to set aside affordable rooms for artists. The spokesperson said the festival has also created a fund that offers grants of $3,250 to 180 artists to make the festival experience feasible.  

But for all its troubles, Logan said, there is little that compares to the “carnival of creativity” at the Fringe. 

This year, there are over 3,600 shows, with thousands of artists coming from 58 countries. 

“Every year, there’s also at least a dozen new international acts that I’ll see that I haven’t seen or heard of before,” Logan said. “Yes, the festival has its problems — it’s also wonderful; both these things are true.” 

And, a number of Fringe shows through the years have gone on to be global hits on platforms such as Netflix — like “Baby Reindeer,” which originated as a one-man show at the festival in 2019.

“I’m a Fringe idealist for all its problems. And I do find it a tremendously inspiring place to be,” he said, with “art and performance from every corner of the world here.”  

Logan said he would like to bring his own show to the Fringe one day.

The post The rocky road to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival appeared first on The World from PRX.

A large painting of a three-armed girl was prominently featured at Hillside Gallery’s stand at the art fair Tokyo Gendai in early July. The girl was pointing at a red ball with the No. 2 on it. 

The title of the painting is “Two O’Clock.”

“Two O’Clock,” by Masaru Shichinohe, is one of the paintings that Hillside Gallery was showing at Tokyo Gendai. Gisele Regatão/The World

“I think he is trying to compress a period of time,” said Shengyu Tang, Hillside’s owner, explaining the piece by Masaru Shichinohe, one of three Japanese artists represented by the gallery he opened in Tokyo in 2017. 

Tang was actually born in China and he believes his international experience gives him an advantage in the art market, because he doesn’t think he could only sell domestically. 

“We realized, if we could try to find artists that we think could do well outside of Japan as well, we might have a chance,” he said.

Pace Gallery was making its debut at Tokyo Gendai showing the work of American artist Robert Longo. Gisele Regatão/The World

A few feet away from him, a major American gallery was making its debut at Tokyo Gendai.

Pace Gallery, which has offices in several cities including Beijing, Seoul and Hong Kong, is just opening its Tokyo branch in September — something it has been planning for decades.

“We are really among a very few number of international galleries with a presence here in Tokyo, you might be able to count them on both your hands,” said Joseph Baptista, a partner at Pace.

Pace’s arrival and the beginning of Tokyo Gendai last year — the country’s first major international art fair — are both happening as Japan has changed some tax laws, making it easier for international companies to operate, and allowing Japanese dealers to take a bigger bite of a market that moves $65 billion a year. 

To be able to launch Tokyo Gendai, organizers negotiated a deal for exhibitors, allowing them to pay a 10% tax after their sales. Gisele Regatão/The World

Many believe it’s about time. Even though it’s the third-largest economy in the world, Japan’s share of the global art market is just 1%, much smaller than China’s 19%. 

“Japan is quite rapidly accelerating towards the position that it should hold, which is one of the major art hubs anywhere,” said Magnus Renfrew, co-founder of Tokyo Gendai, which took place in Yokohama, about one hour by train from Tokyo.

To be able to launch the fair, organizers negotiated a tax incentive for exhibitors. Normally, international art galleries would have to pay a 10% tax up front.

“Which, of course, made it prohibitive,” Renfew said. “If they brought $10 million worth of art into the country, they would have to put down $1 million in cash.”

The increase of interest in Japanese art is also related to the popularity of anime and manga — Japanese cartoons and comics. Gisele Regatão/The World

The 38 international galleries that attended Tokyo Gendai this year — out of a total of 69 — were able to pay the tax after their sales. 

Renfrew said that was a game changer, and it will help catapult art sales.

“The market in Asia is in the very early stage of development, and there is huge room to grow,” he said. 

Japan’s art profile is rising as sales from other Asian countries are suffering. 

The US government has increased tax imports on goods from China. And Hong Kong, a major arts hub, is dealing with stronger Chinese control that is limiting artistic expression.

Aside from billionaires in Japan who have several homes, most people do not have spaces for large canvases or sculptures. Gisele Regatão/The World

The increase of interest in Japanese art is also related to the popularity of anime and manga — Japanese cartoons and comics — and the success of artists like Yayoi Kusama, known for her pumpkins with polka dots, and Takashi Murakami, who did the art for Kanye West’s “Graduation” album. 

