LUIS ENRIQUE MEJÍA GODOY is a legendary Nicaraguan acoustical guitarist and former lead singer/director of Grupo Mancotal, a 10-piece band. He directs the Nicaraguan Cultural Recording Company and he has performed in Holland, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, Belize and the U.S. Born in the small town of Somoto, in the northern region of Nicaragua, Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy inherited his interest and musical talent from the circus, street musicians, and his father who played the accordion, piano, flute, guitar and marimba. His mother asked their father not to teach his seven children music, as they were to become doctors, attorneys or architects. In 1967 Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy went to Costa Rica to study medicine. There he was able to form his first group, "Los Rufos." He had hits, but he was bothered by the contradictions between commercial music and his political conscience. In 1973, he went to work as the Director of Cultural Activities at the University of Heredia, Costa Rica, where he had the opportunity to work with musicians from Chile, Venezuela and Argentina, who were exiled from their own countries. It was in this way that he founded the New Song Movement in Costa Rica. Luis Enrique was elected to fulfill responsibility for the Area of Artistc Creation of the new Ministry of Culture in Nicaragua after the revolution. He is presently the Artistic Director of ENIGRAC (Empresa Nicaraguense de Grabaciones Culturales). The music of Luis Enrique and Grupo Mancotal is a mixture of Nicaraguan music that reflects the stories of daily life, the culture and the battles of the villages. He has toured throughout Europe, Canada, the United States and Latin America. He has recorded over eight albums, one of which is titled Loving in Times of War, produced by Redwood Records. :: Performance :: Friday, December 7, 2001 & Saturday, December 8 :: Audio :: Listen to a clip

CASINDIO* is a group from Sacramento specializing in original folks music from the Chicano barrios and farmworker enclaves of the central valley. Casindio offers a unique and daring mestizaje that permeates their musical styles, their use of language, and their poetic themes. Their music includes rancheras, corridos, sones, boleros as well as the indio sounds of the Chicanos' indigenous ancestral past. The Casindio sound also incorporates jazz, the blues, rock and roll and country; utilizing all of the various influences that have been instrumental in shaping the Chicano world view. Veteran RCAF (Rebel Chicano Art Front, aka, Royal Chicano Air Force) founders, Jose Montoya and Esteban Villa write Casindio's original music and maestro Rudy "Main Gate" Carrillo works out the arrangements. Montoya plays the Vihuela, Villa plays rhythm guitar and Carrillo plays the requinto and they all do vocals. The rest of the crew include: Cesar Ramos who plays stand-up bass, Abraham Robles who plays bass and guitar, Frank Molina, on the bass and guitar; Jorge Lopez, on guitar, Daniel De Los Reyes, on guitar, and Margarita Robles who plays the maracas; they all do vocals as well :: Performance :: Friday, December 7, 2001 :: Audio :: Listen to a clip

TRÍO ALTAMIRA* (Claudia Gomez, Maria Marquez and Jackeline Rago) performed in the Bay Area for over 3 years. During those years in which they packed every venue the performed in, they played at Concert Halls like Yoshi's opening for Azymuth (Brazil); Davis Symphony Hall opening for Pablo Milanes (Cuba) and Lucecita Benitez (Puerto Rico). The members of the Trío have a diverse musical background of folk, jazz and classical training which blend beautifully to give the group its very special and memorable sound. The Trío in its very original form presents exciting music from different regions of Latin America, giving us a wide variety of rhythms, instruments and colorful vocal arrangements. Their repertoire ranges from beautiful boleros and bossa-novas to exciting sones from Cuba and merengues from Venezuela. The group takes the traditional combination of guitar, mandolin, percussion and vocals to a new level with its modern approach to the folkloric music it plays. The clarity and warmth of Claudia's voice and the multicolored creativity of Maria's voice blend beautifully to give Trío Altamira its very unique sound. "We only got a taste of Trío Altamira, but it was delicious. Friday they were joined by the Latin music renaissance man, John Santos on congas and various other percussion and singing too. Trío Altamira specializes in authentic folk music- Venezuelan work songs, Colombian chants, music from Brazil, Cuban rhumbas- as well as contemporary Brazilian sambas. Accompanying themselves with a dozen percussion instruments (rattles, bells, claves, drums), as well as guitar and mandolin, they opened the program with a lovely Venezuelan work song- three women singing and joking in the river- a Caracas merengue, an instrumental Venezuelan song tapped out on the floor with bamboo quitiplas, an exotic Edu Lobo piece from Bahia, featuring the jungle sounds of rattles, whistles and bells, and the grand Joao Bosco samba "O Mestre Sala Dos Mares." — Jesse Hamlin (San Francisco Chronicle - August 10, 1987) :: Performance :: Friday, December 7, 2001 :: Audio :: Listen to a clip :: Web site :: http://www.mariamarquez.com :: Web site :: http://www.claudiagomez.com

