I am Stella Ariza, General Director of the La Cuerda Cultural Foundation, music teacher, dreamer, and entrepreneur in the city of Bucaramanga.

WHO WE ARE

THE LA CUERDA CULTURAL FOUNDATION is an organization that carries out musical training programs for children and young people, seeking to promote the development of musical artistic skills in the Bumanguesa community. We also create spaces for the formation of children’s and youth choirs with local and national projection, participating in different festivals and cultural events such as:

– The Festival organized by the corporation Corpacoros in Buga Valle – years 2014 – 2018 – 2019, receiving the Carlos Armando Perez Olguín medal as recognition to the La Cuerda Foundation, for the trajectory of the choral festival in eastern Colombia.

– Participation in the «El Canto nos Une» Festival – by the Cajita de Música foundation, in the city of Medellín during the years 2016 and 2018.

– Golden Ant Festival. Bucaramanga years 2016 to 2019.

– Ruitoqueño Festival of Colombian Music – Floridablanca years 2014-2016.

Since 2016, we have been organizing the Children’s and Youth Choir Festival that brings together choirs from our region and, for the past 3 years, choirs from across the country.

During this time, we have seen the importance of supporting and encouraging children, young people, and choral directors so that their talent and dedication grow increasingly in their passion for music and singing, thus overcoming moments of difficulty and challenges that may arise along the way.

It has been 8 years of pleasant moments, in which more than 2,000 children and young people, 110 choral directors, 3 national guests, and 2 international guests for training spaces for trainers have participated, and more than 12 stages have been visited.

In 2024, the ninth La Cuerda choral festival will be named «Songs of the Earth», inspired by the opportunity to reunite around choral singing, in the voices of children and young people from our country, Colombia, and will open the doors of the stages of our beautiful city, Bucaramanga.

WHO PARTICIPATES

Through a nationwide open call, each group registers and participates in a video audition to ensure their participation. We are already in full preparation to share our music with the world and welcome the 19 choirs and more than 400 children and young people participating on this occasion.

[Followed by the list of participating choirs and directors]

ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE FESTIVAL

Since the second edition of the festival, we have created a space called the «Academic Section», where we hold a seminar aimed at choral directors, musicians, and educators. On this occasion, we are honored to have the presence of Maestra Camila Zaldumbide Flores, a Music Graduate with a specialization in Composition and a Master’s degree in Musical Pedagogy with an emphasis on Choral Conducting from the Pontifical Pedagogical University of Ecuador. Maestra Zaldumbide, from Quito, Ecuador, will share her experiences in children’s choral conducting, present musical repertoires of her authorship and Ecuadorian culture, as well as strategies for teaching choral music.