Venezuelan Music

How Music Saved Venezuela's Kids - Documentary

2009-12-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

Alan Yentob's documentary "How Music Saved Venezuela's Children" in the BBC's Imagine series focuses on the extraordinary Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, the exceptionally talented conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the classical music programme for poor and shantytown children known as "El Sistema" that has made such an impact on all their lives.

Video: Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra performing Mambo at the Albert Hall in 2007

Video: Gustavo Dudamel interviewed at the Proms in 2007

CD review: "Fiesta" Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela

To download tracks from the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra's latest album "Fiesta" click here:

Maracaibo 15 - Amparito

2009-12-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

Feliz Navidad and a Very Merry Christmas to all those who have supported this blog over the last two years by regularly popping in to listen to the songs and watch the videos.

To celebrate another yuletide I give you Maracaibo 15's Christmas classic "Amparito", a nostalgic, modern gaita created by Ricardo Portillo.

Venezuelan gaitas, originating in Zulia state, are unique to Venezuela and are played exclusively in the run up to Christmas, giving the artists only a few short months to get their new songs on the radio and TV and build up a following.

That's why the golden oldies of gaita such as "Amparito" from 1977 and other songs such as Maracaibo 15's "La Negra del Tamunangue" and Astolfo Romero's "Una Florecita" still get played every year at Christmas parties, alongside Nestor Zavarce's New Year tearjerker "Faltan Cinco Pa' Las Doce".

I started this site after trawling through Youtube for hours to find music that reminded me of Venezuela and thinking how much easier it would be if I could go to a place where I could guarantee I'd find good quality videos of my favourite Venezuelan artists and some information about them.

There wasn't such a place so I decided to make one.

Unfortunately, many of the best old songs don't have good videos to accompany them and there is precious little material in English about the great artists of Venezuela, which is a shame.

How else are the Youtube generation going to find out about these songs?

For those who do understand a bit of Spanish I include a short video biography of Ricardo Portillo made by students of the UNICA in Maracaibo:

Nana Cadavieco - No Hay

2009-12-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

"No Hay" is the first single from Venezuelan singer-songwriter Nana Cadavieco's debut solo album "Expose".

A small singer with a big voice, Nana has performed in the past with Gaelica and Masseratti 2lts, but her solo effort stands on its own, thanks to Nana's smart, sassy, indie-chick attitude and some great songs.

The album, produced by Erik Aldrey and mastered in London by Richard "Dick" Beetham, also features some tracks in English as the singer felt the musicality of the English words better suited the sentiments she wanted to express.

The video, directed by Hector Orbegoso, shows Nana swinging around Caracas and takes her from a wind-driven Alejandro Otero sculpture to a spinning car wash.

Cadavieco has already presented the album in a series of shows in Spain and plans to come back to Europe in the new year after a tour of major Venezuelan cities. She may even come to London in 2010 if we're lucky.

To purchase a copy of the Nana Cadavieco's CD "Expose" click here:

Track Listing:
1. Rincon
2. No Hay
3. Cancion de Cuna
4. Voy Por Ti
5. Let Me Go
6. Shanti
7. Drive Alone (Part I)
8. Drive Alone (Part II)
9. Posicion Fetal
10. Aqui & Ahora

La Vida Boheme - Radio Capital

2009-12-04T11:11:00.000-08:00

The stunning debut video from Caracas rock band La Vida Boheme of their first single: "Radio Capitol".

With the poise and attack of British bands like Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys and the old-school punk swagger of The Clash and The Ramones, La Vida Boheme have brought a new sound and a new aesthetic to the Venezuelan rock scene.

Formed in 2006, La Vida Boheme are Rafael Perez, Daniel De Sousa, Sebastian Ayala and Henry D’Arthenay. The video was directed by Carl Zitelmann.

Gabba gabba hey!

Los Amigos Invisibles - Mal Bicho

2009-11-23T01:04:00.000-08:00

The Invisible Friends highlight the anti-war message on their version of this classic song by Argentina's Los Fabulosos Cadillacs.

The track appears on the CD "Vos Sabes... Como Te Esperaba!" (Pop Art Discos) a new tribute album to Los Fabulosos Cadillac's released in Latin America on 13 November 2009.

