Third Annual Ibero-American Guitar Festival in Washington D.C.; Three Days of Celebration Will Honor Legacy of Brazilian Composer Heitor Villa-Lobos

Third Annual Ibero-American Guitar Festival in Washington D.C.; Three Days of Celebration Will Honor Legacy of Brazilian Composer Heitor Villa-Lobos

Weekend Activities Set for June 19-21 at the National Museum of the American Indian

WASHINGTON, June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Ibero-American Guitar Festival will make its return to Washington, D.C. this month, this time with a unique new venue. From June 19-21 at The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, visitors will enjoy three days of musical celebration from Latin America, Portugal and Spain, honoring the legacy of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Organized by the Association of Ibero-American Cultural Attaches, The Ibero-American Guitar Festival celebrates the traditions, heritage and diverse sounds of the Ibero-American regions such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. The annual festival highlights the integral role the guitar has played in Ibero-American culture, as it is one of the most often played instruments throughout these countries.

"We are honored to have the opportunity to work with the Smithsonian Institution to bring the sounds and rich culture of Ibero-America to Washington D.C. for the third year," said Berta Rojas, Artistic Director of the III Ibero-American Guitar Festival. "We hope this festival provides the opportunity for Washington to embrace the Ibero-American legacy for what we hope becomes a new tradition in this city."

Every year the festival's Artistic Director selects one famous artist to be celebrated. This year, marking the 50th anniversary of his death, the festival will honor the legacy of Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) who is regarded as one of the greatest Latin American composers of all time. His compositions included "A Prole do Bebe No. 1" and "Bachianas Brasileiras" as well as multiple ballets and guitar compositions including five preludes and 12 studies. One of his most popular works for guitar was Choros - No. 1 for solo guitar which become the inspiration for his Choros series. Villa-Lobos traveled the world performing his compositions and left a legacy not just in his native Brazil, but across the world.

Throughout the weekend, over twenty Ibero-American guitarists will come together to offer lectures, performances and master classes in a variety of genres including folk, classical, and jazz. Among the performers are Grammy award winning Hamilton De Holanda of Brazil, performing on mandolin; Uraguay's Eduardo Fernandez on Classical Guitar; Argentina's Victor Villadangos on Classical Guitar; Brazil's Fabio Zanon on Classical Guitar; Portugal's Pedro Caldeira Cabral on Portuguese Guitar; Spain's Oscar Herrero on Flamenco and Peru's Federico Tarrazona on Charango.

The weekend will also feature a movie screening on the life of Villa-Lobos. Cultural lectures, master classes, conferences and the feature film are free. Performance tickets are required and may be purchased online (www.dciberoamericanguitarfestival.org) or at the museum. Weekend tickets giving access to all concerts and events are $50, one day tickets are $30 and individual concert tickets are $20.

All events during the Ibero-American Guitar Festival will take place at the National Museum of the American Indian, located at 4th Street and Independence Avenue, SW. (Metro stop: L'Enfant Plaza Metro station.) Those attending evening programs must enter the museum at the south entrance on Maryland Avenue.

The schedule of performances can be found at: http://www.dciberoamericanguitarfestival.org/2009/schedule.php.

Source: Ibero-American Guitar Festival

CONTACT: Carrie Fox, +1-202-255-9214, carrie@cfoxcommunications.com, for
Ibero-American Guitar Festival

Web Site: http://www.dciberoamericanguitarfestival.org/

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