The work of CONJUNTO CÉSPEDES is based on the son- a Cuban musical idiom dated back to 1553. Originating in the Eastern province of Priente in Cuba, the son was born of a mix of European musical influences and the African rhythms brought to the Caribbean by newly-arrived slaves. In 1981 Bobi Céspedes co-founded her family ensemble, Conjunto Céspedes with which she has performed nationally and internationally in such state of the art venues as the BAM Festival in Barcelona, the Kentucky Center for the Arts, the Smithsonian Museum in Washinton D.C., and SOB's in New York City. She is the co-director and the lead singer of the band. In 1989 Bobi Céspedes founded the Afro-Cuban folkloric ensemble Siguaralla, which performs Afro-Cuban religious music to educate audiences about the essence of Cuban rhythmic expression, its religious root. Guillermo Céspedes, brings an extensive educational background and rich cultural heritage to his position as co-founder, musical director, and composer/arranger for Conjunto Céspedes.Born in Havana, Cuba, he was deeply influenced by the music of the rual campesinos, popular Cuban music of the 1950's, and the daily rumbas in his grandmother's house. He began formal training on the violin at age 7 along with a brief introduction on the piano. When he came to the United States at age 12, he was exposed to Afro-American music forms: blues, jazz and the sound of Motown. His studies at the NMS Music School in New Haven, Connecticut, created the bridge between Afro-Cuban traditions, jazz, classical, and contemporary musical forms. :: Performance :: Friday, December 7, 2001 :: Audio :: Listen to a clip

GRUPO RAÍZ* interprets music of the Andes with their own creative style, which preserves structures and traditional rhythms, but also contributes new arrangements and instrumentations. Raíz interprets the Nueva Trova Cubana, The New Song of Central America, South America, Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean. Raíz plays its own compositions as well, the result of the vast experiences of its members and their knowledge of the music of different regions. The group also interprets songs of Violeta Parra, Victor Jara and important figures of the New Chilean Song Movement today. They play over 20 instruments including traditional Latin American and modern European instruments. Grupo Raíz has recorded two records: "Un Solo Camino" and "Amaneceres." They have participated in several prestigious music festivals including the Festival of the Sea in San Francisco, the Western Regional Folk Festival in Marin County, CA, and the Hudson River Clearwater Revival in New York. They have performed in concerts with well-known artists such as Sara Gonzales (Cuba), Carlos Mejía Godoy (Nicaragua), Osvaldo Torres (Chile), the Wallflower Dance Collective (USA), Gary Lapow (USA) and Pete Seeger (USA). The members include: Rafael Manriquez, Quique Cruz, Fernando Feña Torres, Ellen Moore, Hector Salgado and Lichi Fuentes. :: Performance :: Friday, December 7, 2001 :: Audio :: Listen to a clip

It is difficult not to like LOS PELUDOS*. Their approach to life, their very likeable personalities and above all, their music that draws an audience to them immediately on first hearing. Even their name delights most people. In Spanish the word pelo means "hair," thus a peludo is a hairy individual. However, Enrique is quick to point out that "the hairy thing has nothing to do with it." He adds: "The name peludos comes from barbudos, the people of the mountains of Cuba. Barbudos were so identified because they were rebels. Our group, Los Peludos was baptized with that name about 1978. Enrique Ramirez is the group's composer, principal singer, and plays rhythm guitar. Antonio Ramirez handles the lead lines and is featured on six and twelve string guitar, requinto jarocho, mandolin, and has added the cuatro puertorriqueÒo to his instrumental repertoire. Miguel Govea backs up Enrique's singing with the marmony parts and provides the bass lines on guitarrÛn. JamÛn Balberan takes care of the percussion duties on bongoes, timbales and congas. — Philip Sonnichsen :: Performance :: Friday, December 7, 2001 :: Audio :: Listen to a clip

Multi-percussionist JOHN SANTOS, is a major exponent of Afro-Latin music through innovative use of traditional forms and instruments with contemporary music, and record/event production. He's worked with acknowledged masters such as Cachao, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Max Roach, Armando Peraza, Eddie Palmieri, Patato Valdés, Francisco Aguabella, Orestes Vilató, Batacumbele and Carlos Santana. Widely respected as a writer, teacher and historian, John is a member of the Latin Jazz Advisory Committee of the Smithsonian Institution, has contributed to several international magazines, and has conducted countless workshops, lectures and clinics in the US and Europe. He is also founder and director (1986) of the internationally renowned Machete Ensemble. :: Performance :: Saturday, December 8, 2001 :: Audio :: Listen to a clip :: Web site :: http://www.johnsantos.com

Culture Clash (RICHARD MONTOYA*, RIC SALINAS*, Herbert Siguenza*). the three artists who formed Culture Clash in 1984 fill a unique role in American arts. Their nominal mission is to show cultures in opposition, and by opposing them bring them closer together. But their talents were too expansive to be restricted to "political theatre" as such. As a result, they have managed to gerrymander theatre's traditional map, erasing the borders between any and all districts they choose to explore. Their stage work has always been hard-hitting, commercial yet political, professional yet risky, a fusion that's theatrical, comedic and filmic. They have a style of their own with a foundation that hearkens back to the best of vaudevillians of this country and of Latin America. Comedy and satire is what they feed on, in the tradition of Lenny Bruce, the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin and Continflas. They have performed at South Coast Repertory, the Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles Theatre Center, La Jolla Playhouse, the Japan American Theatre, as well as Off-Broadway Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. They have played every major university and colleges throughout the country. :: Web site :: http://www.cultureclash.com :: Performance :: Masters of Ceremonies

* After many years, these groups are reuniting to celebrate 20 years of the Encuentro!