Los Amigos Invisibles are joined on the tribute album by Andres Calamaro, Los Cafres, Los Autenticos Decadentes, Kapanga, Arbol, Cuentos Borgeanos, Los Tipitos, No Te Va A Gustar, Massacre, Aterciopelados, Cartel de Santa and Los Pericos.

As soon as I get a video with better sound I'll put it up.

Here's the lyrics:

Mal Bicho

Vos que andas diciendo que hay mejores y peores
Vos que andas diciendo que se debe hacer
Vos que andas diciendo que hay mejores y peores
Vos que andas diciendo que se debe hacer
Escucha lo que canto, pero no lo confundir.
Es de Paz lo que canto.
Que me hablas de privilegios, de una raza soberana, superiores, inferiores, Minga de Poder!
Como se te ocurre, que algunos son elegidos, y otros son para el descarte, ambiciones de poder

Es malo tu destino
Que marco tu camino?
La cancion que es valiente
Es canción para siempre.

Como dijo mi abuela: "Aquí el que no corre vuela"
Y en el Planeta son tantos. Como pueden ser tantos?
En la escuela nos enseñan a memorizar fechas de batallas
Pero que poco nos enseñan de Amor.

Discriminar. Eso no esta nada bien, ante los ojos de Dios todos somos iguales
Sos el que hace las guerras, dicta falsas condenas
El que ama la violencia, que no tiene conciencia

Nunca piensa, nunca piensa, nunca piensa. Murderers. Mambo!

¡Mal bicho!
Todos te dicen que sos
Mal bicho
Así es como te ves
Mal Bicho
¡Mal bicho!
Todos te dicen que sos
Mal bicho
Así es como te ves
Mal Bicho
¡Mal bicho!
Todos te dicen que sos
Mal bicho
Así es como te ves
Mal Bicho

Por qué vas lastimando a quién se ve distinto?
Imponiendo posturas siempre con mano dura.

Mal bicho!
Todos te dicen que sos
Mal bicho
Así es como te ves
Mal Bicho
Mal bicho!
Todos te dicen que sos
Mal bicho
Así es como te ves
Mal Bicho
Mal bicho!
Todos te dicen que sos
Mal bicho
Así es como te ves
Mal Bicho

Vos tenés pal' abrigo otros mueren del frio
El que anda matando, el que va torturando...

Mal bicho!
Todos te dicen que eres
Mal bicho
Asi es como te ves
Mal Bicho

Yo no voy
A la guerra
A la violencia
A la injusticia
Ni a su codicia...

Digo no! (x 10)

Paz en el mundo!
No ha

Voy, voy, voy. Yo no voy. Yo no voy, voy, voy. Yo no voy pa' la guerra.
Yo no voy, voy, voy. Yo no voy. Yo no voy, voy, voy. Yo no voy.
Yo no voy, voy, voy. Yo no voy. Yo no voy, voy, voy. Yo no voy pa' la guerra.
Yo no voy, voy, voy. Yo no voy. Yo no voy, voy, voy. Yo no voy.

Tres Dueños - Fiera Salvaje

2009-11-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

Venezuelan hip-hop trio Tres Dueños keep it light and frothy on "Fiera Salvaje", a track from their 2005 album Grandes Lexicos.

Here's a taste of their lyrical flow:

Mami vamos pa' la playa
Ponte el hilo.
Yo llevo la calle y tengo kilos
Hasta las seis de la mañana
Solos en la orilla
Tomando caipirinha.
Lirica con piña niña
Y mira este tumbao
Que vengo arrecostao
Soy como el cacao
Con mi song… choun
Coca cola y ron
Pa rompe el colchon
Tengo el don
Asi que "Give me, give me"
Me gusta tu bikini mini
Y baila pa tú papi
Que te pone happy
Soy tu triki-traki
Muevete despacio
Morena, sirena
Ahora echate en la arena
Y hazlo asi,
Asi, asi como fiera salvaje
Asi, asi como fiera salvaje

Solares - Antonin Artaud - Live

2009-11-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the distortion on the live recording but my favourite Venezuelan rock band Zapato 3 are back with a bang under their new name Solares and have embarked on a major tour of Venezuelan cities in the run up to Christmas.

