Albuquerque, NM (August 24, 2011) – What do you get when you bring together the grand dame of Roma (Gypsy) music from Macedonia, a Cree songwriting legend, shredding fiddles from Finland and Norway, hot Salsa Dura from NYC, celebratory dance and music from the South Pacific, sultry nuevo-samba from Brazil, electro-grooves from Burkina Faso and an array of other sounds, textures and rhythms from Comoros, Diné, France, Louisiana, Pakistan, Spain, Syria, Venezuela and New Mexico? There is only one answer: ¡Globalquerque! New Mexico’s Annual Celebration of World Music & Culture! Marking seven years of
successfully mixing the most eclectic lineups from the traditional to the cuttingedge, the legendary to the-up-and-coming, ¡Globalquerque! returns with a bang September 16 & 17, 2011.
 
The Southwest’s biggest world music party - whose attendance grew by nearly 40% last year - will again be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the beautiful National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) along the banks of the Rio Grande River.
 
Recently added to and rounding out this year’s already eclectic line-up is “Syrian nightingale” Gaida, young Zydeco-Cajun-Creole phenom Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole (Louisiana, USA) and revolutionary salsa dura ambassadors La Excelencia (New York, USA). They join already confirmed performers Baraka Moon (Pakistan/ UK/USA), Burkina Electric (Burkina Faso), DePedro (Spain), Felix y Los Gatos (New Mexico, USA), Frigg (Finland/Norway), Los Amigos Invisibles (Venezuela), Luísa Maita (Brazil), Frank McCulloch y sus Amigos (New Mexico, USA), Nawal (Comoros), Esma Redzepova (Macedonia), Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree), Sergent Garcia (France), Te Vaka (New Zealand/South Pacific), Andrew Thomas (Diné)
 
Information on tickets, hotel and vacation packages, can be found at www.globalquerque.com/tickets.html. Ticket information is also available at the NHCC box office: (505) 724-4771. Advance tickets range from $15 to $50 for a weekend pass, and hotel packages are available.
 
Called a “Top Ten End of Summer Destination Event" by The Los Angeles Times, ¡Globalquerque! is one of America’s fastest-growing, most creatively programmed world music festivals, drawing fans from around the region, across the country, and beyond. The festival’s attractive hotel and vacation packages make
¡Globalquerque! an affordable cultural excursion.
 
¡Globalquerque! New Mexico’s 7th Annual Celebration of World Music & Culture www.globalquerque.com
 
Each year musical themes and threads arise, and this year “cultural melting pots” are one of the spotlights. Latin Grammy® winners Los Amigos Invisibles create an enticing fusion of Latin rhythms with fiery funk and lounge music, while Burkina Electric has been hailed as an "irresistible brew of West African music and electronica” by the New York Time. Meanwhile DePedro mines his Spanish and Mediterranean roots through decidedly pop lenses. Then there is Brazil’s sultry Luísa Maita - described as “the new voice of Brazil” (NPR) - , who infuses her samba swing-bossa nova with tasty contemporary stylings. Sergent Garcia, on the other hand, has created a music style all his own: “salsamuffin”, a searing blend of Jamaican reggae and dancehall with Latin grooves.
 
Of course fusion is not the only offerings at the festival. Macedonia’s legendary Roma (gypsy) queen Esma Redzepova will be on hand to show what earned her a spot on NPR’s "50 Great Voices” list and feature music from her five-decade career while the celebrated Grammy® - and Juno-winning performer and songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie rolls in with her incenderary Native band on Saturday night. Northern Europe is represented by Frigg, a powerfully arresting group riding the crest of a new wave of Finnish fiddle music.
 
A southwest focus is always a ¡Globalquerque! highlight. This year brings mesmerizing indigenous Diné flute performance from Andrew Thomas, party music New Mexico-style with Felix y Los Gatos and the unique traditions of northern New Mexico with state treasure Frank McColloch y sus Amigos.
 
Links also abound at the festival reflecting our small planet’s inter-relationships. Indigenous rhythms from the other side of the globe presented by the electrifying pan-South Pacific music and dance troupe Te Vaka meet the mystical and harmonious Indo-Arabo-Persian, Bantu, Sufi vibe of Comoros star Nawal and the soulful and evocative Syrian vocalist Gaida. Throw in Cedric Watson and Bijo Creole’s super-charged, energetic Louisiana gumbo and the exotic original sounds of Baraka Moon featuring aboriginal didjeridu master Stephen Kent, Pakistani vocalist Sukhawat Ali Khan and percussionist extraordinaire Geoffrey Gordon, and you can see why ¡Globalquerque! has been described as an "extravaganza of world
travel that won't cause jet lag!" (Southwest Spirit)
 
With the popular free daytime Global Fiesta on Saturday, featuring, among other activities, family-focused workshops with nighttime main stage artists, talks and discussions, international dance lessons, ¡GlobalCOOKIE! decorating, a musical instrument “petting zoo” (please touch!), instrument building for kids of all ages, hands-on cultural craft making, an International Game Zone and the Global Village
of Craft Culture & Cuisine (open throughout the festival) replete with booths featuring artisan crafts, gourmet international cuisine, and more, ¡Globalquerque! is a colorful and dynamic world of it’s own guaranteed to draw you in and keep you engaged and entertained.
 
Visit www.globalquerque.com for complete day and night festival schedules, the virtual Global Village, vacation packages with Holiday Inn and Suites, and further information.