International August Festival Caracas - Venezuela July 22 to August 3 of 1996 Note: Festival is currently discontinued. (Feb, 2004) Sponsored by the Mavesa Cultural Project, with the support of the Latin American Music Center, it's become Latin America's main guitar event, turning the capital of Venezuela into the guitar capital of the world each year

Consejo Nacional de Cultura	Latin American Music Center	Caracas Hilton	Mavesa Cultural Project

• General Information
• Schedule of Activities
• Travelling Information
• Sponsors
• Participating Artists

  
  

  • Badi Assad
  • Bandolas de Venezuela
  • Leo Brower
  • Ricardo Cobo
  • Senio Díaz
  • Dúo Assad
  • Dúo Ferré
  • Ricardo Iznaola
  • Gonzalo Micó
  • Grupo Onkora
  • Romilio Orellana
  • Luis Quintero
  • Rodrigo Riera
  • Rubén Riera
  • Rodolfo Saglimbeni
  • Gonzalo Salazar
  • Carmen Téllez
  • Saúl Vera
  • Benjamín Verdery
  • Luis Zea

In August 1987, the Mavesa Cultural Project sponsored and organized the First Guitar Encounter, with the participation of Maestro Abel Carlevaro. Since then, each year the project has devoted the month of August to guitar events of national and international resonance. Participating artists have included Leo Brower, Alirio Díaz, Rodrigo and Rubén Riera, Luis Zea, Luis Quintero, David Russell, Carlos Luis Barbosa-Lima, Manolo Sanlúcar, Costas Cotsiolis, Barry Mason, Oscar Ohlsen, Jukka Savijoki, and María Esther Guzmán.

At the same time, the Mavesa Cultural Project has been conducting activities in the fields of discography, dissemination and promotion. It fosters guitar encounters that encourage young people to study the instrument on a permanent basis, and runs exchange programs with international performers. Activities like "The Guitar goes to High Schools," "Cycle of Classical Guitar Concerts in Cathedrals," "The Guitar, an Instrument for Integration"--that supports artistic exchange between Colombia and Venezuela--are examples some of the most recent programs. The Mavesa Cultural Project also sponsors the research on history and repertoire of the guitar in Venezuela.

This year the mavesa cultural project recruited the support of the Latin American Music Center at Indiana University, which promotes the performance of Latin American music internationally, to cooperate with the other sponsoring organizations.

The 1996 the festival will include concerts, talks, exhibitions, master classes and the final round of the 10th Alirio Díaz International Guitar Competition. The winner of the first prize will receive 5,000 U.S. dollars, and will perform at an award concert during the 1997 International August Festival.

Traditionally the Alirio Díaz International Guitar Competition has proven a springboard for young guitar virtuosos. This year Caracas will be THE home of music for the guitar, converting the capital of Venezuela into the guitar capital of the world. Three main Venezuelan guitar figures, Alirio Díaz, Rodrigo Riera, and Leopoldo Igarza, will serve as members of the jury of the contest, which gathers participants from America and Europe. The guest artists for this year's festival include: Leo Brower (Cuba), Benjamin Verdery (USA), Rubén Riera (Venezuela), Ricardo Iznaola (Cuba), Carlos Jaramillo (Colombia), Gonzalo Salazar (México), the Assad Duo (Brazil),Gonzalo Micó (Venezuela), Badi Assad (Brasil), Salvador Ojeda (México), Cheo Hurtado and the Bandolas de Venezuela, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Venezuela, David Haro (México), Luis Quintero (Venezuela), the Ferré Duo(France), the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Venezuela, Senio Díaz(Venezuela), Alessia Uteri (Italy), Saúl Vera (Venezuela), Ricardo Cobo(Colombia), Eli Kassner (Canada), Romilio Orellana (Cuba), Ignacio Barreto(Venezuela), Thomas Humphrey (USA) and Luis Zea (Venezuela).

For additional details about the 1996 International August Festival please contact

Gustavo García
Proyecto Cultural Mavesa
Av. Principal Los Cortijos de Lourdes, Ed. Mavesa
Box 2048, Caracas Venezuela

Tel: (58-2) 203 7373 or (58-2) 203 7316
Fax: (58-2) 203 7459

email 73000.3116@compuserve.com

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