The tour will take them to:
PUERTO ORDAZ: PALADIUM CLUB ITALO THURS 26 NOV.
MARACAY : FIVE BAR FRI 27 NOV.
CARACAS. EL TEATRO BAR SAT 28 NOV.
MARGARITA. BRITISH BULLDOG THURS 3 DEC.
MERIDA: LA PLAZA DE TOROS FRI 4 DEC.
MARACAIBO: RASTA BAR SAT 5 DEC.
CARACAS: MOULIN ROUGE SUN 6 DEC

Solares, like Zapato 3, is led by singer Carlos Segura with his brother Alvaro on guitar, Hugo Valbuena on bass and Jaime Verdaguer on keyboards.

"Antonin Artaud" - named after the eccentric French poet, actor and playwright - is a classic Zapato 3 song from the old days.

I have included the words so you can sing along.

Antonin Artaud
Soy metafisica violenta
Soy surealista apocaliptico
Soy la encarnacion de Napoleon
y estoy condenado a un manicomio

Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo

Soy distorcion intelectual
Soy verborrea visceral
Estoy negado y encerrado

Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo
Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo

Soy el organo motor
Soy el rojo saturado
Soy metafisica violenta

Estoy loco e ignorado

Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo
Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo

Adolescent's Orquesta - Persona Ideal

2009-11-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

Some smooth salsa romantica from Adolescent's Orquesta with their song "Persona Ideal" performed live in Medellin, Colombia.

The song appears on the group's greatest hits album: "La Historia: Los Exitos".

To hear preview tracks from "La Historia: Los Exitos" click here:

Oscar D'Leon - Ni Frio, Ni Calor

2009-11-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

Oscar D'Leon didn't win a gong at the recent Latin Grammy Awards for his latest album "Tranquilamente... Tranquilo", but it's still a triumphant return to top form.

The video shows the first single off the album "Ni Frio, Ni Calor" ("Not cold, Not Hot").

Tranquilamente... Tranquilo
Track Listing:
1. Ni Frío Ni Calor
2. Hasta Que Vuelvas
3. Tienes Uno, Tengo Otra
4. El Papelito
5. Tranquilamente...Tranquilo
6. Esta Ausencia
7. Quiéreme
8. Yo Me Siento Como En Casa
9. La Cocaleca

To hear tracks from "Tranquilamente... Tranquilo" click here:

Click here for a video of Oscar D'Leon performing "Lloraras" in Cali:

Click here for a video of Oscar D'Leon and Wladimir Lozano performing "Que Cosa Tan Linda" back in the days of the Salsa Mayor:

Click here for a video of Oscar D'Leon and Zona 7 performing "Mirala":

Los Amigos Invisibles win Latin Grammy

2009-11-06T00:53:00.000-08:00

Los Amigos Invisibles win Latin Grammy

Venezuelan artists were lauded, applauded and showered with victory on Thursday night at the 10th Latin Grammy Awards at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

First, Jose Antonio Abreu, the man who started the youth orchestra system picked up a Grammy for his work with shanty town and underprivileged kids.

Then, Los Amigos Invisibles picked up the gong for "Best Alternative Music Album" for their latest Cd "Comercial" - beating the other artists in the category, Babasonicos, with the album “Mucho”, Kinky with “Barracuda”, Novalima with “Coba Coba” and Zoé with “Reptiletric”.

The first single from the album, "Mentiras", has been a massive hit for the band across Latin America and the USA.

Los Amigos were still walking the green carpet when their award was presented. “We thought they would give it to another band,” a band member joked backstage.

"Comercial" was produced by Cachorro Lopez and Dimitri from Paris and features guest vocals by Natalia lafourcade. It was recorded in New York studio The Magic Shop and mastered at Stearling studios.

This is the Venezuelan band's first Latin Grammy and will bring their work to a much wider audience.

To preview "Commercial" and get songs in MP3 format click here:

To buy Los Amigos latest CD "Commercial" click here:

Los Telecaster - Todo Muerto

2009-11-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

"Todo Muerto" - the latest single by Venezuelan rock band Los Telecaster - has just been released with a video set in Mexico City directed by the L.A.-based Venezuelan filmmaker David Ramos and his brother Saul.

