01Tupac Mantilla
Colombia
Grammy-nominated percussionist, educator and producer, known for his body-rhythm language and his work bridging classical and popular percussion.
Watch on YouTube →Dialogue Series
Puentes y Diálogos
A series of interviews and artistic collaborations, born in 2020 — a living space for the exchange of music, art and knowledge, deepening what it means to be a global citizen.
Origins
When the world went quiet, the conversation stayed alive.
When the world went quiet in 2020, Patricia Vlieg and Vilma Esquivel built a space to keep the conversation alive. Puentes y Diálogos ran for five seasons that year as a weekly livestream: a 35-minute encounter pairing a 20-minute interview with a 12-minute musical collaboration, designed anew for each guest.
Through dialogue with artists from many countries, the program set out to build awareness of what we share, respect for our differences, and wider perspectives for understanding one another as citizens of the world. Music became the point of departure from which new discussions, reflections and learning could emerge.
Patricia Vlieg led as artist and host; Vilma Esquivel as producer.
Featured Conversation
Paquito D'Rivera
Fourteen-time Grammy and Latin Grammy winner, NEA Jazz Master, and one of the most celebrated clarinetists and saxophonists of his generation. A conversation on music, exile, identity, and the language that crosses every border.
Archive
Five Seasons of Conversation
From April to October 2020, twenty-eight guests from across the Americas, Europe and Japan joined the program — musicians, composers, filmmakers, photographers, writers and cultural leaders. Each conversation paired an interview with a musical collaboration.
Season 1
April–May 202001
02Cheo Hurtado
Venezuela
Virtuoso of the Venezuelan cuatro and composer, one of the central figures of his country's traditional music.
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03Gustavo "Popi" Spatocco
Argentina
Pianist, arranger, director and producer, a collaborator of major figures in Argentine and Latin American popular music.
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04Belén Pasqualini
Argentina
Actress, singer and composer, with a career bridging musical theater and singer-songwriter craft.
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05Antonio Briceño
Venezuela
Renowned photographer and visual artist whose work explores the cultures and Indigenous peoples of Latin America.
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06Aquiles Báez
Venezuela
Guitarist, composer, researcher, educator and cultural manager — one of the most influential figures in contemporary Venezuelan music.
Watch on YouTube →Season 2
June–July 2020
07Milagros Blades
Panama
Fusion percussionist and a champion of Panamanian folk percussion.
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08Oscar Stagnaro
Peru–USA
Bassist and educator, winner of six Grammy Awards and nine nominations, faculty member at Berklee College of Music.
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09Freddy Ginebra
Dominican Republic
Actor, journalist, writer and cultural manager, founder of Casa de Teatro in Santo Domingo.
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10Ariel Lavigna
Argentina
Recording, mixing and mastering engineer, winner of awards including the Latin Grammy and the Gardel.
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11Luciana Souza
Brazil–USA
Acclaimed jazz and Brazilian-music singer, educator, arranger and composer, a multiple Grammy nominee.
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12Tito Herrera
Panama
Award-winning photographer of editorial portraits, travel video and documentaries.
Watch on YouTube →Season 3
July–August 2020
13Ana Elena Tejera
Panama
Panamanian actress, filmmaker and cultural manager, with an authorial lens on memory and territory.
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14Lilian Saba
Argentina
Pianist and composer, a leading figure in Argentine popular music and the teaching of folklore.
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15Lily Cherniak
Ukraine
Writer, poet, philologist and cultural manager, a multifaceted voice between literature and art.
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16Mario García Hudson
Panama
Renowned Panamanian essayist, literary critic and music researcher.
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17Gonzalo Grau
Venezuela–Spain
Multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer and leader of various projects spanning jazz and Latin music.
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18Jaime Ingram
Panama
Pianist, diplomat and educator; first director of Panama's National Institute of Culture and founder of the International Piano Competition of Panama.
Watch on YouTube →Season 4
August–October 2020
19Javier Romero-Naranjo
Canary Islands, Spain
Renowned ethnomusicologist and music educator, a specialist in African musics and professor at the University of Alicante.
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20Paquito D'Rivera
Cuba–USA
A living legend of Latin jazz, winner of fourteen Grammy Awards, and a virtuoso of the saxophone and clarinet.
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21Anima Concordia
Japan–Venezuela
Internationally recognized duo specializing in the 18th-century Baroque violin repertoire.
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22Berta Rojas
Paraguay
Celebrated concert guitarist, three-time Latin Grammy nominee, praised as an ambassador of the classical guitar.
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23Daniel Freiberg
Argentina–USA
Award-winning composer, arranger, pianist and producer working at the intersection of jazz, classical and Latin American music.
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24Anita Loynaz
Venezuela–Panama
Professional flamenco dancer, creator of Flamenco Fit and a Nike International ambassador.
Watch on YouTube →Season 5
October 2020
25Gabriel Cruz
Venezuela–Panama
Specialist in the legacy of Carlos Cruz-Diez; founding member and director of the Cruz-Diez Art Foundation.
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26Martín Proaño
Ecuador
Musician and creator featured in conversation about art, identity and intercultural collaboration.
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27Lilo Sánchez
Panama
Panamanian musician and producer, a voice of the local creative scene in conversation about identity and craft.
Watch on YouTube →
28Rolando Domingo
Panama
Panamanian musician featured in conversation about creativity, identity and the musical craft.
Watch on YouTube →A Platform With a Voice
"When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."
Malala Yousafzai's words guided the program. Puentes y Diálogos is part of a continuous body of work — the same conviction that drives the residencies, the concerts and the research: that dialogue, sustained over time, changes people.