Joan B. Mirviss, the owner of a namesake gallery in New York that specializes in Japanese art, particularly ceramics, said that, internationally, the interest in Japanese art has grown exponentially. 

“I don’t think a week goes by where I don’t get a request from a serious person, who I don’t know, or a surprise museum that suddenly wants to get started,” she said.

Tokyo Gendai is Japan’s first major international art fair. Gisele Regatão/The World

When Mirviss opened her gallery almost 50 years ago, she said, there were six museums in the US that were collecting Japanese ceramics. 

“Now, I have over 60 institutions in the United States alone, and institutions in Europe, Australia and elsewhere,” she said.

She explained that Japanese ceramic is pretty affordable; sake cups by young artists sell for $300 — or $1,000 if they are done by a celebrated master. 

But Mirviss believes the Japanese domestic art market has some challenges. Even though Japan is a rich country, she said the average person is more likely to save money than to spend on art.

“There isn’t that drive to collect, to build for status purposes,” she said.

Yayoi Kusama is one of the most-famous artists from Japan, and is particularly well-known for her polka-dot pumpkins like this one, located on Naoshima Island. Gisele Regatão/The World

Mirviss explained that aside from billionaires in Japan who have several homes, most people do not have spaces for large canvases or sculptures.

“Also, traditionally, in Japan, you don’t fill your house with art,” she said. “There’s specific spaces within the home where a work of art might be displayed. But it’s not like the West, where there’s, you know, paintings hanging in every room, and a sculpture on a corner. The Japanese don’t live like that.”

Baptista said Pace’s goal with the opening of a Tokyo branch is not only to sell to Japanese collectors, but to visitors who are flocking to the country, in part because they are interested in the culture and the art.

Tokyo Gendai took place in Yokohama, about one hour by train from the country’s capital. Gisele Regatão/The World

“There is so much interest in visiting Japan,” he said. “Culturally, it’s such a place of respect.”

Attracted also by a weak yen, almost 18 million tourists visited Japan in the first six months of this year, a record. It’s still unclear how that will translate to art sales.

The post Japan awakens for the global art market appeared first on The World from PRX.

French Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux paused during a recent performance in New York to acknowledge flags propped onstage — of the Palestinian territories, and of Wallmapu, the ancestral territory of the Indigenous people in what is now Chile. 

“We believe in the liberation of any occupied territory,” she said during a concert that was part of Celebrate Brooklyn earlier this month. “I invite all the people in the crowd to not be afraid to talk about life and humanity.”

That message is in keeping with her music.

Tijoux is on a world tour featuring songs from her latest album titled, “Vida,” in Spanish (“Life” in English), which comes after a 10-year break and following the deaths of a handful of people close to her.

“Vida,” released earlier this year, deals with themes of conflict, death, motherhood, pollution and the end of the world. Though she doesn’t shy away from tough subjects, her album is filled with hope and meaning.  

Selena Fragassi is a freelance music writer and critic based in Chicago who has followed Tijoux’s work.

“What a time in history to reintroduce herself,” she said. “She is such a rebellious force in music, and she brings a lot of history, politics and feminism.”

Fragassi explained that some artists have played it safe in recent years, either because of the criticism they get on social media, or because they are trying to tow the line between different audiences with opposing views. 

Several people in the audience at Tijoux’s concert at Celebrate Brooklyn were wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh.Gisele Regatão/The World

“But Ana has never done that, and I think we need really strong voices in music entertainment,” she said. “Her words are just really meaningful right now.”

Fragassi said she appreciates that the album mixes hip-hop with jazz, R&B and Afro Cuban beats. 

And that it includes some ballads, showing Tijoux’s more sensitive side. 

“A lot happened in her life, maybe she got kind of tender on a few songs that were more autobiographical,” Fragassi said.

A happy vibe 

Some of the songs in “Vida” are political. “Busco mi nombre,” or “I search for my name,” is a ballad about those who disappeared during the dictatorship in Chile.

A few of the tunes are personal. 

“Vida” is Tijoux’s fifth solo album and it comes after a 10-year break.Gisele Regatão/The World

“Tania” is about Tijoux’s sister who died in 2019. As she was mourning, she said that she needed an outlet to “put all the hope, and to live life and to understand what life really means.”   

“Niñx,” or “Child,” is written for her daughter, who is 11, because Tijoux said she wanted to give her hope in a time of war. 

“I’m sure I sing that song also to myself, and for the inside child we all got,” Tijoux said. 

