Latin American cultural festival starts in Doha

Cuban musician Francisco Pancho Amat will be cutting the ribbon in Doha tonight marking the start of 10 days events of the first Latin American Cultural Festival (LACF). Francisco Pancho Amat is a Cuban musician, acknowledged master of the Cuban tres, a plucked instrument. Born in Havana province in 1950, Amat studied music formally, and founded the group manguare in 1971. He went on to study arrengment with Orquesta Arangon leader Rafael Lay, and elevated tres-playing to a new level by applying theory and technique gleaned from jazz and travel forms. The Festival which will be hosted in Katara, the Cultural Village of Doha, organized in association with embassies of nine Latin American countries in Qatar capital, Katara President Abdulrahman al-Khulaifi said. Observing that the Middle East and Latin America share a deep cultural wealth that is inherent to each region, al-Khulaifi said Katara is dedicated to creating platforms that share this wealth and bridges cultural gaps. Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela are the participating countries. The festival will bring together over 230 artistes and performers from nine countries with embassies playing a vital role in nominating performers, artistes and films to represent their country’s art and culture. There will be a total of 15 performances and eight film screenings over the course of the ten-day festival all of which will highlight the Latin America''s history and art through an array of traditional, folkloric and modern art expressions. Juan de Dios Ventura Soriano, known as " JOHNNY VENTURA", of Dominican Republic will entertain Doha audience at 9 pm tonight. Johnny today a top player in the Latin American music scene, as well as in Tropical music history, being one of the few Latin American artists of the world that has managed to record 103 albums.