HÀ NỘI — Alvaro Meza, dubbed the Vallenato King from Colombia, will perform and talk with Hanoians during a concert tonight.

Vallenato (literally, ”born in the valley”) is traditional folk music from the Caribbean coastal region of Colombia, which has become popular all over Colombia and in other neighbouring countries such as Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador and Mexico.

With more than 200 years of history, this musical genre is considered the backbone of Colombian Caribbean cultural identity. It was born from the free spirit of farmers and musicians who travelled through different regions and, in four-line and 10-line stanzas, sang stories of love and adventure in faraway villages, brimming with lyricism and poetry.

These songs were then gradually accompanied by instruments brought by Europeans such as the guitar and the accordion, in addition to African drums combined with indigenous guacharaca (a wooden, ribbed stick similar to sugar cane, accompanied by a fork that when rubbed together emits a scraping sound).

UNESCO recognised Colombia’s “Traditional Vallenato music of the Greater Magdalena region” as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding last year.

Meza was born in 1959. In 1998, he recorded a CD with singer Toba Zuleta, and ran a three-month tour of England, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria and Germany to promote Grupo Macondo, a band made up of the Meza brothers: Alvaro, Ciro, Carlos Alberto and Miguel.

On the occasion, Meza will perform with Jorge Montano (guacharaca) and Hector Ochoa (electric bass).

They will present some of their famous songs, namely A Cold Sweat, Look at Me, The Brazilian Girl and Matildelina.

The performance will take place at the Công Nhân Theatre, 42 Tràng Tiền Street, Hà Nội. — VNS