“To go back to that first emotion that we all had when we were kids when we were always assombrados, we were, ‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ and never lose that.” 

Ana Tijoux

Even her apocalyptic song, “Fin del mundo” (“End of the world”) has a happy vibe. That’s because the record is also inspired by her passion for dancing, an activity that she said she finds therapeutic. 

In June, Tijoux performed at Celebrate Brooklyn, a summer concert series in New York, for the third time in her career.Gisele Regatão/The World

“Dancers sometimes cry,” she said. “I love that mood of the movement of the body and the movement of the soul.”

“Vida” features several guests, including American rapper Talib Kweli, Puerto Rican singer iLe, and Chilean rapper Pablo Chill-E. 

‘The land of no-lands’

Tijoux became famous internationally in 2010 with her second solo album, “1977,” named after the year she was born, in France, while her parents were in exile because of the military dictatorship in Chile. 

Since then, the rapper has been nominated for three Grammys, won one Latin Grammy, and has become a role model as a Latina in hip-hop. 

Tijoux fell in love with hip-hop when she was still living in Paris. She was exposed to the genre while visiting African immigrants with her mother, who worked as a social worker.Javiera Gajardo

Tijoux said she fell in love with hip-hop when she was still living in Paris. She was exposed to the genre while visiting African immigrants with her mother who worked as a social worker.

“Hip-hop is the land of the no-lands. And that’s why I think it’s so popular around the world,” Tijoux said. “It’s a movement that was born with immigrants, with Boricua, with Haitians, Jamaicans, Afro Americans.”

The family moved back to Chile in the 1990s, and Tijoux started performing as a rapper when she was 18, first with the group Makiza.

For the past three years, Tijoux has been living in Barcelona, Spain, with her daughter, 11, and son, 19. She just turned 47 and said she’s not scared of aging.

“We change, and there is nothing wrong about that,” she said. “I understand that many people don’t want to say that they age, but in my case, I’m very proud of my age.”

Four months ago, Tijoux put a golden incrustation of the number 77, the year of her birth, on one of her tooth.Gisele Regatão/The World

In many ways, Tijoux maintains her rebellious, young spirit — as evidenced by her new tooth bling of the numeral 77. 

Nelson Rodríguez Vega, a music professor at the University of Concepción in Chile who has written about the history of hip-hop in the country, said Tijoux’s new album consolidates her career. 

“With this record, she is ratifying her position as one of the most-important female rappers of Latin America, if not the most important,” he said. 

Rodríguez Vega said Tijoux’s success has opened the door for other female rappers, like Flor de Rap and Zita Zoe.

Tijoux became famous internationally in 2010 with her second solo album, “1977,” named after the year she was born, in France, while her parents were in exile because of the military dictatorship in Chile.Gisele Regatão/The World

He said about one particular festival in the southern city of Concepción, “You can really say that women are making rap because, during six hours, 90% of the artists performing are women.”

That’s because of her talent as a singer, songwriter and activist, Rodríguez Vega explained. “Her lyrics go beyond. They address political issues or social commentary. So, from that perspective, she transcends.”

The post ‘She transcends’: French Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux finds hope and meaning in ‘Vida’ appeared first on The World from PRX.

Rabea Gebbler touches a blade to a fast-spinning piece of wood on a lathe. Shavings fly off in ribbons. And the wood takes the shape of a bowl — the kind used for miso soup. Gebbler is German and came to Yamanaka Onsen about two years ago to study the town’s specific style of woodturning. 

“Yamanaka means in the middle of the mountains. So there’s a lot of wood,” said Gebbler. 

Rabea Gebbler turns a wooden bowl on a Yamanaka-style lathe. Hannah Kirshner/The World

For hundreds of years, Yamanaka artisans have been turning that wood into tableware and teaware. Sometimes, the woodturners apply a finish themselves. But often, their products become a canvas for artisans from Wajima, a northern city in the Ishikawa Prefecture on the Noto Peninsula that is famous for lacquering. 

In Wajima, lacquer specialists apply urushi — lacquer made from the sap of urushi trees. Wajima lacquerware — called Wajima-nuri — is influenced by its proximity to the sea: it’s especially strong because the urushi is mixed with local diatomaceous earth. 

Pigmented urushi on the Shirota’s work table. Hannah Kirshner/The World

In each of these towns, a specific craft is part of the identity of that place. And these places are part of the identity of their crafts. 

On Jan. 1, a major earthquake rocked the Noto Peninsula, and Wajima was one of the hardest-hit areas. The earthquake shook the continuity of Wajima-nuri and upended the lives of its makers.

Producing one piece of Wajima-nuri can take five craftspeople and more than 100 steps. 

“You’ll have someone making the base material. You’ll have someone doing the base coats, the middle coats, and the top coats, and then even the person for the sanding in between,” Gebbler explained.

The result is shiny opaque lacquer, usually black or red. 

An assortment of Ayano Konishi’s maki-e works, displayed on her kitchen table. Hannah Kirshner/The World

Moreover, sometimes another craftsperson applies maki-e. Maki-e is a painstaking process of painting detailed illustrations with urushi and sprinkling gold (or other precious mineral) powder onto the design. Tiny bits of pearlescent shell or iridescent insect wings are also used: imagine making a mosaic from individual pieces of glitter.

Ayano Konishi is a maki-e artist who had her studio in Wajima until the earthquake earlier this year.

In her Yamanaka kitchen, Ayano Konishi shows a lacquerware cup decorated with hydrangeas.Hannah Kirshner/The World

Her studio was attached to a family lacquerware shop that had been in business for around 250 years, since the Edo period. The shop was on the same street as Wajima’s famous morning market, where vendors sell fish and produce. All along that street were lacquerware shops and studios.

The shop run by Ayano Konishi’s husband and father-in-law before the fire. Courtesy of Ayano Konishi

“On Dec. 31, as usual, our shop was open,” said Konishi. “I took my children for a walk, and we went to the vegetable auntie to buy mandarin oranges and fruits. Everyone greeted us, and the children had a lot of fun.” 

But on New Year’s Day, everything would change. 

Konishi and her family were relaxing at their apartment just outside town. 

“There was a tremendous shaking. I really thought the apartment was going to collapse. I really thought we would die,” she said.

Aftershocks kept coming, and in downtown Wajima, a fire broke out. 

Fire consumed downtown Wajima on Jan 1. Courtesy of Ayano Konishi

“The earthquake caused the ground to rise, so there was no water anywhere,” said Konishi. 

Pipes broke and the river and fire cisterns drained, so firefighters couldn’t draw water. Wajima’s morning market and all the lacquerware shops and studios around it burned.

Ayano Konishi’s view of the Wajima morning market, before and after the fire.Courtesy of Ayano Konishi

Six months later, much of Wajima is still uninhabitable. Craftspeople have scattered around the country, staying with relatives or in temporary housing. Some Wajima craftspeople have given up, especially the older ones. 

But Kazuya and Kasumi Shirota, a couple who are both maki-e artisans in their 70s, are determined to continue. After the earthquake, their son urged them to come to live with him in Hyogo prefecture, far from Noto. 

Kasumi Shirota at her work table in Yamanaka.Hannah Kirshner/The World

“I thought, I’m already old, so if I go to my son’s place, I’ll become senile,” said Kazuya Shirota.

Within days of the earthquake, a lacquerware craftsman called the Shirotas from Yamanaka Onsen, the woodturning town. He invited them to come right away and promised to help them start working again.

Now, the Shirotas live and work in an apartment complex in Yamanaka. At the desk they share, Kazuya Shirota works on ornate designs decorating ceremonial objects used in Buddhist temples or during a tea ceremony. On an incense box decorated with a hen and rooster, each feather has been painted one by one, textured with tiny lines, and finished with seven different types of gold powder.

Kazuya Shirota’s works in progress. Hannah Kirshner/The World

The Shirotas say they wish they could return to Wajima. They can get money from the government to tear down their damaged house, but they would have to rebuild at their own expense. It could take years. At 70, they don’t think it’s realistic.

Ayano Konishi, who had her studio near Wajima’s morning market, also ended up in Yamanaka, just a few doors down in the same apartment complex. She explained that tools are often passed down from parent to child or teacher to student. Some types are no longer in production. And even when Konishi bought new tools, she modified them to suit her hands and way of working. She lost most of these in the Wajima fire. 

Ayano Konish’s tools for sprinkling powdered gold and other precious metals.Hannah Kirshner/The World

There has been an outpouring of support for Wajima artisans. Craftspeople from all over Japan sent tools, and crowdfunding campaigns received donations from around the world. Because of all that attention, the Wajima artisans who can work are busier than ever. In turn, Yamanaka woodturners are busy making bases for them.

“We are aiming to return to Wajima eventually,” said Konishi. 