The song comes from the band's new EP, also called "Todo Muerto", which includes the tracks "Taxi", "Toronja", "Siete Cueros" and "Buen Doctor".

The new tracks were recorded at Grabaciones Jamaica in Mexico City, produced by Santiago “Chango” Gonzalez and David Francis O. Gorman and released on the Discos Tamarindo record label.

Video: Los Telecaster - Dandy Boy

Blanquito Man and Celso Piña - El Tren

2009-11-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

After a long hiatus that has seen him working on solo projects with Mexican band Control Machete, Puerto Rican rappers Calle 13 and Los Amigos Invisibles (on a cover version of the Fabulosos Cadilacs' "Mal Bicho"), Jose Andres Blanco, AKA Blanquito Man is back with a new King Chango album in the works called "The Return of King Chango".

The rapscalious Venezuelan rude boy also has a new moniker: "Zuzuko, the Generous Giver of Uku Uku".

As a taste of what's to come, here's a cumbia-tastic collaboration Blanquito Man did with Mexican accordion legend Celso Piña from the album "Mundo Colombia".

Dame Pa Matala - Venezuela

2009-10-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Oscar D'Leon, Amigos Invisibles at Latin Grammys

2009-09-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Los Amigos Invisibles win their first Latin Grammy

Three important Venezuelan music legends have been nominated to the Latin Grammy Awards this year: Salsa king Oscar D'Leon, Latin pop-rockers Los Amigos invisibles and balladeer Franco de Vita.

Oscar D'Leon is competing in the category for Best Salsa Album with his latest CD "Tranquilamente... Tranquilo", a triumphant return to top form.

Oscar will be going to head to head in the Salsa category with Cuban salsero Isaac Delgado and Gilberto Santa Rosa.

Los Amigos Invisibles are nominated for Best Alternative Music Album with their latest CD "Comercial" - featuring the single "Mentiras", a massive hit for the band across Latin America and the USA.

The Invisible Friends face stiff competion from the Peruvian electro-folk group Novalima and Argentine rockers Babasonicos.

Veteran balladeer Franco de Vita's CD "Simplemente La Verdad", meanwhile, is up for Best Singer-Songwriter Album, alongside the Guatemalan singer Ricardo Arjona and the Brazilian Caetano Veloso.

The 10th annual Latin Grammy Awards will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on 5 November, and fireworks are expected as the top talents from Latin American and the USA take to the stage.

Leading the list of nominations are Puerto Rico hip-hop group Calle 13 with five nods, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Urban Music Album, Best Alternative Song and Best Short Form Music Video for "La Perla", which features salsa legend Ruben Blades.

A special Person of the Year award will be presented to the Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel.

The event will be broadcast live on the Hispanic channel Univision.

Musica Llanera: How to dance Joropo

2009-08-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

If you ever wondered how people in the Llanos dance a traditional joropo then here is your answer.

The word "joropo" originally meant "a party" but has come to mean both the traditional music of harp, maracas and cuatro played in the vast prairies of Venezuela and Colombia known as Los Llanos and also the dance - a kind of waltz that works up to a series of faster and faster twists of the woman and a cockroach-stomping display by the man that echoes the frisky footwork of a young colt or a fighting cock.

These dances still take place in Los Llanos at town fairs, village fetes and house parties and are very much a part of Llanos life.

Sadly, I have no information on who the dancers are or where the event took place but it's a great video, despite the unnecessary camera tricks.

Bacalao Men - Malibu Azul

2009-07-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

A great video from Caracas band Bacalao Men of their song "Malibu Azul" made on paint.

Mango Funk - Trankilo

2009-07-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

Maracaibo band Mango Funk hit big with "Trankilo" - a track from their album "El Nuevo Beat del Tambor", which fuses elements of Afro-Venezuelan beats with funk and electronica.

Basically, it's a break up song: "Mujer, dejame beber, dejame vivir tranquilo."

There are clear echoes of Los Amigos Invisibles on "El Nuevo Beat del Tambor", with the upbeat electronica and slow bossa nova tracks, but Mango Funk are succesfully carving out their own niche and "Guira y Tumbadora" is a great attempt at making folk drum beats funky.

It's a confident first album considering the band only got together in 2003, when guitarist and lead singer Alexis Romero hooked up with Miguel Romero on bass guitar, Melvin Portillo on percussion, and Luis Cova on drums.

