Fiesta de la Música: an emblematic international event
The Fiesta de la Musica (Fête de la Musique), born in France in 1982, is celebrated on June 21, coinciding with the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, when we experience the longest day and the shortest night of the year.
More than a thousand cities around the world organize celebrations with performances by amateur or professional artists who perform free of charge so that the concerts are accessible to all in streets, squares, parks, and theaters, although most performances take place outdoors.
The initiative has become a national event in countries such as Luxembourg, Italy, Greece, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia; or by being hosted by major metropolises such as New York, Berlin or Mexico City, adapted to the cultural specificities of each nation.
Paris is transformed into an immense stage where the crowds fill the capital’s main squares, its parks and emblematic sites such as the Jardin des Tuileries, the Petit Palais, the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Louvre, the Jardin du Luxembourg, Place Denfert Rochereau and along the banks of the Seine.
This meeting of sounds and genres celebrates musical life in all its manifestations and reflects its constant dynamism. It has its own motto: Make Music, Fête de la Musique – based on a French play on words: Faite de la musique, fête de la musique-.
Its founding principles state that it is a festive, popular and spontaneous event, aimed at all audiences, whose purpose is to make amateur practices visible and to promote them.
It is a unique day for all types of music, a source of exchange and discovery that helps to familiarize participants with all musical expressions.
A curious fact is that the guitar is the most used instrument during this day, closely followed by the piano, which is the most taught instrument in French conservatories.
The Paris and Havana Music Festival
For more than 40 years, the festival has brought live music to Paris and the Ile-de-France, and this Wednesday will feature a concert at Claude Debussy’s birthplace, courses, workshops, demonstrations and initiations to Breton dances, flash mobs and shows.
In Havana, the Victor Hugo House will host the activities on Friday 23 with the presentation of children and youth groups, according to the cultural program of the Office of the Historian of the City.
The world’s largest international live music event offers a performance platform for people who love to make music. Everyone is welcome to participate.
Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez
