with
Emilia Matamoros- voz 

Marco Tamayo - vientos andinos

Ruben Arizaga - Guitarra 

Experience the rich musical heritage of Ecuador with our music ensemble. Through traditional rhythms, folkloric instruments, and heartfelt melodies, we celebrate the diverse cultures of the Andes, the Coast, and the Amazon. Our repertoire includes a variety of Ecuadorian rhythms such as sanjuanito, albazo, pasillo, bomba, and more—each bringing to life the stories and spirit of our land. Join us on a musical journey that honors Ecuador’s cultural roots and living traditions.

Vive la riqueza musical del Ecuador con nuestro ensamble musical. A través de ritmos tradicionales, instrumentos folclóricos y melodías llenas de emoción, celebramos la diversidad cultural de la Sierra, la Costa y la Amazonía. Nuestro repertorio incluye una variedad de ritmos ecuatorianos como el sanjuanito, albazo, pasillo, bomba y muchos más, que dan vida a las historias y al espíritu de nuestra tierra. Acompáñanos en este recorrido musical que honra nuestras raíces y tradiciones vivas.

Diana López is a celebrated tango singer in the New York City scene; performed as a soloist for the Songs of Piazzolla production in the Sheen Center, NY, Voices of Tango, LATEA theater, Bronx Arts Ensemble and  Bésame Mucho, The Spanish Repertory Theater. In the last year, Diana has performed with the Latin American Folk Choir Capella Sur which culminated in a recent European tour as a soloist. Most recently, Diana performed as the only female soloist in the production of 100% Tango at Thalia Spanish Theater. 

Sergio R. Reyes Mendoza (Guatemala City, 1974) is a violinist, composer, arranger, and educator, residing in New York City. He has performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, MoMA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Blue Note Jazz Club, amongst others. He has shared the stage with internationally renowned artists such as Frederica von Stade (soprano), Clive Lythgoe (pianist), Danny Rivera (song-writer, activist) and Argentine musicians who worked with tango master Astor Piazzolla, such as Pablo Ziegler (piano), Héctor Del Curto (bandoneon), Raúl Jaurena (bandoneon), and Daniel Binelli (bandoneon), amongst others.

In 1998 and 2018 he was awarded 1st Prize in the Certamen Permanente Centroamericano ’15 de septiembre’ with compositions La Chamusca and A las poetas de este tiempo, respectively.  Most recently, he was awarded a NYSCA grant to compose new music for The Harlem Chamber Players performed last May.

Emilio Teubal is a pianist/ composer/arranger from Argentina based in New York. He has recorded over twenty albums, both as a sideman and as a composer/bandleader, including the 2018 Latin Grammy Winner album "Vigor Tanguero" by the Pedro Giraudo Group. “Futuro”, his latest release (his sixth album as a bandleader/composer) has been included on the list of Bandcamp’s best 2023 Jazz albums.

Emilio is the winner of the 2022 Ise-Shima Art Committee's 1st Popular Music Composition Competition in Japan. He also received 2nd place in the 2022 Tango Composition Contest at Kavala Tango Days Cosmopolis Festival in Greece. He is also a recipient of the 2007 Meet The Composer's prestigious Van Lier Fellowship.

Teubal has also been an essential member of the Tango, Latin, and Jazz scene of New York performing and recording with the Pedro Giraudo Quartet (2018 Latin Grammy winner), Marta Gomez, Adam Tully Trio, Pablo Lanouguere Quintet, Colectivo Tangente, Sergio Reyes’s Romancero Latinoamericano, Los Chantas tango group, Sam Sadigursky, Erik Friedlander and Satoshi Takeishi to name a few.

