Celebrating Maria's Birthday

What could be a better way to celebrate the memory of a musicians than throwing a concert with her music?

I believe the answer for this is simple. Nothing. Artists are alive as long as their art is alive.

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to attend to different concerts in one day. Lucky me. Both were traditional music concerts. I'm here to tell you some about the first one. So, it so happens that day was the 99th birth of María Rodríguez. She was a very influential singer and composer from the city that travelled around the world showcasing the culture of the eastern regions of Venezuela. She was quite a character too.

A lady that got into a lot of trouble too. Lots of the songs that talk about these problems are really funny.

So, this concert was an homage since María passed away a few years ago. And it also marked the start of her 100th birthday celebration that will take place next year. It is an interesting milestone when it is done this way. I mean if we don't celebrate our local artists, who would do it?

The concert was full of dancers and all the music played during the performance was from María. It was a live music event too. And the choreography was made to highlight one of her nicknames. I think I did a post last year talking about her as The Siren. But she was also know as The Butterfly. And you'll see one bid pair of butterfly wings hanging on top of the stage.

Another important and emblematic song was perform twice. First, it was just a dance; then, it was sung. It is the Tobacco Prayer (La Oración del Tabaco in Spanish). I think there isn't another song that represents this singer better than this one. We had a really great time remembering María and listening to her music that is still sung by many artists around the country. Fortunately, she recorded a big number of songs while she was alive. So, there's a lot of her art to keep us company.

Some the dancers you'll see in the video are also siblings and relatives of María who are still the keepers of the torch of culture around the city. Even when you don't see it here, there are a lot of young musicians and dancers interested in our culture. And that something María could sing about wherever she is now.

Hopefully, next year will have an even bigger celebration and lots of musicians can join. For now, sit tight and enjoy a bit of these performances as I did back on that day.

• Fotos/Photos and Video 📹 📷: taken by me (Redmi Note 8)

• Portada/Thumbnail 🖼️: by me, created with Canva.

• Edición/Editing 🎬: by me, made with Capcut.

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