The following artists will be performing at the National Hispanic Cultural Center for ¡Globalquerque! 2010. Performances will take place on three stages, all located at the NHCC (1701 4th St SW, at Avenida César Chávez). Enjoy the intimate courtyard setting of the Fountain Stage, the state of the art 692-seat Albuquerque Journal Theatre and dance outside on the Plaza Mayor.

Performances start at 6 PM and the Global Village will be open into the night. There will also be FREE day programming on Saturday for families and adults, including workshops on music and folklore, crafts, and live performances.

Friday:
Khaïra Arby
Susana Baca
Deolinda
Flatlanders with Tom Russell
Mariachi Mystery Tour
Emeline Michel
Simon Shaheen
Líber Terán

Saturday:
Rahim AlHaj & Little Earth Orchestra
Inti-Illimani with Francesca Gagnon
Kenge Kenge
Emeline Michel
Pietra Montecorvino
Oreka Tx
Simon Shaheen

 

Rahim AlHaj & Little Earth Orchestra (Iraq/USA)

Iraqi oud virtuoso, composer and two-time Grammy® nominee Rahim Alhaj formed Little Earth Orchestra in 2009 to expand his musical vision and develop compositions that utilize both western instrumentation and Arabic modes. Rahim performs on oud alongside a septet featuring Souhail Kaspar (Middle Eastern percussion), Carla Kountoupes and Matthew Vaughn (violin), Jason Parris (viola), Deborah Barbe (cello), and Michael Glynn (acoustic bass), to create a mesmerizing new music rooted in the traditions of the east and west. The project is captured on a 2-CD set featuring guest artists from a variety of cultures and genres, including two debut recordings from Little Earth Orchestra. 

We are thrilled to welcome Rahim back to ¡Globalquerque! to celebrate the release of the Little Earth CD.  He’ll be joined by the Little Earth Orchestra as well as special guests from the CD project performing their tracks including Maria De Barros (Cape Verde), Hossein Omoumi (Iran), Stephen Kent (Australia), Roshan Jamal Bhartiya (India) and maybe a few more.  The new CD will officially go on sale Tuesday, September 28, but we will have them early and be able to sell them at ¡Globalquerque!.

 

Khaïra Arby (Mali)

Khaïra Arby, the Nightingale of the North, was born in the village of Agouni in the Sahara Desert north of Timbuktu. Khaira's parents came from different ethnic backgrounds: mother Songhai and father Berber. You can hear these cultures in her music; she sings in several languages, including Songhai, Tamashek, French, Arabic. Her instrumentation and rhythms are just as varied, with electric guitar and bass, calabash, ngoni, traditional violin, and percussion creating a complex mixture of sound and structure. Some people compare the effect to the rhythms of the camel caravans crossing the Sahara.

Khaïra won her first singing contest while just a young schoolgirl. Her prize was the chance to represent her city of Timbuktu at the regional contest in the city of Gao. It took a long time to convince her conservative father to let the little girl go. He had not known about her entering the first contest. Finally, he relented and Khaïra won first prize in Gao and a spot representing the region at the national Biennale of Mali in Bamako, at that time the country's main cultural event, where all the top Malian artists, actors, musicians, dancers and comedians came to perform, compete and collaborate. To no one's surprise Khaïra won first prize and was chosen to travel to Tunisia to represent Mali internationally. But her father objected to the idea of an 11 year old girl making such a trip and since she was so young, the government agreed.

Khaïra returned to Timbuktu and by the age of 14 was married. She tried to continue singing but was forced to stop until 8 years into her marriage, when she sought a divorce. At the age of 22 Khaïra had struck out on her own. She made her first recording with the Orchestre Regional de Tombouctou. After a short time she was invited to sing with the famous Orchestre Badema in Bamako. She continued to earn her stripes beside such Malian stars as her cousin, Ali Farka Touré and the influential Fissa Maïga. Since the 1980s Khaira has focused all her energies on her music. With three albums in her own name she is the Voice of Mali's North. Khaïra still lives in Timbuktu with her family, and performs at concerts and festivals throughout the world.

 

Susana Baca (Peru)

Susana Baca was born in Lima but grew up in the small black coastal barrio of Chorrillos, "populated with fishermen and cats," she says. Since colonial times the town has also been the home to an enclave of African slave descendants. Baca was immersed in music and flooded by the smells from her mother's kitchen from an early age. Both gifts were passed on to her. Her father made a living as a driver and was the go to guitarist for neighborhood street parties and impromptu musical gatherings. As a child Baca listened to Cuban musicians like Pérez Prado and Beny Moré. But seeing her sister stand behind a radio station microphone to sing was a defining moment in her life. Then and there she caught a glimpse of her destiny.

