Paquito D'Rivera and Bertha Rojas performed in concert in Miami

June 2, 2019

The Cuban saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera and Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas shared the stage again this Saturday, May 25th at a concert organized by the Classical Guitar Society of Miami.

The performance took place in the auditorium of Miami Dade College, Wolfson campus.

"It is a true pleasure to work again with Berta, one of the most illustrious guitarists in the world of classical music from her country," D'Rivera expressed to the Nuevo Herald, who holds a pleasant memory of Día y medio, a tribute album to Paraguayan guitarist Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944), "the national composer of Paraguay," which they recorded together a few years ago.

Regarding the program, the saxophonist commented that they would play a selection from the album that includes La danza paraguaya, Maxixe and La Catedral.

"But we will also perform classical pieces from the Latin American songbook such as El pájaro chogüí, Mis noches sin ti and Recuerdos de Ypacaraí," he added.

In referring to the countless tours he has conducted with the guitarist, the winner of 14 Grammy Awards highlighted the one that took them to El Salvador, "Mangoré's final resting place," where they performed at the National Theater of the capital, the stage of the legendary instrumentalist's successes.

For her part, Rojas confessed her joy at returning to Miami. Above all for doing so accompanied "by a genius of music like Paquito D'Rivera."

The guitarist recalled that since the beginning of her career, in the early 1990s, she has always included some piece by Mangoré in her repertoire.