But it will take years to clear the rubble and rebuild.

Wajima after the earthquake and fire. Courtesy of Ayano Konishi

For as long as she lives in Yamanaka, Konishi wants to get inspiration from her new environment. Her work draws from nature and is influenced by the people she collaborates with. She recently ordered some wooden bases from a craftsman she met in Yamanaka.

Earthquakes are part of life in Japan. The crafts seen as traditional now were shapedvents, natural resources, and people’s movement. If more Wajima artisans start working in Yamanaka, these two towns and their crafts may become even more interconnected. Some craftspeople are hopeful that this will strengthen them both and allow them to by historical e continue to evolve.

The post Lacquerware artisans are still displaced by earthquake in Japan appeared first on The World from PRX.

The sounds of the Amazon echo through an exhibition called “The Imaginary Amazon,” newly launched at the University Art Gallery on the campus of San Diego State University. 

The exhibition features artwork by contemporary artists, many of whom are Indigenous inhabitants of the forest. Their intent is to address some of the stereotypical Western perspectives of the Amazon.

“Terrazo Vajo,” 2020, made by the artist Abel Rodríguez, from Colombia. Marco Werman/The World

The exhibition reminds viewers of the Amazon’s mass expanse — it’s roughly the size of the United States’ lower 48 states. And it has an equally large hold over many people’s imaginations.

“All different kinds of groups of people have different images of what the Amazon means,” curator Gillian Sneed said, adding that a lot of those images are based on stereotypes and unflattering perspectives trafficked for centures by the so-called Global North.

The exhibition hopes to be a counterweight to those inaccurate portrayals. 

A poster displayed at “The Imaginary Amazon,” an exhibition at the University of San Diego featuring works by contemporary artists who hope to address some of the stereotypical Western perspectives of the Amazon.Marco Werman/The World

“There are other kinds of imaginaries, the imaginaries of the Indigenous people who live there, their cosmologies of how they see the world or their ritual belief systems.”

Gillian Sneed, curator, University Art Gallery, University of San Diego, California 

“There are other kinds of imaginaries, the imaginaries of the Indigenous people who live there, their cosmologies of how they see the world or their ritual belief systems,” Sneed said.

Top: “Ushipi Fruits.” Bottom: “River’s Banks.” Both works are acrylic on paper, made by the artist Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe, from Venezuela.

The art exhibit offers social commentary on depictions of the Amazon throughout history.

In 1941, Walt Disney famously traveled to Brazil, where he met an accomplished illustrator named Jota Carlos, who had created a parrot character with human traits. Disney returned to Hollywood and introduced his character, José Carioca, a kind of “man about town” parrot from Brazil.

Brazilian artist Sergio Allevato deals with Disney’s plagiarism through his own portrayal of parrots, painted on earthy linen to stay true to the actual fauna of the Brazilian Amazon, he said.

His portraits are more Audubon than Disney, reversing some of the negative stereotypes that came with the Carioca character, who was portrayed as having a “bad personality,” and was “unfaithful,” Allevato explained.

“Papagaida,” from the series BraZil, 2019, oil on linen, by the artist Sergio Allevato, from Brazil. Marco Werman/The World

“Parrots are intrinsically connected to Brazilian history.”

Sergio Allevato, artist, Brazil

“Parrots are intrinsically connected to Brazilian history,” Allevato added. The Portugese called Brazil “the land of the parrots,” or — terra papa gali. Allevato said these parrots were taken by the thousands to Europe, and were exploited.

“That’s all folks!” from the series BraZil, oil on linen, 2021, by the artist Sergio Allevato, from Brazil. Marco Werman/The World

Allevato said he wants to make clear that the “The Imaginary Amazon” show is not just about how people who live in the Amazon see their world. It’s really about the rest of us.

“It’s about being together, everybody together, fighting for the whole planet. That’s it,” he said. 

Gillian Sneed and Sergio Allevato stand together at “Imaginary Amazon,” an exhibition at the University Art Gallery at San Diego State University.Marco Werman/The World

“The Imaginary Amazon” will be on display at San Diego State University’s art gallery until May. 

The post ‘Imaginary Amazon’ exhibition counters negative stereotypes through contemporary art appeared first on The World from PRX.

The classical music world has lost a towering figure. Seiji Ozawa, who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) for nearly three decades, died this week at the age of 88, in his home country of Japan.