Later, knob-twiddler and turntablist Carlos Guillen and keyboard player Oscar Vargas came on board to fill out the sound.

Check out their MySpace page:

I like the Gilbert and George inspired poster.

Calypso Carnival in El Callao

2009-07-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

Venezuela is a country of parties, fiestas and dances. Countless fiestas take place all over the country, from individual celebrations of local patron saints to the gaitas and parrandas of Zulia state at Christmas, the Dancing Devils of Yare and Chuao during Corpus Cristi and the African drum dancing in honour of Saint John the Baptist on 24 June.
One small town that beats them all is El Callao, a centre for gold mining in Bolivar State that comes alive every year for four days during carnival to the vibrant sounds of calypso and soca.
El Callao also boasts a colourful cast of characters who accompany the comparsas (floats with a sound system and a themed crowd of dancers).
Las Madamas - Women wearing colourful dresses and turbans of 19th century Caribbean.
Medio Pintos - Boys and men covered in tar or paint or any other black sludgy stuff they can get their hands on. The idea is that you give them a coin called a "medio" (1 Bolivar Fuerte will do these days) or they paint you with sludge.

In 2010, the Callao carnival will be held from 13-16 February.

Mermelada Bunch - Los Hijos de la Cerveza

2009-05-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

Another joyous ode to booze from Maracaibo band Mermelada Bunch with their "Hijos de la Cerveza" ("Sons of Beer") a nice companion piece to their earlier track "Comando Borracho".

Hijos de la Cerveza

Somos los reyes, amantes de la cebada
gozamos mucho, nadie nos gana
Siempre animados vivimos de fiesta en fiesta
somos muy unidos por eso nos respetan

Los campeones (Al tomar)
Los campeones (Al bailar)
Los campeones a la hora de gozar

Somos alegres (Si es verdad)
Somos unidos (¡Si es verdad!)
Somos juntos una gran fraternidad

Somos los hijos de la cerveza
buenos muchachos y a nosotros nos respetan
Somos los hijos de la cerveza
buenos muchachos y a nosotros nos respetan

(¡Atencion atencion! todos preparados
Todos con sus jarras arriba
Recuerden que somos los mejores, somos los campeones
Fuimos hechos para ganar)

Elegido siempre somos los mejores
habemos flacos y barrigones
No nos importa si no tenemos dinero
asi se caiga el mundo la cerveza primero

Somos atentos (Si señor)
Somos apuestos (Como no!)
Los campeones en el tema del amor

Somos hermanos (Si es verdad)
Somos amigos (¡Si es verdad!)
Somos unidos la mejor fraternidad

(Vamos muchachos no se vayan se lo pido
No hemos perdido, no hemos perdido
Vamos muchachos no se vayan por favor
aun queda tiempo, ahora es que viene lo mejor)

¿Y donde estan? (¿Y donde estan?)
¿Y donde estan? (¿Y donde estan?)
¿Y donde estan los que nos iban a brindar?
¿Y donde estan? (¿Y donde estan?)
¿Y donde estan? (¿A donde van?)
¿Y donde estan los que nos iban a brindar?

Los Amigos Invisibles: Vivire Para Ti

2009-05-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Los Amigos Invisibles win their first Latin Grammy for the album "Commercial"

Another great track from "Commercial", the latest CD by Los Amigos Invisibles, which is scheduled for a 9-June release.

"Vivire Para Ti" features guest vocals by the Mexican singer Natalia Lafourcade, who won a Latin Grammy for her 2005 album "Casa".

Chulius and Natalia make it one sweet duet.

