The following artists will be performing at the National Hispanic Cultural Center for ¡Globalquerque! 2008. Performances will take place on three stages, all located at the NHCC. Enjoy the intimate courtyard setting of the Salón 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:
Lila Downs (Mexico)
Genticorum (Quebec, Canada)
HAPA (Hawaii)
Mor Karbasi (Israel)
Savina Yannatou (Greece)

Saturday:
HAPA (Hawaii)
Mor Karbasi (Israel)
Savina Yannatou (Greece)

Date(s) to be announced:
Orchid Ensemble (China/Canada)

 

Lila Downs (Mexico)

Lila Downs grew up in the Sierra Madre mountains of southern Mexico, in the state of Oaxaca, and also in Minnesota in the U.S.A. She started singing mariachi songs when she was 8. When she turned 14, she started voice lessons in Los Angeles, continued voice lessons in Oaxaca city at Bellas Artes, and moved back to Minnesota for college where she studied voice and anthropology at the University of Minnesota. Lila was to become an opera singer when she dropped out, followed the Grateful Dead for a while, sold jewelry on the streets, and moved back to the mountains of Oaxaca where she learned to weave cloth. She later did her college thesis on the symbolism created by the Triqui women in their weaving, a language which narrates the history of this autonomous Indian group.

Lila began singing in the club scenes of Oaxaca and Philadelphia along with Paul Cohen, an expatriate saxophonist who had also been a clown and juggler in the circus. They began collaborating together on songs that would slowly mature into their most recent recordings. This musical process began taking form during the soothing and warm Oaxacan nights, at a bar called "El Sol y La Luna." Lila presently lives in Coyoacan and collaborates with musicians from Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay. She performs her own compositions and also taps into the vast reservior of native mesoamerican music, by singing songs in the the Indian languages of Mexico such as Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya and Nahuatl.

 

Genticorum (Quebec, Canada)

Genticorum are fast becoming one of the most sought-after proponents of Québécois musical culture, firmly rooted in the soil of their native land. The energetic and original traditional "power trio" also incorporates the dynamism of today's North American and European folk cultures in their music.

Weaving wooden flute, fiddle, acoustic guitar, jaw harp, bass and foot percussion with strong vocal harmonies, they offer a blend of traditional songs and tunes as well as original compositions. Their
distinctive sound, sense of humour and stage presence make them a supreme crowd pleaser. Since their debut in 2000, Genticorum has forged a solid place for itself on the folk and world music circuit, playing festivals, concerts and dances.

Their sophomore album Malins Plaisirs won the Canadian Folk Music Award 2005 in the "Best Ensemble" category and was nominated for JUNO (Canada) and Felix (Québec) Awards in 2006.

 

HAPA (Hawaii)

Like the Hawaiian Islands themselves, HAPA's Pan-Polynesian music is an amalgam of infuences ranging from ancient genealogical chants to the strummed ballads of Portuguese fisherman, Spanish cowboys, and the inspired melodies and harmonies of the traditional church choirs of the early missionaries. Add to this a dose of American acoustic folk/rock, and you have what has been described as the "most exciting and beautiful contemporary Hawaiian music the world knows!" (Maui Times).

Often encapsulated as the "Sound of Maui," HAPA's music evokes a place that many people at different times have referred to as heavenly. The overriding quality of their music is one of beauty and serenity, found in the majestic tones of the oli (chant), mele (song), the elegant movements of the sacred dance known as hula, and the exhilarating innovative sounds of virtuoso slack key guitar. HAPA's self titled debut CD, released in 1993, swept the 1994 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii's equivalent of the Grammys), becoming the biggest selling CD by a group or duo in the history of recorded Hawaiian music. The group's ground-breaking music has established them as the most recognized name in Hawaiian music internationally since their debut release, with sold-out shows from Tokyo to New York.

 

Mor Karbasi (Israel)

Described by London's Jewish Chronicle as a purveyor of "spine-tingling Gypsy Music," young London-based Israeli singer Mor Karbasi sings in Ladino, Spanish, Hebrew and on rarer occasions, English. Fortune has brought her a wonderful singing voice to add to her classically trained piano playing.

Not many songs still survive from 1492, when the Ladino speaking Jewish population in Spain fled the Inquisition—only the most beautiful are kept over such a period. Mor is bringing some of these songs back to a wider public. Her writing has been considerably assisted by her interesting lineage. She is directly descended from both Moroccan and Persian Jews. She has been and indeed is, an avid supporter of Flamenco which provides a strong flavour throughout all her songs. Her early musical performances were with Pena Flamenca in Jerusalem which immersed her in Flamenco while her mother, Shoshana Karbasi, played Moroccan piyyutim (liturgical poems) and sang Andalucian Jewish ballads at their home. She continues to be a constant influence on her daughter.

Mor's debut CD, The Beauty and the Sea, was released in March 2008. fRoots magazine called it "mesmerising... deserves to give Mor Karbasi one of the world music hits of 2008."

 

Orchid Ensemble (China/Canada)

The Orchid Ensemble blends ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and beyond, creating a beautiful new sound that is both creative and distinct. The ensemble has embraced a variety of musical styles to its repertoire, ranging from the traditional and contemporary music of China, world music, new music to jazz and creative improvisation. The energetic yet endearing performance style of the ensemble consistently intrigues and delights its audiences, consistently receiving standing ovations. Acclaimed as "One of the brightest blossoms on the world music scene" (Georgia Straight), the Orchid Ensemble has been tirelessly developing an innovative musical genre based on the cultural exchange between Western and Asian musicians.

The Orchid Ensemble regularly collaborates with musicians from a wide variety of world cultures and actively commissions new works by Canadian and US composers for its unique instrumentation. The ensemble performs regularly in concerts across North America, and at prominent world, jazz and folk music festivals. Recent appearances include The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; Canada Day Celebrations and the National Gallery in Ottawa; Vancouver International Jazz Festival; and at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.

 

Savina Yannatou (Greece)

Based on traditional material, mainly from the Mediterranean area, Savina Yannatou and the group Primavera en Salonico offer an open sound without borders or labels, from simple songs extending to contemporary music forms.
Insisting on acoustic instruments, half of which have their origin in the East, they attempt to exploit their specific sound, oftentimes also exploring them to the limits of their possibilities. Beyond her exquisite interpretive capacity, Savina Yannatou gives special emphasis to the expression of the music of each different language, without letting that stop her from oftentimes using her voice as one more instrument.

With a background that combines classical studies and "authentic" traditional music with improvised music and jazz, Savina Yannatou and the musicians of Primavera en Salonico find themselves like rope-dancers on the chord which connects the modal music of the East with the equivalent music of Western Europe, music of the Middle Ages and the popular polyphonies of the Mediterranean.

"Dark-toned but ambrosial, highly disciplined yet seemingly bursting with a soul of pure flame, the rather staggering Athens-born singer Savina Yannatou is a virtuosic chameleon adept at an extensive range of vocal traditions (and languages) from the Mediterranean region—not just interpreting but leaping off from these old folk musics with a daring, exploratory technique and far-flung tonal scope that allows her to stamp it all with a brash intelligence and some might say punky attitude."
—L.A. Weekly