Baca's talent as a singer got her noticed in school and at the same time she began to develop an interest in the poets of Peru. She formed an experimental music group combining poetry and song and through grants from Peru's Institute of Modern Art and the National Institute of Peruvian Culture, she began performing. At the prestigious international Agua Dulce festival in Lima, she took top honors. But it wasn't until after meeting Chabuca Granda that Baca was given her first real opportunity to record professionally in Peru. However the composer's sudden death left Baca in limbo. She continued to work, especially in her role as historian and preservationist of Afro-Peruvian culture through music and dance. In 1992, alongside her husband Ricardo Pereira, she founded the Instituto Negrocontinuo, dedicated to researching the dances and songs of her ancestors and passing on that knowledge to a new generation of Peruvian artists. Baca's own voice finally found the outlet to reach a global audience in 1995 with the release of The Soul of Black Peru, a compilation disc that led to the recording of four solo albums under Luaka Bop.

It's been said before that Baca's voice is like a quiet storm. But it's worth repeating. Like all storms in their myriad manifestations, Baca's restrained tempest transcends Chorrillos. It transcends her people's history, Peru, her personal story, and even language. Baca's universal sound enthralls the listener no matter where they're from.

 

Deolinda (Portugal)

- Enjoy live footage and videos on Link TV

Deolinda is a project from Lisbon inspired by fado and its traditional roots in order to create original songs based on Portuguese traditional and popular music. In the short time since the Portuguese release of their debut Canção ao Lado (The Song Next Door) in 2008, the band has shot into the Portuguese charts and the album has achieved Platinum status.

An intriguing concept album, Canção ao Lado is delivered live in a series of wildly flamboyant concerts that have drawn audiences in Portugal that range from the 30-something age group of the musicians to grandparents and small children. The secret to their popularity comes in equal parts from their exuberant, often comic performances, the sweet and catchy melodies, and lyrics loaded with emotive references to fado and other lesser-known Portuguese musical traditions.

The album's 14 songs of Deolinda, the band, are built around the character of Deolinda, the fictional character, a young woman who lives with her cats and goldfish in a Lisbon apartment and watches through her window as the world go by. The songs are delivered by a dynamic, charismatic singer who goes by the name Ana Bacalhau (literally, Ana Salted Cod). Deolinda and the passing characters she introduces us to are the creations of the project's songwriter and guitarist, Pedro da Silva Martins, and are performed with the other musicians: conservatory-trained Luis José Martins on guitar, ukulele, viola and Portuguese cavaco and guitarlele, and double bass player Zé Pedro Leitão (meaning Suckling Pig), who brings a classical and jazz background.

 

Flatlanders with Tom Russell (U.S.)

The legendary Flatlanders feature three of Texas' most respected singer/songwriters: Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock. The Flatlanders have been friends and sometime collaborators for over 35 years, releasing their first work in 1972 as an eight-track tape only and then on vinyl that was only available inEurope. The band gained a cult following but, with the recordings rare and hard to find, went their separate ways, each becoming successful musicians on their own but most importantly remaining friends. They reunited in 1998 when asked to write a song for "The Horse Whisperer" soundtrack—which they wrote together (for the 1972 recording they wrote individually recording each other's songs). The collaborative effort paid off, leading to the critically acclaimed Now Again (May '02) and Wheels Of Fortune (Jan '04); their latest release, Hills and Valleys, has been called "relaxed and natural, like a record made on holiday by three guys with nothing left to prove to themselves or anyone else. Free of expectations, they casually spin off real magic." (Texas Music)

They will be joined by Tom Russell, whose songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Doug Sahm, Nancy Griffith, Joe Ely, Iris Dement, Ian Tyson, k.d. lang and many others; he is credited, along with Dave Alvin, of inventing the Americana radio format. The Columbus Other wrote: "Russell seems to have invented, and keeps re-inventing, American roots music... He's the strongest live performer we have seen in years."

 

Inti-Illimani & Francesca Gagnon (Chile/Quebec, Canada)

Chilean folk music masters Inti-Illimani team up with the magical voice behind the chart-topping Cirque du Soleil's Alegria soundtrack for a program that speaks to a universal audience! Formed in 1967 by university students in Santiago, Inti-Illimani (the name translate as "Sun God") was outspoken against the Chilean dictator and were forced into exile for 15 years. Based in Rome, their popularity spread and they became the unofficial ambassadors for Chilean music. The Washington Post raves of their live performances, "An Inti-Illimani concert is a wild ride... relentless virtuosity in a concert that was pure exhilaration to the very end."