Vivire Para Ti

Ven y dame todo lo que tienes
que yo esperando estare aqui
ven y besame hasta la muerte
Y asi sere yo por ti feliz

Te entregare mi vida
y no tendre salida
solo tuyo sere

Te llevare hasta el cielo
y dormire en tus senos
solo tuyo sere

Ven y dame todo lo que quieras
que yo esperando estare por ti
ven y llevate lo que prefieras
que todo todo esto es para ti

Y entregare mi vida
y no tendre salida
solo tuya sere
te llevare hasta el cielo
y dormire en tus senos
solo tuya sere

Tu te entregas lentamente
y yo te toco dulcemente
anda quedate en mi mente
hagamos que este amor reviente

Tu seras la que me inspire
me consienta y me domine
no dejemos que termine
pues yo hare que te fascine
vivire para ti

To download Los Amigos Invisibles MP3 tracks click here:

To buy the new CD "Commercial" click here:

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Mentiras

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Diablo

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Cuchi Cuchi

Video: Los Amigos Invisibles - Playa Azul

Video: Max and Jason have lunch with Los Amigos Invisibles

CD Review: Venezuelan Zinga Son Vol 1 - Amigos Invisibles

CD Review: Arepa 3000 - Los Amigos Invisibles

Documentary - El Carrao de Palmarito

2009-04-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

Venezuelan director John Petrizzelli's award-winning 1998 documentary about Llanero singer Juan de Los Santos Contreras, better known as El Carrao de Palmarito, is a classic of the genre.

The 26-minute film is in Spanish but non-Spanish speakers will still enjoy the music and the images of the Llanos region.

For more information about the life of El Carrao de Palmarito, who died in 2002 aged 74, click here:

Legend of the LLanos - El Carrao de Palmarito

2009-04-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Venezuelan folk music lost one of its greatest legends on 10 December 2002 with the passing of Juan de los Santos Contreras, a composer, singer and arranger of traditional Joropo music, better known to his fans as El Carrao de Palmarito.

He was 74.

El Carrao left behind 17 children, more than 40 albums of music, a movie he made in the 60s with Mexican singer Javier Solis, an award-winning documentary about his life and hundreds of trophies won in singing contests in Venezuela and Colombia.

He was a true "hijo de la llanura", a son of the Llanos, the great flood plains of the Orinoco basin that extend into Colombia.

He was born in 1928 in the small village of Palmarito in Apure State to a mestizo mother from the Andes and a Yaruro Indian father from the banks of the Orinoco.

He would always say that his nickname was given to him by a presenter at Radio Barinas called Luis Eduardo Camejo who thought the piercing cry that he starts his songs with sounded like the mating call of the Carrao, the local name of the jacana (jacana jacana), a small wading bird endemic to the Llanos.

Like many young boys in the countryside of Apure in those days, by the age of seven he was working on a cattle ranch and supporting himself.

He experienced poverty and loneliness and lived the authentic lifestyle of the barefoot cowboys of the Llanos, living hard and playing hard.

As he grew up he soaked up the local Joropo music and would sing along with the Conjuntos Llaneros, the traditional combo of harp, cuatro (small four-stringed guitar) and maracas.

There are many forms of joropo but El Carrao's speciality was telling stories of Llanos life to the accompaniment of a hard driving golpe beat

He could also invent verses on the spot and was a master of contrapunteo, the rap-style competitions between two singers who use their verbal skills and mental agility to try and outdo each other.

His greatest hits include the driving golpe "Furia" ("Fury") and "Florentino y el Diablo" ("Florentino and the Devil") about a cowboy who meets and defeats the devil in a singing contest by inventing the most verses.

The song was based on a poem by the Barinas poet Alberto Arvelo Torrealba and featured Jose Romero Bello as Florentino and El Carrao as the Devil.

Joropo singers are generally divided into two camps: romantico , such as Simon Diaz and the harpist Juan Vicente Torrealba, and recio , such as Luiz Lozado "El Cubiro".

El Carrao de Palmarito was definitely recio, with an extraordinary powerful voice that he never lost even in old age.

He even went across the border to take on the Colombian Llaneros in open singing contests and twice he defeated the best of the best.

In 1998 he received the National Prize for Popular Culture, Venezuela's highest award.

Simon Diaz said of him: "This man was one of the most important singers that the Venezuelan Llanos has ever seen. For a regular singer like myself it was an immense honour to share the stage with him in the concerts that we did together."

"Venezuela cried a lot when the news came out of his death, especially the people of the Llanos," said Diaz. "He was the same age as me, we were both born in 1928. He has gone ahead of me but I'm sure that when my time comes he'll be up there singing with God to welcome me."

