This concert was first streamed online on 2nd June 2021, with Tlen Huicani joining us all the way from Veracruz in Mexico.
Hailing from Jalapa in Veracruz, Mexico, Tlen Huicani are one of the most renowned interpreters of the traditional folk music of the state of Veracruz in Mexico. Founded in 1973, Tlen Huicani - meaning ‘the singers’ in the language of Nahautl - preserve and promote the musical heritage of Mexico and the Veracruz people while also forging new musics, assimilating the styles and incorporating the techniques of local artists they meet throughout their journeys and tours of Central and South America. Indeed, it has been said that a performance or recording of Tlen Huicani is like ‘taking a musical journey through Mexico and South America’ (Kennedy Center, 2021).
Tlen Huicani are led by one of the most respected musicians in Mexico, Alberto de la Rosa, who is considered among the most outstanding folk harpists in the world. Through the last 30 years, Tlen Huicani have showcased the ‘harpa jarocha’, or folk harp, making it the centrepiece of their music. They have performed in the most renowned venues throughout Mexico, as well as the major international folklore festivals around the world, including Germany, the United States, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, England, Italy, Spain, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Cuba, Venezuela, Japan and Austria.
The band work closely with theatre and dance companies of the Universidad Veracruzana, and provide music for the Folkloric Ballet of the Veracruzana Universitiy, with whom they have travelled throughout America, Europe and Asia. In 2010, Tlen Huicana performed together with the Folkloric Ballet of the Veracruzana University at the closing of the Central American and Caribbean Games based in Puerto Rico.
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The World’s Music at Oxford is a project run and supported by St John's College at the University of Oxford, which blends research into global musics with live performance. Our concerts are open to all students of the University and members of the general public.
The project, created in 2016, is run by postgraduate students researching a wide range of global musics. It aims to provide a platform for voices and musical styles rarely heard in Oxford and to build new links between the University and the general public. Our events showcase renowned performers from the UK and abroad. During the performances, the musicians also explain the characteristics and contexts of the works they perform.
Since 2020, we've been streaming all of our events online so that you continue to enjoy some of the world's most dynamic artists while staying safe at home.
The World’s Music at Oxford is generously supported by St John’s College. We are also grateful to the AHRC-TORCH Graduate Fund, the St John’s College MCR, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Oxford University Music Faculty for previous support.