French-Canadian Francesca Gagnon rocketed to stardom when she became the voice of Alegria, a Cirque du Soleil production. The soundtrack climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard World Music charts in the US for 56 weeks. Gagnon and Inti-Illimani met in 2008 during a performance in Montreal. They began touring together in 2009 and will release an album, Meridiano, in conjunction with the 2010 bicentennial of Chile. Their program that mixes the popular songs of Cirque du Soleil with works from Inti-Illimani's vast repertoire.

 

Kenge Kenge (Kenya)

Kenge Kenge (their name means "fusion of small, exhilarating instruments") explore the origins of benga, a style popular in Kenya the way rumba is in Congo or highlife is in Nigeria. This is roots music from the JoLuo community of Western Kenya, with lyrical arrangements that reflect influences from the popular Benga pop-music style. Dense textures of rhythm and chant are overlaid with an unusual assortment of self-made traditional instruments: Nyatiti lyre, Bul drums, the Nyangile sound box, Ongeng'o metal rings, Asili flute, and the Oporo horn. But the singing is in fact the central event, and it is strong and generous, full of character and contrast. In addition to tremendous popularity in their home region, Kenge Kenge have toured to Norway, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and will continue bringing their irresistible dance music and celebration to the world.

 

Mariachi Mystery Tour (New Mexico, USA)

"Mariachi Mystery Tour doesn't just make classic songs fresh, the group makes them new... makes you wonder what would have happened if John, Paul, George and Ringo had spent some time with Pedro Infante." —Dan Mayfield, Albuquerque Journal

Mariachi Mystery Tour founder and musical director Lorenzo Martinez is an accomplished composer, arranger, Mariachi and traditional New Mexican folk musician. He is also a dyed-in-the-wool fan of four lads from Liverpool who made an unprecedented impact on not only Anglo music and culture, but whose influence was—and is still—felt in every corner of the globe. In 2009, Lorenzo had a far out idea. What if he re-imagined the music of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr through the lenses of Mariachi? After arranging the material—and his selection of songs and styles is as wide-ranging as the catalogue from which it comes—he recruited his brother Roberto Martinez, Jr. and some of the finest young Mariachis from his native New Mexico (including his son Larry and niece Sheila) to record what would become Mariachi Mystery Tour, a tour-de-force artistic and cultural collision that flows together seamlessly while remaining true to both sides music and unique stylistic contributions. The CD and their live show—a visual as well as aural adventure—takes a trip up the Mersey and down the Thames, all the while staying close to the banks of the Rio Grande.

 

Emeline Michel (Haiti)

Emeline Michel is the reigning Queen of Haitian Song: a captivating performer, versatile vocalist and one of the premier Haitian songwriters of her generation. She has recorded and appeared on concert stages throughout the Caribbean, Europe, and North & South America for over 20 years. Singing both in French and Haitian Creole, her nine albums have catapulted her to international acclaim.

Emeline Michel is beloved by Haitians for combining traditional rhythms with social, political and inspirational content. She is a member of a unique generation of Haitian musicians that emerged in the late 1980s and also includes guitarist/vocalist Beethova Obas and the bands Boukman Eksperyans and Boukan Guinen. This wave of artists emphasized complex themes, conscious lyrics, and a broad palette of musical styles, including the native Haitian compas, twoubadou and rara.

Born in Gonaives, Haiti, her first experience in music was singing gospel music at the local church. After completing her education, Emeline accepted an opportunity to study at the Detroit Jazz Center and returned to Haiti as a professional musician; she was soon hailed as the "new goddess of Creole music." Relocating to France, she became a leading musical icon, making numerous appearances on French television and gracing the covers of many music and culture magazines. After being signed with several record labels in France, Canada and the U.S., Emeline formed her own production company (Production Cheval De Feu) in 1999 to gain full control of her career and artistic vision. Haiti's leading daily paper, Le Nouvelliste, has observed: "Just as every citizen has a national identity card, every Haitian should have one Emeline CD at their home."

 

Pietra Montecorvino (Italy)

Music from Naples sounds familiar to ears all around the world as inmortalized by artists such as Caruso, Domenico Modugno or Elvis Presley. Eternal numbers like "Mare di Napoli" and "O Sole Mio" have been heard from jukeboxes as well as in the most prestigious opera theatres. The career of Italian singer Pietra Montecorvino has itself become an homage to this rich music tradition. Montecorvino takes back Neapolitan music to its origins and roots in search of the deepest essence of Mediterranean culture. Heavy rhythmic percussion, the seductive surrounding sound of the oud makes us think how close Naples is to North Africa. Pietra's voice is raw, gruff, bewildering... a voice that seems to come from an early time in the age of the Mediterranean, completely steeped in its essential flavor.

