Music of the Americas: Venezuela

Wednesday, February 11, 10 am

Niko Narváez is a Venezuelan guitarist whose career began in 2019 at the Núcleo Arsenal of El Sistema, Venezuela's national youth orchestra and music education program. At 17, he was the youngest performer to play Antonio Lauro's Concerto No. 1 for Guitar and Orchestra and later won the Concurso Internacional de Guitarra Alirio Díaz in 2023. He was a member of El Sistema's Henry Rubio Orchestra, dedicated to traditional Venezuelan music. His repertoire spans from Latin American classics to his own compositions.

From Maracay, eighty miles west of Caracas, he sent us an insturmental version of "Ojos del color de los pozos," by Guillermo Jiménez Leal. The lyrics of the song, by Alberto Arvelo Torrealba, evoke the pain of separation in love, comparing the beloved's gaze to the dreamy blue of the morning mist. 

Thursday, February 12, 10 am

El Tour del Joropo is a cultural, musical, and educational initiative founded by Alfredo Gutiérrez and Deyvid Fayola to promote Venezuelan joropo. Its approach integrates live music, dance, educational narration, and theatrical elements, successfully connecting with diverse audiences. Each performance is a celebration of Venezuelan identity and an invitation to delve deeper into this genre, recognized by UNESCO in 2025 as Intangible Cultural Heritage. 

From Caracas, the group, which includes Gutiérrez on bandola alongside Enmanuel Araque on bass, Juan Briceño on maracas, and Luis Cuevas on cuatro, sent us this video of the traditional "Entreverao Llanero." 

Friday, February 13, 10 am

Entramado Duo is a Venezuelan duo based in Caracas formed in 2018 by flutist Lorel Rodríguez and guitarist Yhony León. They made their debut at Teatro Trasnocho, during the popular Noches de Guataca. The duo explores the traditional music of their country, and have performed nationally as well as in Argentina, Belarus, and China. 

From Carayca, not far from Caracas, they sent us this version of the ever popular "Poco a Poco," by renowned Venezuelan composer Aldemaro Romero, originally a waltz. The duo performs it in an arrangement by Yhony León that brings it closer to the Onda Nueva, a style created by Romero in the 1960s that fuses joropo with jazz and bossa nova. 

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The 2025–2026 series is also supported, in part, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, The Augustine Foundation, the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, and The Amphion Foundation.