El Taller and the West Harlem Arts Alliance are pleased to present

Saturday June 7th TWO concerts with Sebastián Cruz - for KIDS and TODOS

KIDS:

Sebastián Cruz and the Tiny Giants
2pm - FREE - @ Montefiore Park W 137th + Bwy

For TODOS:

Sebastián Cruz Quartet
6pm - FREE - @ Montefiore Park W 137th + Bwy

Colombian singer-songwriter and guitarist Sebastián Cruz has been at the forefront of the new Colombian music movement since arriving in NY in 1997. As a teenager in the 90s, Cruz found himself at the epicenter of Colombia’s burgeoning local rock scene and the revival of interest in the country’s rich musical traditions. Performing at all the local rock venues, as well as the first three editions of Rock al Parque, the largest free rock festival in Latin America, Cruz started his life on stage with “El Zut” and “Los del Centro,” two bands showcasing original Colombian flavored rock. He has contributed his unique sound full of rhythmic ingenuity and melodic inventiveness, as well as his gift for visual and evocative lyrics in seminal projects covering the range from very traditional to highly experimental such as Lucia Pulido’s ensemble, La Cumbiamba eNeYé, Los Aliens, and his own Coba, and The Cheap Landscape Trio. 

Sebastián Cruz and the Tiny Giants sing in English and Spanish about the seasons, about animals, about saying hello and saying goodbye. About letting loose and dancing, or flying high to not let the "butterfly catcher" get to us. They sing songs that invite us to clean up after ourselves, or to prepare us for a night of sweet dreams. There are songs about counting and songs about celebrating who we are, and who our "tiny giants" are.

Sebastián Cruz Quartet, is the result of a lifelong search of finding an organic meeting place for his eclectic interests: Colombian traditions, electric sounds, creative improvisation, and sophisticated songwriting. After recording two albums of original songs showcasing a diverse selection of stellar singers, this marks also the beginning of a new creative and expressive era that incorporates Cruz’s own singing. Their debut three-song single “El Prisma” was released in the Spring of 2023.

RAIN DATE: SUNDAY, June 8

In 1974, before Bernardo Palombo founded El Taller Latino Americano, he created the record label Americanto to present the recordings of proponents of La Nueva Canción (the New Song movement) including Silvio Rodriguez (Cuba), Victor Jara (Chile), Grupo Wara (Bolivia), his compositions with Damián Sanchez (Argentina). Palombo’s experience as a performer and producer became the bedrock for El Taller’s 45 year history as a presenter of world music and The Songbook of the Americas.

This program brings artists from a variety of traditions together to discuss the significance of “el canto” from the perspective of regional traditions and modern world-views. Professional recordings from each artist’s home will accompany dialogue. We envision this to be a conversation from an authentic shared space formed among talented artists and thinkers.

Friday, May 23, 2025 at 7:30pm -

This is a Spanish language event

Nery Olivares (Dominican Republic) and Mario Cancel Bigay (Puerto Rico) interview each other and share from their respective songbooks.

Nery Olivares is a musican, song-writer, and cultural historian in Washington Heights, NYC. He is originally from the Dominican Republic, where he learned to play the guitar, performed, and was inspired by the Nueva Canción movement that expressed the sentiments of the youth cultures of the 1960s and 1970s, which grew from the traditions of folk, yet was a distinct genre of its own. He moved to New York in the 1990s and found a vital musical community that he still is a part of today.

Mario Cancel Bigay is a poet, singer-songwriter, cuatrista, translator, and received a doctorate in ethnomusicology from Columbia University in 2021. His areas of interest focus on nueva canción puertorriqueña, chanson québécoise, and other forms of musical resistance from the 1960s and 1970s. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in Liberal Studies at New York University, where he teaches undergraduate courses on Latin American cultures and contemporary global philosophy.

TIMNA CANTA PALOMBO
TIMNA SINGS PALOMBO

Recorded LIVE in Tucuman, Argentina

Premiere on YOUTUBE

May 13, 2025 at 6pm

Album Credits

Canto al Sol (Lyrics: Bernardo Palombo; Music: Valerie Naranjo & Barry Olsen)

Guitars & Instrumental Arrangement: Amadeus Comedi

Ana Ocarina (Tico da Costa – Spanish Version: Bernardo Palombo)

Vocals: Timna Comedi, Inbal Comedi, Amadeus Comedi & final baby voice by Gael Rios Comedi 

Las Estaciones (Lyrics: Bernardo Palombo; Music: Leo Genovese)

Guitar: Darío Acosta Teich · Percussion: Horacio Cacoliris

Esta Tierra (Woody Guthrie – Spanish Version: Bernardo Palombo)

Guitar, Voice & Instrumental Arrangement: Amadeus Comedi · Cello: Eleanor Dubinsky

Cuida el Agua (Bernardo Palombo)

Three Voices by Timna Comedi

El Cuerpo (Bernardo Palombo)

Body Percussion, Ukulele & Additional Vocals: Amadeus Comedi · Children’s Voices: Jonás & Lisandro Ríos Cáceres

Sale Sol (Bernardo Palombo)

Guitar & Three Voices: Timna Comedi

Los Instrumentos Musicales (Bernardo Palombo)

Voice, Guitar & Instrumental Arrangement: Amadeus Comedi

Qué lindo es volver (Bernardo Palombo)

Instrumental Arrangement, Guitar & Ronroco: Timna Comedi · Additional Guitar: Amadeus Comedi

New York Lullaby (Bernardo Palombo)

Guitar: Quique Sinesi

---

All vocal arrangements by Timna Comedi

Children’s choir on Esta Tierra and El Cuerpo extracted from a live performance of “Canto al Sol” at El Cortecito (Tucumán, Argentina), December 2023. Participants were members of the Casa Semilla Children’s Choir, joining the live rendition of Palombo’s songs.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Alejandro Rodríguez at Estudio Rojo, Tafí Viejo, Tucumán, Argentina (2025).

Special Guests

Quique Sinesi – Guitar on New York Lullaby (Guitar recorded 10 years ago at El Taller Latino Americano, NYC)

Inbal Comedi - Voice on Ana Ocarina 

Darío Acosta Teich – Guitar on Las Estaciones

Eleanor Dubinsky – Cello on Esta Tierra

Horacio Cacoliris - Percussion on Las Estaciones

ABOUT:
On May 13, 2025 at 6pm (EDT), CANTO AL SOL will premiere on Youtube. This concert is based on TIMNA CANTA PALOMBO an album conceived as a tribute to Argentine composer, poet, and educator Bernardo Palombo, it is a collection of his songs written for children—many of them unpublished or little known—and reimagines them through rich vocal and instrumental arrangements deeply rooted in Latin American folk traditions.

The music reflects the spirit of El Taller Latino Americano, the cultural space Bernardo founded over 45 years ago in New York City—a haven where creativity was resistance, and song a vehicle of transformation. Bernardo often said, “hatred is lack of creativity.”

Sonically, the album is a diverse and moving journey. It features a cappella vocal pieces, entire songs built on body percussion (El cuerpo), traditional forms like the Argentine gato and the Puerto Rican Le Lo Lai, and a constant thread of vocal harmonies that act as a central sonic character. The mix was carefully crafted to evoke the warmth of analog textures—like vinyl or cassette—in keeping with the songs’ origins, all written over 40 or 50 years ago.

Instrumentation includes guitars, ronroco, ukulele, and cello, with finely tuned instrumental arrangements by Amadeus Comedi. One of the most intimate tracks, New York Lullaby, is built on a guitar line recorded by Quique Sinesi more than 10 years ago, now the foundation for a choral landscape that paints a portrait of old New York—mysterious, melancholic, and deeply human—mentioning even the Hudson River.

The track Qué lindo es volver opens with the sound of an old radio, transporting listeners to a quiet town in Mendoza—Bernardo’s home province. He lived there until the age of 19, before settling in New York. The song captures the tenderness of an imagined return and the quiet sorrow of exile. That song, along with “El Cuerpo,” was featured on the famous show “Sesame Street” in the early 1970s, when Spanish began to be culturally integrated into the program in recognition of the large Spanish-speaking audience.

The sun is a recurring symbol throughout the album—a vital presence to be thanked each day for life itself. That’s why the 2023 live concert was titled Canto al sol. Bernardo was able to see it just two months before his passing. The album cover is a painting created live by children during the concert, which will be released on the same day. In the video, you can see the making of the cover, later completed with an intervention by visual artist Gabriela Papa.

TIMNA CANTA PALOMBO is an album that embraces the full spectrum of life. It is sung by a two-year-old child and brings tears to a ninety-year-old. Though framed as children’s music, it speaks to the inner child we all carry. The musical quality was meticulously shaped to honor both fresh ears and the most discerning ones.

Special Thanks:
Canto al Sol and Timna Canta Palombo are Americanto Productions with El Taller Latino Americano, NYC

This program has been made possible with support in part by funds from the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Jacob and Ruth Epstein Foundation and by individuals in our community.
Thank you for your support of these projects

Cancionerio de las Américas - The Songbook of the Americas
Dates for presentations throughout 2025 coming soon!

Tickets and Donation:

In 1974, before Bernardo Palombo founded El Taller Latino Americano, he created the record label Americanto to present the recordings of proponents of La Nueva Canción (the New Song movement) including Silvio Rodriguez (Cuba), Victor Jara (Chile), Grupo Wara (Bolivia), his compositions with Damián Sanchez (Argentina). Palombo’s experience as a performer and producer became the bedrock for El Taller’s 45 year history as a presenter of world music and The Songbook of the Americas.

This program brings artists from a variety of traditions together to discuss the significance of “el canto” from the perspective of regional traditions and modern world-views. Professional recordings from each artist’s home will accompany dialogue. We envision this to be a conversation from an authentic shared space formed among talented artists and thinkers.

Upcoming Americanto Encuentros:

March 20, 2025
7:30 pm (EST) on Zoom (link will be posted closer to the date)

Anahi Mariluan + Rafael Figeroa

Songs in the language of the Mapuche People

with Anahí Mariluán

Learn more about Anahi

Son Jarocho

with Rafael Figeroa

Learn more about Rafael

Join El Taller for a virtual encuentro of music and conversation.

Anahí and Rafael are both deeply committed to preserving and sharing cultural expressions and values. In this encuentro, these two musicians from different corners of the world will come together in conversation, exchanging stories and music. As they learn from each other, participants will be invited to join in the journey, discovering new connections along the way.

Americanto: The Song book of the Americas has been selected to be a part of the Carnegie Hall Festival Nuestros Sonidos. This program is supported in part by funds from the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Jacob and Ruth Epstein Foundation and by individuals in our community.

Cappella Sur Open Mic for the Community

This evening’s program, called "La Tertulia", presents an experience of Latin America singing traditions. A special performance by Cappella Sur, a vocal group formed by singers from all the Hispanic diaspora, including Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and the United States, will feature traditional Latin American songs and shares their unique history.

The evening’s Tertulia will also feature an open mic and will encourage community participation.

A short reception will follow.

Cappella Sur, TERTULIA December 7, 2024

Conductor: 
Guillermo Vaisman 

Sopranos: 
Alexandra Castano
Mariela Alonso
Jilliane Say 

Altos:
Courtney Smith 
Diana López
Florencia De Castro
Ianina Wentinck

Tenors: 
Joaquin Iaconis
Ramon Holguín
Ruben González

Bass: 
Bernard De Leon
Michael Landy
Phil Holmgren
Steve Hanna 

Song list

Cuando nada te debía Bailecito de Andrés A. Chazarreta (1876-1960) arr. Liliana Cangiano • Argentina

