From Venezuela, to GlobalFest, to the Myrna Loy: Experience the passion, color, and contagious beats of the Afro-Venezuelan soul through traditional rhythms and dances of Betsayda Machada and La Parranda El Clavo--her village's own multi-generational band.

Betsayda was born in El Clavo, Barlovento, a community of rich Afro-Venezuelan traditions. The people of Barlovento are descendants of African workers who once tilled the cocoa fields, exploited by local land owners. Nicknamed 'The Black Voice of Barlovento,' Betsayda has become the carrier of a long tradition of nearly extinguished genres of black music in Venezuela. She is celebrated as an icon of Afro-Venezuelan music.

La Parranda El Clavo is the local percussion and voice ensemble in El Clavo, population: 1500. For nearly 30 years they have been playing together at local festivities, funerals, new year celebrations and get-togethers. Betsayda and La Parranda recorded a series of albums and organized the first parranda tour that showcases Barlovento's vibrant musical traditions. They wowed audiences at the 2016 Vancouver and Calgary folk festivals, and are here on a special U.S. tour supported by the Southern Exposure program of the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for the Arts.

"The kind of group that world-music fans have always been thrilled to discover: vital, accomplished, local, unplugged, deeply rooted." - Jon Pareles, The New York Times

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