By Russell Maddicks

Click here to see John Petrizzelli's 1998 documentary about the life of El Carrao de Palmarito

CD Review: The Rough Guide to Venezuelan Music

2009-04-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

A Rough and Ready Primer of some Classic Venezuelan Tracks
At last a compilation of that is broad enough to give some sense of the incredible diversity of Venezuelan music.

Obviously there are omissions, not least the current crop of bands such as Los Amigos Invisibles, Desorden Publico, Tres Duenos, Babylon Motorhome and all the new young bands making great music now. But with useful sleevenotes and mini-biographies of the artists, this is a good primer.

Given the constraints of a 19-track CD, compiler Dan Rosenberg has done a commendable job of stitching together music from many different Venezuelan genres, most of which are unknown outside the country.

The old-school salsa sound of Oscar D'Leon's first band Dimension Latina will sound familiar to anybody who's heard any of the Fania Allstar artists, such as Willie Colon or Hector Lavoe, although Venezuelan salseros were always closer to the original sounds of Cuba, adding a New York twist to the traditional son montuno with upfront trombones in the style of Eddie Palmieri.

Oscar D'Leon also appears on two tracks as a soloist, unusually, with two tracks by the Dominican band leader Luis Maria "Billo" Frometa, who became a dance hall legend in Venezuela with his Billos Caracas Boys in the 1950s and 1960s.

But for those who are new to Venezuela, the folk music will be the biggest revelation. The African drums of Tambor Urbano and Raices de Chuspa give a flavour of the frenetic Afro-Venezuelan music of the coast, known as tambores, with its call and response vocals and syncopated beats.

Guaco and Maracaibo 15, meanwhile, give two good examples of gaitas, a musical style that originally came from state of Zulia and the city of Maracaibo but has over time become the official sound of Christmas in Venezuela.

Also well served is the joropo, played on harp, a small four-stringed guitar known as a cuatro and maracas.

It is known generically as musica llanera because it comes from the vast open prairies of the Orinoco flood plain, or Llanos region.

Simon Diaz's oft-recorded "Caballo Viejo" ("Old Horse") is a classic of the genre, while tracks by Cheo Hurtado and Anselmo Lopez display the full range of the cuatro and the bandola, similar to the lute.

Creating a CD that covers the whole musical tradition of a country as rich in music as Venezuela is clearly an impossible task, but if you want a flavour of what's on offer, this is not a bad place to start.

Track Listing:
1. Caracas, Caracas - Un Solo Pueblo
2. Madrugada Llanera - Mario Suarez con La Rondalla Venezolana
3. Deshonestidad - Guaco
4. Gavilan - Dimension Latina
5. Ariel - Oscar D'Leon
6. La Paloma - Quinto Criollo
7. Mosaico Tradicional - Tambor Urbano
8. Las Tres Damas - Anselmo Lopez and Saul Vera
9. Malembe - Raices de Chuspa
10. Moliendo Cafe - Hugo Blanco
11. Caballo Viejo - Simon Diaz
12. Viva Venezuela - Un Solo Pueblo
13. Palo Palo - Maracaibo 15
14. Cadetes - Oscar D'Leon
15. Calipso de El Callao - Alberto Naranjo
16. Meneito - Grupo Barlovento
17. Julio Moreno/Linda Mañana - Vasallos del Sol
18. Pajarillo Revuelto - Cheo Hurtado y Bandolas de Venezuela
19. Pajarillo Verde - Soledad Bravo

To find out more about the CD "The Rough Guide to Venezuelan Music" click here:

Expresion Larense: Golpe Tocuyano

2009-04-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

A song in honour of Barquisimeto and El Tocuyo by local group Expresion Larense.

The only expression I know from Lara is "na' guará!", a useful expression that defines the region but defies direct translation.

It can be used in a similar way to Paris Hilton's use of the phrase "Oh my God!", which depending on the context can mean: "Oh my God, that's great" or "Oh my God, that sucks!"

Or it can be used like the phrase "no way!" or "wow!" to indicate disbelief or surprise.

"Na´guará" is so prevalent in Barquisimeto and Lara State that the inhabitants of the region are known as Guaros.

If anybody has a better definition of the indefinable "Na'guará" please leave a comment.

CD Review: Fiesta - Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra

2009-04-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

"Fiesta" (Deutsche Grammophon) is one of those rare CDs that is so good you play it till it wears out - a classical music feast of Latin American compositions that ends with a rip-roaring rendition of Leonard Bernstein's "Mambo" from the musical "West Side Story".

