Berta Rojas will finally be able to relive the memories she treasures of Encarnación and her people. The reunion will take place after five years, tomorrow, August 5, at 8:00 p.m., when he takes the stage of the Central Auditorium of the Autonomous University of Encarnación (UNAE) to present Legado, his new album, during a concert presented by Itaú, sponsored by Toyota.
Neither the distance nor the years have changed the affection that Berta Rojas has for the Pearl of the South. That is why she anxiously awaits her reunion with that public, who saw her for the last time in 2017, to present Legado, an album with which she pays tribute to two virtuosos in the history of classical guitar in the world: the Argentine María Luisa Anido and the French Ida Presti, recognized among the most influential interpreters of their time.
The appointment is scheduled for Friday, August 5, at 8:00 p.m., in the Central Auditorium of the Autonomous University of Encarnación (UNAE), located on Padre Kreusser streets between Honorio González and Independencia. There are few tickets left for this meeting and they are on sale at Ticketea. General cost: G. 70,000.
Berta’s last visit to Encarnación was to give a talk at the UNAE. “In addition, I remember having played at the opening of the Costanera de Encarnación in a memorable evening, as well as at the celebration of the city’s 399 years on San José beach. A crowd gathered, I remember that night with emotion”, recalled the three-time Latin Grammy nominee.
“I hope to find a city even more beautiful than the one I visited for the last time in 2017 and an audience that is always warm,” she added excitedly.
In this new album (which is now available on Apple Music, Spotify and Deezer, among other digital platforms), Berta includes six original compositions by the artists she honors and three works inspired by them. Among the latter, she has selected for the Anido’s Portrait concert, the composition by the Brazilian Sergio Assad written in honor of the Argentine María Luisa Anido and dedicated to Berta Rojas, who will have her first audition in Encarnación.
Idylle Pour Ida, by the late British composer and guitarist John W. Duarte, will play in tribute to Ida Presti, as well as two of her own compositions: Segovia and Danse Rythmique.
The show would not be complete without Sonatina, by the Spaniard Federico Moreno Torroba, and the works of Agustín Pío Barrios Mangoré, such as Three Paraguayan Dances: Caazapá, Jha che Valle and Paraguayan Dance, and La Catedral, so present in the musical journeys of Berta Rojas in various settings around the world.
“I will be very happy to feel you close and to share in the UNAE theater, which is a beautiful and intimate room, which will allow us to vibrate in the same frequency”, Berta invited with her characteristic warmth.
Forerunners of the guitar
Through her album, Legado, Berta renews her interest in the trajectory of artists who paved the way for the art of classical guitar to be traversed by men and women alike.
Rescuing the original compositions of María Luisa Anido and Ida Presti, who were guitar virtuosos, the national artist contributes to revaluing the legacy of these pioneers. “They achieved great recognition in life, but little was said about their legacy once they passed away. They deserve to be part of the conversation when classical guitar greats like Andrés Segovia and Julian Bream are mentioned. They were precursors in a period in which the guitar was a field dominated by men”, highlights the soloist.
gold guitar
Berta Rojas is one of the main representatives of Paraguayan culture (she was distinguished as Illustrious Ambassador of Musical Art) in the world. Throughout her career, she has been highlighted for her technique and artistic talent, recognitions that led her to gain notoriety among the most influential women in the Hispanic world (by EFE in 2014 and EsGlobal in 2017) and to be named Fellow of the Americas by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The scientific committee of the 28th Guitar Congress of the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan has just awarded her “The Golden Guitar: a life dedicated to the guitar”, an award that she will receive in October 2022.
His discography is made up of fifteen albums, eleven of them distributed internationally. He received three Latin Grammy nominations: the first in 2012, in the “Best Instrumental Album” category, for Día y medio (with Paquito D’Rivera); the second in 2014, in the “Best Classical Album” category, for Salsa Roja; and the third in 2015, in the “Best Tango Album” category, for Historia del tango (with the Camerata Bariloche).
She currently resides in Boston, United States, where she is an associate professor at the prestigious Berklee College of Music (she is the only guitarist of Latin origin in the guitar department of that institution).
