Jazz took Popayán

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With the first version of the FestiJazz Popayán, the white city was a meeting point for American, Swiss and Colombian groups that took the main stages of the Cauca capital with presentations that ranged from the traditional jazz of New Orleans to its modern influence on music, Colombian folkloric.

New Orleans was the guest city and Popayán bet on a new festival dedicated to one of the most expanding musical genres in the world: jazz.

The Festival concerts reached venues such as the Municipal Theater, the Church of San José, Campanario Mall and Caldas Park.

The guest of honor was the American Tonya Boyd-Cannon and her band, a group that came to our country for the first time to offer a rich tour of this musical genre. Boyd-Cannon participated in The Voice – United States, where she reached the final round. Also featured was the acclaimed Swiss trio MaxMantis, whose emphasis is on traditional jazz. For Colombia there were Los Taitas, winners of the Banco de la República Young Soloists contest, as well as Juan Romero Quartet, a group recognized for musical improvisation and the fusion of world music, and Fatua Jazz Trío from Pasto.

The presentations were accompanied by workshops and master classes offered by the participating artists and were carried out thanks to the support of the United States and Swiss Embassies in Colombia, New Orleans & Co, the Government of Cauca and the Popayán University Foundation.

For our second FestiJazz Popayán, we totally moved to virtual platforms due to the Coronavirus pandemic that affected the entire planet in 2020. It was an event with three concerts on December 12 and 13, by Olemano from the United States, Symphonic Jazz from Colombia (Filarmonía Popayán and Juan Romero Quartet) and Ciranda from Portugal. The event was held thanks to the support of the United States and Portuguese Embassies in Colombia, the Camoes Institute of Portugal and the Mayor’s Office of Popayán.