The 190-strong Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela (SBYOV), led by the charismatic conductor Gustavo Dudamel, has electrified the usually staid world of classical music in the last few years, with sold out performances in all the major concert halls of Europe.

An appearance at the 2007 Proms at the Albert Hall in London, when the band came on dressed in Venezuela's national colours of blue, yellow, red and white ended with a 10 minute standing ovation.

The concert was a revelation for classical music fans in the UK and a huge boost for Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, who recorded "Fiesta" as a way of capturing the experience of listening to the orchestra live and give their fans who couldn't get tickets a taste of what it was like to be at the Albert Hall concert.

Fiesta is exactly the right word to describe the eight upbeat works which appear on the album, which all celebrate the vibrant energy of Latin America, the vast geography of the region, the legacy of conquest and some of the many dance rhythms that bring people across the divided continents together.

The best-known track on the CD is undoubtedly "Mambo", US composer Leonard Bernstein's evocation of the Puerto Rican migrant experience in the tenements of mid-1950s Harlem. Classical music fans will also have heard works by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera and Mexico's Silvestre Revuelatas.

But the revelation for most listeners will be the works by the Venezuelans Inocente Carreno, Antonio Estevez, Aldemaro Romero and Evencio Castellanos.

Many of these compositions evoke the folk music of Venezuela's vast seasonally flooded plains, known as Los Llanos, where barefoot cowboys herd cattle past small lakes filled with caymans and piranas, and where white ibis share the water holes with capybaras.

Romero's "Fuga con Pajarillo", for example, interweaves a classical fugue with the galloping rhythms of the "pajarillo" folk dance, while Estevez's "Melodia en el Llano" is slower and more nostalgic.

Dudamel has said of the piece: "It's very impressionistic, influenced by Debussy, slow, with beautiful melodies inside different colours."

The CD comes out at a good time for the SBYOV, who have just begun their five-day residency at the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre in London. The excitement around the orchestra is close to fever pitch and tickets for all the concerts sold out immediately, even for the rehearsals and the shows by the brass section.

The first reviews of the Royal Festival Hall shows have been gushing:

"Never was an invading army more welcome," said Michael Church, writing in the Independent newspaper.

"Is this the best orchestra in the world? No. But the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra is classical music's hottest ticket, and with good reason," said Erica Jeal who gave the concert five stars in The Guardian.

"... there is a symbiosis here between conductor and ensemble that is quite electric," she concluded.

The youth orchestra's ability to affect social change in extremely deprived areas has not gone unnoticed either.

Gustavo Dudamel, speaking to the BBC, said the aims of the youth orchestra went beyond making magnificent music: "When you have around your life, drugs, crime, the best that you can give to a kid is an instrument. Then they can change their lives."

That philosophy looks set to spread. Projects in both developed and developing nations are currently underway to set up similar youth orchestras based on the incredibly succesful El Sistema model created by Venezuelan economist and philanthropist Jose Antonio Abreu in the 1970s.

Abreu realized that putting classical instruments into the hands of young children from the poorest shantytowns and teaching them to work together in a large orchestra gave them a sense of worth and the opportunity to change their lives.

Listen to "Fiesta" and you can hear that hope for a better future come alive.

Track Listing
Sensemaya (Silvestre Revueltas, Mexico)
Margariteña (Inocente Carreno, Venezuela)
Mediodia en el Llano (Antonio Estevez, Venezuela)
Danzon No. 2 (Arturo Marquez, Mexico)
Fuga con Pajarillo (Aldemaro Romero, Venezuela)
Estancia Suite (Alberto Ginastera, Argentina)
1. Los Trabajadores Agricolas
2. Danza del Trigo
3. Los Peones de Hacienda
4. Danza Final (Malambo)
Santa Cruz de Pacairigua (Evencio Castellanos, Venezuela)
Mambo Symphonic Dance from "West Side Story" (Leonard Bernstein, USA)

Video: Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra performing Mambo at the Albert Hall in 2007

Video: Gustavo Dudamel interviewed at the Proms in 2007

To download tracks from the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra's latest album "Fiesta" click here: