Leo Blanco and The Sugar Road Ensemble

Don’t miss an unforgettable musical performance that illustrates how traditions treasured by Africans enslaved on sugar plantations shaped musical styles across Latin America. Hear how African influences have endured and evolved across the centuries in today’s Latin music and culture.

Venezuelan pianist and composer Leo Blanco grew up playing violin in his country’s El Sistema orchestra program, but from an early age he was surrounded by folklore and music that blended Afro-Caribbean, European, and North American styles. His Sugar Road project confronts the history of the brutal sugar industry, while illustrating how African traditions survived through it all. Let this “warmly engaging” (The Guardian) artist share this powerful story with you.

Media sponsor

This performance is generously supported by
Dr. Joan Helpern Goldberg.