El Bodeguero by Richard Egues arr. Conrado Monier • Cuba

Viejas Promesas Chaya Riojana by Peteco Carabajal Arr. Ariel Pawliska • Argentina

Amarraditos Vals by Margarita Durán & Pedro Belisario Pérez arr. Eduardo Correa • Perú

Vasija de barro (Clay Vessel) Gonzalo Benitez Gomez (1936-1989) arr. Javier Zentner • Ecuador

Guadalquivir Tonada Tarijeña by Alberto Rojas. Arr. Claudio Sanseverino • Bolivia

Drume Negrita Música: Grenet, arr. E.Nuñez • Cuba

Cantares Antonio Machado, (1875-1939). Músic: Joan Manuel Serrat b.1943 Arr. Liliana Cangiano • España

Ayer te ví by Rubén Rada arr. Wladimir Schneidermann rev. Mario Occhiuzzi • Uruguay

Zamba de mi esperanza by Luis Morales (1906-1975), Mendoza. Arr. Eduardo Ferraudi • Argentina

Crece desde el pie Candombe by Alfredo Zitarrosa (1936-1989) Arr. Liliana Cangiano (1954-1997) • Uruguay

Ven Bolero de Manuel Sánchez Acosta ("el doctor" 1914-2006). Arr. Gonzalo Peña • República Dominicana

Songoro Cosongo Son, Letra: Nicolás Guillén Música: Eliseo Grenet (1893-1950) Arr. Octavio Marín • Cuba

Alma llanera Music: Pedro Elías Gutiérrez, Text: Rafael Bolívar Coronado. Arr. Liliana Cangiano • Venezuela

Lyrics for Sing-along

Alma Llanera (Venezuela)

Yo nací en esta ribera del Arauca vibrador
Soy hermano de la espuma
De las garzas, de las rosas
Soy hermano de la espuma
De las garzas, de las rosas
Y del sol, y del sol

Amo, lloro, canto, sueño
Con claveles de pasión
Con claveles de pasión
Para ornar las rubias crines
Del potro de mi amador

Yo nací en esa ribera del Arauca vibrador
Soy hermano de la espuma
De las garzas, de las rosas
Y del sol

Me arrulló la viva Diana de la brisa en el palmar
Y por eso tengo el alma como el alma primorosa
Y por eso tengo el alma como el alma primorosa
Del cristal, del cristal

Amo, lloro, canto, sueño
Con claveles de pasión
Con claveles de pasión
Para ornar las rubias crines
Del potro de mi amador

Yo nací en esa ribera de la danza vibrador
Soy hermano de la espuma
De las garzas, de las rosas
Y del sol

GRACIAS A LA VIDA

Violeta Parra (1917-1967 Chile)

Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto
Me dió dos luceros, que cuando los abro
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo, su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes, el hombre que yo amo.

Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el oído, que en todo su ancho
Graba noche y días, grillos y canarios
Martillos, turbinas, ladridos, chubascos
Y la voz tan tierna de mi bien amado.

Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario
Con él, las palabras que pienso y declaro
Madre, amigo, hermano, y luz alumbrando
La ruta del alma del que estoy amando.

Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados
Con ellos, anduve ciudades y charcos
Playas y desiertos, montañas y llanos
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio.

Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto
Me dio el corazón, que agita su marco
Cuando miro el fruto del cerebro humano
Cuando miro el bueno tan lejos del malo
Cuando miro el fondo de tus ojos claros.

Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto
Así yo distingo dicha de quebranto
Los dos materiales que forman mi canto
Y el canto de ustedes que es el mismo canto.
Y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto

PROMOTING ACTIVISM THROUGH ART

August 31, 2024 2pm-6pm
Thompson Square Park (7th Street bet Aves A/B)

El Taller is pleased to offer support to The New Village Music Festival that was created as a vehicle to unite people of all ages and ethnicity.
The New Village Music Festival is a free outdoor community concert that celebrates music, culture and community. Produced by DaSo Entertainment