#globalfest

ORKESTA MENDOZA + LAS CAFETERAS

Norton Center for the Arts | Danville, KY | 21 Feb 2018 Concert + Residency Review

Las Cafeteras and Orkesta Mendoza are touring the US under the moniker of “globalFEST” - a festival produced annually in NYC that features some of the best world and roots artists from around the globe.  These two globalFEST alumni spent two days in Danville, Kentucky, where they provided multiple workshops and performances.  It was evident how exhausted they were towards the end of the first night, but they continued to provide service after service.  And those activities really paid off.  Self-proclaimed organizers, their workshops covered topics of sisterhood (mujerismo); racism on campus; boarder issues as discussed through the lens of music; religion, respect & diversity through music; and storytelling as a form of empowerment.  They performed at 10am to a group of rural youth aged 7 to 17.  They conducted a jam session that included 30 violinists, ukulele players, clarinetists, mandolinists, brass, guitar, accordion, dancers, and a host of percussionists.  To get the party on stage started, audience members attending the public performance were treated to a roasted pig, exotic fruits, skewered veggies, and bunuelo (doughnuts covered in either chocolate or caramel).  

All of these activities brought together not only a sense of community, but the actual community at large.  College students from all nationalities danced with area residents and neighbors atop the performing arts center’s orchestra pit.  Both bands played their infectious blend of music filled with the rich cultures of the individual American-based musicians (Brazilian, Mexican, Mohawk, etc.) infused with the musical influences they grew up with and love (pop, alternative, indie, punk, ska, 50s rock, psychedelic, surfer music, and even traces of the Grateful Dead).  And boy did this work.  The performance was not one where the audience sat and appreciated the sounds from the stage.  This was one of those experiences where the bands kicked off the music as a calling to audience members to respond with smiles, joy, clapping and definitely dancing.  Throughout the performances and activities, I kept thinking, #NaturalHigh.  And the participant response was equally powerful.  There were a few folks who expressed their displeasure in the music or the social messages coming from the musicians and their lyrics.  But don’t call them haters, the bands respect all responses to their music equally.

Photography: Disco Ball, Lincoln Center 8/5/23 @LincolnCenter @globalFEST_NYC

Yesterday, I was at Lincoln Center to cover GlobalFest, an annual world music festival that showcases a diverse and eclectic array of acts across countless different styles, genres and languages. Festival organizers had rotating sets on three stages across the Lincoln Center campus. As I was heading to a set on what’s known as The Dance Floor, I came across this gorgeous disco ball, right above…

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