Herencia de Timbiqui’s appearance is part of a program to enrich understanding of Latin American cultures.
By Ann McCreary
In a performance made possible through a grant from National Endowment for the Arts, the Colombian band Herencia de Timbiquí will bring a mix of ancestral and contemporary music to the Methow Valley on Friday (Sept. 30).
The young musicians of Herencia de Timbiquí mix sounds from the Afro-Colombian Pacific heritage with elements of urban contemporary music to recreate the power and rhythm of the chonta marimba, with guasa and bombo.
Herencia de Timbiquí (“the Inheritance of Timbiquí”) makes clear that tradition is not a museum piece but is enriched by merging with other elements, like the sounds of Latin music: salsa and son, as well as reggae and rock, jazz and funk.
After winning the official competition of the largest folk festival in Colombia, Festival de Música del Pacífico “Petronio Álvarez,” the band secured a spot at the 44th Montreux Jazz Festival and later at SXSW (South by Southwest), places where the marimba de chonta, its distinctive instrument, had never been before.
In 2013 their career took off after being awarded the Gaviota de Plata at the Festival Internacional de Via del Mar, Chile, for the best folk performance with their song “Amanece.”
Herencia de Timbiquí is touring as part of a program called “Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America,” a national initiative designed to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the richness and diversity of Latin American cultures through the work of its contemporary and traditional performing artists.
Southern Exposure provides fee support to nonprofit presenters based in the United States and its territories that book artists on a curated roster that changes annually.
Herencia de Timbiquí is one of only five artists chosen by Southern Exposure as a part of this initiative.
All funded engagements are required to include public performances and complementary activities that provide audiences with direct interaction with the visiting artists. An emphasis is placed on funding engagements in communities that have little access to this type of work.
Southern Exposure is a program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
Friday’s performance is at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp, beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets for adults are $15 in advance through brownpapertickets.com, at Riverside Printing in Winthrop and the Methow Arts office in Twisp, or $17 at the door; $5 for children over age 6; and free for kids under age 6. Reserved seating is available in the first four rows for $25 a seat. For information, call 997-4004.
