A VISIONARY music project is to showcase a night of intercultural collaboration between Scotland and Latin America.
The concert will feature new work created during a musical journey across Mexico and Chile and is being staged by Routes to Roots, an umbrella organisation for an intercultural collaboration founded by Scottish fiddler Catriona Price.
The Orcadian began the new organisation to connect communities to each other and to their roots. Through artist-led projects across collaborative music composition and community workshops, it emphasises the transformational potential of cultural wealth to build empathy and tolerance through music.
The project has been percolating for more than a decade and for the past two years, in partnership with international music project manager Christine Lauck, has been developed in earnest.
Now for the first time, the artists involved will share music they have created together – first through a series of short music films, then culminating in the first live performance at Celtic Connections on January 31.
Billed Catriona Price: Routes To Roots With El Guapo, the show will feature special guest appearances from El Guapo from Argentina, Pahua from Mexico, and Daniela Millaleo from Chile. The night will also feature music from Price‘s solo album Hert, as well as the first hearing of other new music.
Following a UK tour in 2024 and extensive touring across Spain, Mexico and Guatemala, Celtic Connections marks El Guapo’s debut European festival appearance. Their track, Barquito De Sal, was the winner of the Young Latin American Revelation award at Kleztival festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Catriona Price said: “Routes to Roots has been an idea brewing in my head for almost 15 years, so to finally release our first set of new intercultural music and to perform it live at such an amazing festival as Celtic Connections is going to be a huge thrill.
“Bringing together the musicians, filmmakers, audio engineers and designers we have so far has been an incredibly special experience.
“These are connections that will last a lifetime and, as an artist, I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to grow by working with the incredible artists involved.
“I can’t wait to extend an invitation to the public to be a part of these connections. I’ve seen the power that intercultural music sharing can have on audiences and performers alike.
“I really believe that the possibilities we have to encourage meaningful understanding across cultures through Routes to Roots is limitless.”
