¡Globalquerque! New Mexico's 3rd Annual Celebration of World Music and Culture September 21, 2007

¡Globalquerque! brings the world to New Mexico!

Third Annual Celebration of World Music and Culture brings global artists to Albuquerque, September 21 and 22, 2007

KOKO TAYLOR, MICKEY HART'S GLOBAL DRUM PROJECT HEADLINE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC AND CULTURAL BILL OF FARE

NEA FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENT ANJANI AMBEGAOKAR' S KATHAK DANCE OF INDIA , MOROCCAN GNAWAN MUSIC MASTER HASSAN HAKMOUN, CAMBODIAN PSYCHEDELIC BAND DENGUE FEVER and MAGICAL CHINESE ROD PUPPETEERS DRAGON ART STUDIO CONFIRM APPEARANCES

INTERNATIONAL FILM SERIES, GLOBAL VILLAGE, DANCE, STORYTELLING, WORKSHOPS AND MORE ALSO ON TAP

ALBUQUERQUE, NM  Albuquerque becomes the center of the world for one weekend in September when ¡Globalquerque!, New Mexico's Third Annual Celebration of World Music and Culture, returns to the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) September 21 and 22, 2007. Presenting acts from five continents on three distinct stages over two days plus dance, films, and free family activities, ¡Globalquerque! has become one of the premiere festivals in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Region.

The festival is thrilled to announce this year’s headline acts, with legendary “Queen of the Blues” singer KOKO TAYLOR on Friday and renowned borders-busting percussion ensemble GLOBAL DRUM PROJECT featuring the Grateful Dead’s MICKEY HART joined by tabla virtuoso ZAKIR HUSSAIN, legendary conga player GIOVANNI HIDALGO and master African drummer SIKIRU ADEPOJU performing on Saturday.

Just added to the lineup is ANJANI'S KATHAK DANCE OF INDIA featuring 4 dancers with accompanying musicians, HASSAN HAKMOUN, a renowned master of Morocco's Gnawa tradition, Cambodian Music Fusionists DENGUE FEVER and NEA Fellows DRAGON ART STUDIO, who will present the 1000 year old tradition of Chine Rod Puppetry and legendary traditional Northern New Mexico performers LA FAMILIA VIGIL. The four join recent additions, distinguished 83 year-old Dominican Republic guitarist and traditionalist PUERTO PLATA and his sextet, KEVIN LOCKE, indigenous Northern Plains flute player and visionary Lakota/Anishinabe hoop dancer; Argentinean chamamé musician and accordion virtuoso CHANGO SPASIUK and Mande Djele kora master LANKANDIA CISSOKO from Senegal. Other confirmed perfomers include the spine-tingling vocals of Tibetan "goddess of melody" YUNGCHEN LHAMO, Celtic-meets-Cameroon global grooves of BAKA BEYOND, the DJ beats-and-bagpipes of Italy’s FIAMMA FUMANA, and the hypnotic folk-rock of Latvia’s ILGI. Other performers are being added and will be announced as confirmed.

¡Globalquerque! 2007 is also proud to be the official New Mexico event for the 25th anniversary of the National Endowment of the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship program. Koko Taylor, Zakir Hussain, Anjani, and Kevin Locke are all recipients of this award, America’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Additional recipients from New Mexico and beyond are expected to be part of the weekend’s festivities.

Up-to-the-minute festival information and additions are available at the website www.globalquerque.com. Tickets are available now at all Ticketmaster outlets including all Smith's stores in New Mexico (www.ticketmaster.com, 505-883-7800) and in Albuquerque at the NHCC Box Office (505-724-4771). Adult 2-day passes are $50 advance / $60 day of show Adult 1-day passes are $30 advance / $35 day of show Childeren under 12 1/2 price

Founded by AMP Concerts and Avokado Artists, in collaboration with the City of Albuquerque and the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC), the inaugural ¡Globalquerque! event was an affiliated showcase of the Western Arts Alliance Conference and featured thirteen international and local performing groups (over 100 performers) on three stages in one night at the NHCC. The event created a national and international buzz and was attended by notable presenters, agents and record labels from all over the country. In 2006 ¡Globalquerque! expanded into a two-day festival with an attendance of over 4000, and added a film series, a global village of music, culture and cuisine, and satellite events in communities across New Mexico.

¡Globalquerque! 2007 will again present a wide range of performers from around the world including representative artists from New Mexico’s varied musical traditions. The festival will reprise its popular Global Village, with food, crafts, dance and music from around the world and across New Mexico, plus a foreign film series, educational workshops, free day programming on Saturday, and a weeklong, statewide celebration of international culture leading up to the festival. The event will again take place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, an unique arts complex encompassing 50 acres on the Rio Grande River (www.nhccnm.org). A staggered schedule will allow music lovers to sample the broadest range of performances in a variety of settings and ambiances, from the intimate Salón Ortega Fountain Courtyard to the state-of-the-art 691-seat Albuquerque Journal Theatre to the Plaza Mayor outdoor festival concert stage.

The festival’s charity partner this year is The Cradle Project, an Albuquerque-based non-profit organization raising awareness and financial support for the estimated 48 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. In the spring of 2008, one thousand cradles and cribs made by artisans from around the world will fill an abandoned warehouse in Albuquerque. This art installation is designed to represent the plight of these children, who have been orphaned by disease and poverty. ¡Globalquerque! will feature one of the first cradles in the Global village For more information on The Cradle Project visit www.thecradleproject.org or call 505-699-4613.

¡Globalquerque! has also for the third year been selected as one of a handful of Tier 1 Events by the Albuquerque Convention and Visitor Bureau (ACVB) and is also a featured City of Albuquerque event. Like last year's event, the weeklong celebration and festival again promises to be a destination event and major entertainment and community activity for residents of both the state and region as well as visitors from around the country. Vacation packages and rates are available through hotel and rental car sponsors.

Highlights of ¡Globalquerque! 2007 include:

A ticketed event featuring music on three stages, with thirteen to sixteen performance groups spanning two nights.

FREE Day programming Saturday Afternoon (11 PM – 4 PM) including performances by Kulintang Ensemble of Albuquerque, Los Reyes de Albuquerque and workshops with Kevin Locke, Yungchen Lhamo and Puerto Plata!

Family-focused entertainment including music, street performers, instrument making, FREE International Dance Classes (Afro-Cuban, Balkan, East Indian, Tahitian), International story telling, workshops on international music and culture, and The Global Village of Arts, Craft and Cuisine.

The Global Village featuring food, music and crafts from New Mexico's and the region's diverse ethnic communities as well as representatives and artists from Albuquerque Sister Cities (including Sasebo, Japan; Alburquerque, Spain; Lanzou, China; Guadalajara, Mexico Chihuahua, Mexico) running during both the free events and the evening ticketed events.

The Global Village stage featuring free day performances and workshops.

¡Globalquerque! at The Guild: A four-day series (September 17-20) of international film, video and culture at Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema.

Pre-festival performances with Dragon Art Studio(TBD) at New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, NM) and in Silver City, NM

2007 sponsors of ¡Globalquerque! include The City Of Albuquerque Economic Development Department, The City Of Albuquerque Cultural Services Department, The Bernalillo County Commissioners, The McCune Charitable Foundation, The Urban Enhancement Trust Fund, WorldFolkArt.org, Sennheiser USA, and Advantage Rent-a-Car. Official Media Sponsors include Telemundo New Mexico, Southwest Stages, KUNM-FM - Albuquerque, Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau and Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce.

www.globalquerque.com
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Official Website: http://www.globalquerque.com