Changüi Majadero

Welcome to Domingos en Arte—a summer music and dance series presented by Melaza Music, AMP Concerts, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. After two preview shows in June, the series will run weekly from July 1 to August 19 in the NHCC's charming Fountain Courtyard. We have invited a wide range of Latin artists for family-friendly summer Sundays that will feature live music, drinks and delicious Latin cuisine. Cash bar and light snacks will be available for purchase from La Fonda del Bosque.

Tickets are $13 in advance, $18 day of show (plus applicable service charges). Admission is free for children 12 and younger; tickets are available online as well as from the NHCC Box Office, in person or by phone at (505) 724-4771.

Playing Cuban roots music out of Los Angeles, Changüí Majadero is a blazing five-piece band that has honed a deeply informed and highly personal take on changüí, a surging Afro-Cuban musical tradition that took shape in the late 19th century on the eastern side of the island around Guantanamo. It's one of the foundational styles that gave birth to son, salsa and timba, and in the hands of Changüí Majadero the music feels as fresh and intoxicating as a stiff shot of rum. Founded by guitarist/vocalist Gabriel García, an expert on Cuban tres guitar, the band brings Cuba's country blues to new ears.

The group's eponymous debut album adds urban grit to this rural music, the songs played at local parties and festivals, many of which have never been recorded before. "The beautiful thing about Changüí is the way the rhythm and melodic elements work together," reflects Gabriel Garcia, guitarist, tresero, and founder of Changüí Majadero. "There are these wonderful African elements in the music, the syncopation of the rhythms, the call and response, but a lot of decimas and quartetos are sung and improvised like in other Latin folk traditions. You can talk about almost any subject, from love to politics, just like the blues."

Changüí Majadero's performance is made possible in part by a grant from the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) and the National Endowment for the Arts.

New Mexico Culture Squared (NMC²) is a NM Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) project to build and manage partnerships between DCA institutions and cultural organizations that will enhance the impact, effectiveness, attendance, and visitor experience of exhibits and programs of DCA entities. Under the management of AMP Concerts, NMC² will create programs in collaboration with State Historic Sites, DCA Museums and various cultural organizations with the goal of increasing public programs statewide and promoting New Mexico as a destination for arts and culture.