The El Sueno Existe music festival is held from 11-13 August in Machynlleth in the beautiful Dyfi valley. It is a vibrant fusion of Welsh and Latin American music, dance, poetry, film and political discussion, taking inspiration from Victor Jara, the Chilean theatre director and singer-songwriter who has become a symbol of the struggle for human rights and justice across Latin America.
This year, the festival will feature workshops and talks from on the theme Latin America rising: “The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and the international response”, a panel with ambassador Samuel Moncada, Bolivarian republic of Venezuela; John Crabtree, author; and Dafydd Iwan, international musician and campaigner. It will be chaired by journalist and author Grace Livingstone.
Headliners for the 2011 festival will be Peruvian band Kausary playing a heady mix of Andean folk and lively merengue. The beautiful and moving music of Carlos Arredondo and Galo Ceron from Chile will be heard along with the Welsh trance folk of Bob Delyn A’r Ebillion. Performance poet Alfredo Cordal will be launching his new book of poety Tongues Of Fire. The festival is a small family-friendly, volunteer-run event