The World’s host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Brian McCreath, who broadcasts the Boston Symphony Orchestra on WCRB in Boston, to discuss Ozawa’s life and legacy.

Conductor Seiji Ozawa stops to greet a young child in the audience as he arrives for a reception for himself and the other Kennedy Center Honors honorees in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Dec. 6, 2015.Andrew Harnik/AP/File photo Carolyn Beeler: Seiji Ozawa was born in part of Japanese-occupied China in 1935, before the end of World War II, and I understand his career took off here in this country in the ’60s. Tell us how that all got started.Brian McCreath: It really kind of started in Europe. He won a competition in France which caught the notice of another legendary Boston Symphony music director. That’s Charles Munch, who invited Seiji to come to Boston, really to study at Tanglewood at what was known as the Berkshire Music Center at the time, now called the Tanglewood Music Center in western Massachusetts, where the Boston Symphony spends the summers along with its academy there. Seiji was one of the conductors there who studied with Munch and with others and won the Koussevitzky Prize, which is kind of a big deal, given to the best conducting student of the summer every year. And so, that brought him to the attention of a ton of people. And then, his career really took off through the 1960s.And when he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in the early 1970s, how big of a deal was it to have a conductor from Japan in a role like that?It was, maybe not unprecedented, but extremely unconventional. So, Seiji was coming in at a time when the orchestra had gone through a few years of music directorship of William Steinberg, a German conductor, and previous to that, several years had been spent with Erich Leinsdorf, an Austrian conductor. So, there’s this very heavy Central European focus that the BSO had, both in its sound approach and in its, sort of, profile internationally. So, you bring in Seiji, who is extremely gifted, sort of supernaturally gifted almost, as a conductor. And he brought with him an audience in Japan and throughout Asia. And all of a sudden, there was a new group of people paying attention to the Boston Symphony. It launched the Boston Symphony, already an international orchestra, to a new level of renown around the world. And frankly, the audience connection to the Boston Symphony in Asia remains to this day.I gather that there was a sense among classical music critics that someone from Asia couldn’t really understand Western classical music back when he took the helm of the BSO. And I was struck by this quote in The Boston Globe back in 1999. Ozawa SAID: “I know I’m a test case. Everyone wonders how much I can learn, how much I can understand.” Can you put that into context for us?Well, there is a bias, especially back in the 1960s and early ’70s, such a prevalent bias of, sort of, tradition and heritage being part of classical music, that you must come from a certain part of the world to understand the soul of classical music. And frankly, a lot of Europeans felt that way about the United States, too. So, when Seiji comes along, not only does he disprove this comprehensively, what he brings as well is a brilliance of conducting that very few conductors have ever matched. He brought a physicality to his art that was almost, as I’ve heard it described, like a ballet dancer. Everything he did physically communicated what he wanted from the musicians in the nuance and the interpretation of the music they were playing.I think you said that his conducting was like watching a ballet dance. Can you tell me a little bit more about what it looked like to watch him conduct?Yeah, I mean, he wasn’t a large man physically. He was a little bit on the diminutive side, but he had this, for most of his career, he had this big hair, kind of a mop-top hair, right? And so, when you watched him, he was graceful. His body would bend in certain ways and move in certain ways in time with the music. Now, sometimes we in the audience watch conductors, and it’s almost as though they’re performing the music physically. That wasn’t the case so much with Seiji. It all had a meaning. In fact, one BSO executive at one point told me that he watched in a masterclass Seiji teach students to begin pieces of music like, say, Beethoven’s “5th Symphony,” actually one of the hardest pieces of music to conduct at the very beginning. He would teach his students to do that with no hands, no arms. They would have to do it basically with their eyes and facial expression. That’s the kind of thing that he could pull off. Now, of course, he did use his hands and arms when he conducted that music in a concert, but that was the the extent to which the physicality of the music moved through his body and communicated to the musicians in the orchestra.Wow, conducting just with a raised eyebrow or a glance sounds very powerful.Yeah, yeah, exactly. Seiji Ozawa of Japan, assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, leads the orchestra, March 29, 1965.Marty Lederhandler/AP/File photo You mentioned that Ozawa revitalized the Boston Symphony Orchestra and really developed a big fan base in Asia and other parts of the world. Can you tell me more about that international legacy?Yeah, absolutely. I mean, Seiji, again, he had a huge following in Europe. The orchestras there, by and large, loved to have him come in and be a guest conductor. But along with the fan base or the audience that you might find in Japan and throughout Asia, he also had the backing of major corporations in Japan, which had its own benefits for the Boston Symphony, which wasn’t in terrible shape in 1973, but like a lot of the economy at that particular time, it was a bit rough. Seiji opened the door to corporations like Sony and TDK and Nippon Electric supporting the orchestra with their sponsorship. So again, the affection for Seiji in Japan and throughout Asia spread to the rest of the world everywhere classical music was heard.I know you didn’t know him personally, but were there any aspects of Ozawa’s personality that he was especially known for?He became very well-known around Boston for his enthusiasm for our sports teams. And you can find dozens of pictures of Seiji wearing a Red Sox hat or Red Sox jersey or coat. And he was constantly showing up at Fenway Park. Also a big fan of the Celtics and every other sport that was in Boston; the orchestra would make sure that he had access to the latest scores wherever he was. You know, how the Red Sox were doing in the standings, all of these.Oh, those kinds of scores?Yeah, of course, they supplied him with the scores he needed for his job, too. But yes, he was full of life. When you hear people talk about him, they speak of someone who was warm and generous. He was not uncontroversial, though. I mean, he made some moves during his time with the Boston Symphony that were hard-edged and almost ruthless. And so, there is that side of him as an organizational leader where he took difficult decisions, was not well-received at times, but that’s part of the game of being a major league music director of a major orchestra.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