Mondomix wrote, "Pietra is the feverish Naples incarnate, as few singers before her... she gives a true boost to Neapolitan music, bringing it alongside the heated traditions of Southern Italy or the ancestral languages of North Africa. Her overwhelming rough and sensual voice can all of a sudden become as pure and tender as a child's before crying out her eternal thirst for freedom. Be it singing Neapolitan classics or compositions just for her, she takes over each song as if she were the only one to know how to make it finally come alive."

 

Oreka Tx (Spain)

Most musical instruments are made to be played by only one musician at a time. But from Spain's Basque Country comes an instrument built for two. The txalaparta, third cousin to the vibraphone, has entered world music circles through the efforts of the Basque duo Oreka Tx. Seeing their chosen instrument as a metaphor of musical encounters, their latest CD is a set of collaborations with musicians from India, Lapland, Mongolia and North Africa. The results are melodic, intriguing and organic, as if the duo has tapped into forgotten currents of culture that traveled the world's trade routes in the early centuries of history.

Oreka Tx began travelling the world in 2004, using the txalaparta as their vehicle and home, meeting musicians and discovering the reality of far away peoples, from Mongolia to Sahara, from Lapland to India. During their travels, they compiled visual and audio materials with a clear goal in mind: to share this music, these sounds, these images, and these experiences. Their dream became a reality and the result was the astounding documentary, "Nömadak Tx," which won multiple awards at international film festivals. Their touring show takes the film's concept to the next level. With the film projected onto a giant screen behind them, the Oreka Tx Band is joined on stage by the Saharawi and Mongolian singers featured in "Nömadak Tx." The soundtrack evolves from the blending of live and film music, and performance pieces emanate from an impossibly-expanded ensemble, the people on stage combined with the multitude of musicians all over the world on screen, an extravagant multi-ethnic sound montage. The screen itself becomes a huge window onto the world, through which the audience is offered a particularly intimate glimpse into lives, music and landscapes across the globe.

 

Simon Shaheen (Palestine)

Simon Shaheen dazzles his listeners as he deftly leaps from traditional Arabic sounds to jazz and Western classical styles. His soaring technique, melodic ingenuity, and unparalleled grace have earned him international acclaim as a virtuoso on the 'oud and violin. Shaheen is one of the most significant Arab musicians, performers, and composers of his generation. His work incorporates and reflects a legacy of Arabic music, while it forges ahead to new frontiers, embracing many different styles in the process. This unique contribution to the world of arts was recognized in 1994 when Shaheen was honored with the prestigious National Heritage Award at the White House.

In the 1990s he released four albums of his own and contributed selections to soundtracks for "The Sheltering Sky" and "Malcolm X," among others. For the past several years, though, Shaheen has focused many of his energies on his band Qantara, whose name means "arch" in Arabic. Qantara brings to life Shaheen's vision for the unbridled fusion of Arab, jazz, Western classical, and Latin American music, a perfect alchemy for music to transcend the boundaries of genre and geography. Their album Blue Flame was nominated for eleven Grammy Awards.

In addition to performing with his two bands, Qantara and the Near Eastern Music Ensemble, Shaheen tours as a solo artist internationally and as a lecturer throughout the academic world promoting awareness to Arab music through numerous lecture and workshop presentations.

 

Líber Terán (Mexico)

On his new solo album Tambora Sound System, former Los de Abajo singer and guitar player Líber Terán mixes music from Sinaloa with Balkan, country and electro. The album includes collaborations with some of the most prominent DJs on the Mexican scene, including Panoptica (Roberto Mendoza) and Toy Selectah.

Líber Terán's influences include classic rock 'n' rollers, such as Gene Vincent, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, and The Beatles. He has also been influenced by typical popular and norteña Mexican music such as Los Tigres del Norte, Los Cadetes de Linares and José Alfredo Jiménez, whose songs describe and interweave intimate feelings with the harsh urban reality of Mexico City, and show sensations from melancholic sobriety to nostalgic romance, mixed with violent chilanga reality that make this rock 'n' roll crooner "the urban country-man within us all."

Terán started his solo career after 14 years of playing and touring Europe, USA, Canada, Asia and Oceania with Los de Abajo, as well as recording two albums for David Byrne's label Luaka Bop: Los de Abajo (1998) and Cybertropic Chilango Power (2002). Two independent recordings, No Borrarán (2005) and Latin Ska Force (2002), followed, along with the live album Complete and Live (L.A./04) (2004) and LDA v The Lunatics (2006); the latter was produced by Temple of Sound for Real World, Peter Gabriel's label. In 2008 Líber Terán launched El Gitano Western, his debut album as a solo artist.