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Washington, DC (CapitalWirePR) October 28, 2008-- Called the “diva of the new song movement” by the New York Times, singer Tania Libertad will perform her signature Afro-Peruvian rhythms at The Lincoln Theatre on Saturday, November 1 at 8pm. Libertad is one of the most significant Latin American artists today.
More than 2,000 000 copies of her 36 albums have been sold worldwide. Said the Los Angeles Times, “Libertad’s voice is a phenomenom, so pure, piercing and sustained at moments that it sounds otherworldly…with a range that runs from a high, ethereal warble to a throaty growl.”
The emotional impact of her singing is perhaps best described by the Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author José Saramago who said, “The first time I heard Tania Libertad sing, it was a revelation from on high—from a place where only a naked voice might go, alone in the world, unaccompanied by any instrument. Tania was singing the Rafael Alberti composition ‘La Paloma’ a cappella, and each note touched a string in my soul until I was completely dazzled.”
Libertad was born the daughter of a Portuguese father and an indigenous mother in Zana, a small town on the north coast of Peru. Zana was populated primarily by the descendants of African slaves whose culture, she says, got into her bones.
Libertad began her artistic career at age five and soon had her own 2 television program, “Tania Presents.” By age eight, she had a large repertoire of boleros (Cuban love songs in 4/4 time) and as a teenager had several national hits on the RCA label.
After traveling and singing in Cuba and elsewhere, Libertad left Peru and moved to Mexico where she began to sing in schools, jails and hospitals before winning a contract with Polygram to sing bolero, salsa and other music. She released her first Mexican album in 1985. She has performed throughout Europe and in North Africa, the United States and Central America. Now a citizen of Mexico, Libertad’s music represents a blending of a wide variety of musical styles as she sings both spirited dance songs and emotionally-wrenching love songs.
Afro-Peruvian music initially developed behind closed doors in Afro-Peruvian communities. Scorned at first by Peruvian high society, it has become a part of Peruvian culture over the past 75 years. “Afro-Peruvian music is more sensual than the Africanderived music of other countries,” says Libertad.
Tania Libertad has formed duets with such artists as Pablo Milanés, Miguel Bosé,
Joan Manuel Serrat, Armando Manzanero, Iván Lins, Azúcar Moreno, Vicente Fernández, Millie Colon and Djavan. She has also shared the stage with Amalia Rodrigues, Mercedes Sosa, Rubén Blades, Madredeus, Luis Eduardo Aute, Gal Costa, Soledad Bravo, Ricardo Cocciante, Susana Rinaidi, Fito Paez, Lucha Villa and Zucchero.
Libertad has worked for peace and in support a number of philanthropic causes, including an intitiative headed by Colombian superstar Shakira and Spanish-Italian singer Miguel Bosé to aid Latin America's poor. In 1997 UNESCO named her an honorary Ambassador for Peace. She has also been decorated by the governments of Peru and Brazil.
Who: Tania Libertad
Where: The Lincoln Theatre
When: Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 8pm
Tickets: $27-$77, available at www.wpas.org, or by calling (202) 785-9727
Funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by National Endowment for the Arts.
WPFW-Media Sponsor
WPAS is committed to making every event accessible for persons with disabilities. Please call the WPAS Ticket Services Office at (202) 785-WPAS for more information on accessibility to the various theaters in which our performances are held. Services offered vary from venue to venue and may require advance notice.
Washington Performing Arts Society has created profound opportunities for connecting the community to artists, in both education and performance. Through live events in venues that criss-cross the landscape of the D.C. metropolitan area, the careers of emerging artists are guided, and established artists who have bonded with the local audience are invited to return. In this way, the space between artists and audiences is eliminated, so that all may share life-long opportunities to deepen their cultural knowledge, enrich their lives, and expand their understanding and compassion of the world through the universal language of the arts.
American Airlines® is the official airline of Washington Performing Arts Society’s 2008/2009 season
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