The post Renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa is remembered as ‘graceful,’ ‘supernaturally’ gifted appeared first on The World from PRX.

The entrance of Miami’s Little Haiti is hard to miss. A bright and colorful mural by Haitian artist Serge Toussaint welcomes people into the neighborhood. Toussaint chose to highlight neighborhood icons, such as Ray Bell, the first Little Haitian female to receive a black belt in karate, or local dancer Ajhanou Uneek. Front and center are Maria and Viter Juste, considered to be the founders of Little Haiti.

The couple moved to Miami in the 1970s, after spending a decade in New York City. Their arrival marked a before-and-after for the neighborhood — which became known as Little Haiti, a name coined by Viter Juste. They helped thousands of Haitian newcomers settle and integrate into the city over the course of several decades and become part of a community.

Winnick Blaine poses in front of the mural that features his grandparents, Maria and Viter Juste, who are considered to be the founders of Little Haiti in Miami. Tibisay Zea/The World

But little remains of the neighborhood that the Justes founded, said Winnick Blaine, one of their grandsons. “It’s like our history here is vanishing,” he said.

The area has been redeveloped by new investors, who are attracted by the neighborhood’s proximity to the beach and new fancy restaurants and shops, as well as its elevation above sea level, which protects it from flooding.

Blaine said the new development has brought some good things to the neighborhood, including less crime, and a modern look for several buildings that were deteriorating. But he added that it’s also changing the essence of Little Haiti.

People gather at the Haitian Cultural Center in Miami.Tibisay Zea/The World

“Investors also bring in their culture and style of living, which in many cases is different to that of Haitians,” Blaine explained.

Schiller Sanon-Jules, owner of the Haitian restaurant The Vegan Marie, said there aren’t as many Haitians in the area any longer.

“Before, you used to go to people’s houses, play dominoes, play soccer at the park, eat Haitian food. … You don’t find that here anymore.”

Schiller Sanon-Jules, owner of the Haitian restaurant The Vegan Marie

“Before, you used to go to people’s houses, play dominoes, play soccer at the park, eat Haitian food … You don’t find that here anymore,” Sanon-Jules said.

Schiller Sanon-Jules is the owner of The Vegan Marie, a Haitian restaurant in Miami.Tibisay Zea/The World

He and his wife had to downsize their restaurant and move it to a different part of the neighborhood after their rent more than doubled a few years ago.

Largest Haitian diaspora in the US

Florida is home to the largest Haitian community in the US. More than 300,000 people with Haitian ancestry reside in the Miami area, according to the US census, but many believe that number is an undercount.

Little Haiti’s population has remained unchanged since the beginning of the century, with about 30,000 people, but the neighborhood experienced a 13.5% decrease in family households in that period, according to a study by Florida International University.

Also, while Blacks still represent over 70% of Little Haiti’s inhabitants, there has been a significant shift in the growth of other racial and ethnic groups, including “white alone” (49.6% increase) and “some other race” (69.1% increase), according to the same study.

