As Beacon's Guatemalan correspondent Benjamin Reeves reports, La Antigua hosted a series of concerts earlier this month as part of the 14th Annual International Jazz Festival Guatemala.
And if you think you hate the accordion, prepare yourselves for a breath of fresh air to the bellows.
French vocalist Annick Cisaruk performed with accordion player David Venitucci for an hour in the plaza of one of Antigua's most stunning fixtures, the Colegio de la Compañia de Jésus.
Recently, the stunning ruins have been restored and converted into an arts and research center, Centro de Formacion de la Cooperacion Española en La Antigua Guatemala (Center for the Formation of Spanish Cooperation in La Antigua, Guatemala).
While Guatemala suffers still from longstanding poverty and turmoil, as Ben Reeves duly notes, the vibrant cultural life of the nation has remained pretty much exempt from such "third world problems."
Quoth Mr. Reeves:
"Guatemala isn't just a land of corruption, violence and political machinations (although the news often paints it that way). It's also a nation with a very lively, cosmopolitan arts and culture scene. La Antigua played host to French jazz vocalist Annick Cisaruk and accordion player David Venitucci this past week, and the venue and music were, to say the least, spectacular."
To wit, here are Cisaruk and Venitucci performing "Le Magazine" for France Musique.
© 2024 Classicalite All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
