Noticias
Opening of the 21st Taxco International Guitar Competition and Festival
July 16, 2018Taxco, Guerrero - The 21st Taxco International Guitar Competition and Festival, which for the first time is part of the Support Program for Cultural and Artistic Festivals (Profest) of the Federal Department of Culture, was opened on Sunday, July 15 by state authorities.
As part of the formal ceremony held at the Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Theater at the Hotel Posada de la Misión, the American guitarist Hopkinson Smith received The Silver Guitar award for his contribution to music and guitar development around the world.
"Each person is attracted to the instrument that incorporates their inner voice. We, with the guitar have something that resonates inside. The feel of the strings under the fingers and the quality of the sound is a factor that almost has a spiritual dimension," said the honoree, born in New York in 1946 and considered the best lute player today.
The Secretary of Culture of Guerrero, Mauricio Leyva, stressed that Taxco is considered the sanctuary of the guitar, since the best guitarists in the world have come together and who aspires to become one of them, has come to compete in the festival, either as a soloist or as an ensemble, becoming a must.
He announced that the governor of the entity, Hector Astudillo, will sign this week the decree that formally institutes this guitar festival, so that the state government protects the one that is one of the most important meetings in the country.
According to Juan Carlos Laguna, artistic director of the Taxco International Guitar Festival, this year will be attended by great guitarists from the United States, Cuba, Argentina and Mexico.
In addition to the contest, master classes and workshops for performers in the city of Taxco and concerts will be offered in other communities such as the neighborhoods of Guadalupe and San Miguel, Acamixtla, Tehuilotepec and Tixtla, he said.
Among the performances will be the recital by Iliana Matos, acclaimed by international critics as the Guru of the guitar, on Monday 16 at 7,30 p.m. at the Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Theater and the one by the supreme poet of the lute, Hopkinson Smith, on Wednesday 18 at 8 p.m. at the parish church of Santa Prisca.
Also present at the opening were Fernando Bahena, Municipal President of Taxco, Tulio Pérez Calvo, Secretary of Finance and Administration of the Government of Guerrero and Rosario Cambray, General Coordinator of the Taxco International Guitar Competition and Festival.
After the ceremony, the draw was held among the 18 guitarists registered to determine the order of participation in the Soloist Contest that begins on Monday, July 16 at the Cultural and Arts Center. Former Hacienda of El Chorrillo.
The event culminated with a concert by the Argentine guitarist Eduardo Isaac, who will be part of the jury for this year's edition of the event, along with Cuban Iliana Matos and Mexican Mariano Aguirre.
The repertoire was made up of pieces by Spanish and Italian creators in the first part, and Brazilian and Argentinean creators in the second, including tangos, waltzes and milongas.
Regarding the presentation of the jury and the drawing of the participants of the International Guitar Ensemble Competition, it will be held on Thursday July 19 and the awarding of the winners (soloists and ensembles) will take place on Friday July 20 at 6 p.m., as part of the closing ceremony of the festival.
Mexico,Distrito Federal
