Tolonec: Tradition-infused Electronica August 22, 2008

INDIAN SUMMER SHOWCASE 2008
Free and open to the public
Join us for Indian Summer Showcase 2008— a summer evening concert series outside the museum’s main entrance on the Welcome Plaza. The series presents Native music from throughout the Americas. The Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe will offer light refreshments and beverages. Rain location: Potomac Atrium

Tonolec combines electronic and ethnic music from their native Chaco, Argentina. After significant success in Argentina and Spain, including winning an MTV competition, these young artists dedicated the last three years to researching Toba culture and to exchanging musical experiences with indigenous communities in Northeastern Argentina. Their purpose was to enrich their music by focusing on their own social and cultural roots. Tonolec blends electronica with the Toba music and rhyme that they learned from the elders of the communities they visited. Their work with indigenous communities gave birth to their name (“tonolec” is the name of a local bird) and to the sound of their music: a powerful feminine voice in dialogue with nature and electronics. Their repertoire includes original compositions and arrangements of traditional songs. http://www.myspace.com/tonolec. This concert is supported in part by a grant from the Smithsonian’s Latino Initiatives fund.

Official Website: http://AmericanIndian.si.edu