Gentrification didn’t happen overnight. In the late 1980s, some investors bought properties with the vision of selling them in the future at a higher price, when the area became valuable, and they did. Also, the descendants of Haitian immigrants who settled in Little Haiti left the neighborhood and never came back.

Solange Biem-Aime has been the owner of the Lakay Tropical Ice Cream bakery since the 1990s.Tibisay Zea/The World “They lost interest in this neighborhood,” Blaine explained, saying they perceived it as unsafe and underdeveloped.

One of the most iconic symbols of gentrification in Little Haiti is a $1 billion redevelopment project called the Magic City Innovation District that passed in 2019.

There are still some Haitian-owned shops standing in the area.

Lakay Tropical Ice Cream is a bakery hosted and run by its owner, Solange Biem-Aime since the 1990s. Her business has survived in part because she owns the land. “I get phone calls, letters and visits from investors trying to convince me and my daughter to sell the property,” she said. “But we don’t want to.”

However, Biem-Aime worries about the future of her business, as many of her longtime customers have left.

Bringing people to Little Haiti has also been a struggle, said Abraham Metellus, one of the co-founders of Tap Tap Tours, the only tour company in Little Haiti. “We started this tour because no one was coming here,” he explained.

 Abraham Metellus is one of the co-founders of Tap Tap Tours, the only tour company in Miami’s Little Haiti.Tibisay Zea/The World

Metellus said more than 500 people have taken his tour since he started back in 2019. He offers tours every Saturday, twice a day, where he brings tourists to historical landmarks and traditional businesses in the area. 

One of the stops is at the Haitian Cultural Center, which features galleries with exhibitions, classes for traditional dance and Caribbean percussion, and live music concerts.

The Haitian Cultural Center in Miami features galleries with exhibitions, classes for traditional dance and Caribbean percussion and live music concerts.  Tibisay Zea/The World

Metellius is also now requesting local government authorities to protect several buildings in Little Haiti by declaring them as cultural heritage of the city.

Related: ‘It’s an act of resistance’: Haiti’s jazz festival opens in Port-au-Prince despite security challenges

The post Miami’s Little Haiti: What is lost when a community is displaced? appeared first on The World from PRX.

International Guitar Night, a touring guitar festival in its 24th year, highlights a wide range of guitar sounds from across the globe, from classical to Australian blues slide.

As part of the festival, which highlights “the dexterity and diversity of the acoustic guitar,” according to IGN materials, guitarists perform solo and in duets and quartets. 

This year’s lineup, curated by IGN founder Brian Gore, brings together several returning artists and a newcomer, including: Luca Stricagnoli, an acoustic rock interpreter from Italy who returns to IGN for the fourth time; Vietnamese classical guitarist Le Thu; Brazilian Marco Pereira, a master composer and performer who first toured with IGN in its early days; and Australia’s Minnie Marks, a blues slide guitarist and singer.

The North American tour runs through March. Here’s the tour schedule, below.

 

January

31 W Gesa Power House Theater, Walla Walla WA

 

February

1 TH Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Olympia WA

2 F KENTWA Performing Arts Center, Kent WA

3 S Whiteside Theater, Corvallis OR

6 T WYO Theatre, Sheridan WY

7 W  The Ellen Theater, Bozeman MT

8 TH The Myrna Loy, Helena MT

9 F Wheeler Auditorium, Aspen CO

10 S Lone Tree Performing Arts Center, Lone Tree CO

13 T Tower Theater, Bend OR

14 W The Reser, Beaverton OR

15 TH Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden UT

16 F Sheppard Auditorium, Pinedale  WY

17 S Warren Miller Performing Arts Center, Big Sky MT

18 SU Wachholz College Center, Kalispell MT

20 T Musical Instrument Museum, Scottsdale, AZ

21 W Fox Theatre, Tucson AZ

22 TH Herbst Theatre, San Francisco CA

23 F Bankhead Theater, Livermore CA

24  S Montalvo Arts, Saratoga CA

27 T James Madison University, Harrisonburg VA

28 W Wolf Trap Barns, Vienna VA

29 TH Wolf Trap Barns, Vienna VA

 

March

1 F Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg PA

2 S The Gordon Center, Owings Mills MD

3 SU The Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge LA

6  W Butler University, Indianapolis IN

9  S Goshen College, Goshen IN

10 SU McAninch Arts Center, Du Page IL

 

The post International Guitar Night shows off diverse styles and sounds from across the globe appeared first on The World from PRX.