First International Bolero Vivo Competition

First International Spanish-language "Bolero Vivo: Music and Lyrics" Competition

• Six entries will receive financial prizes and 10 will be recognized in two categories: musical composition and literary composition.
• Nominations will be received until Friday, August 2, 2024 at 23:59 p.m. (GMT-6).

Today, July 1, the call for entries to the first International Spanish-language Bolero Vivo: Music and Lyrics Competition was opened. The aim is to raise awareness of the Bolero musical genre, promote the creation of new repertoires, and promote the study of the art form and its sociocultural repercussions and importance in all Spanish-speaking cultures.

This first competition was organized by the Mexican Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs; the Cuban Embassy in Mexico, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Institute of Music; the Iberoamerican General Secretariat (Segib), Network of Cultural Diplomacy, and Ibermúicas, a multilateral program of international cooperation dedicated to the musical arts; the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID); the Mexico City Government; Canal Once and Editorial Elefanta.

At a press conference, the organizing bodies discussed the competition, which is part of the plan to safeguard the cultural practice of Bolero. Mariana Aymerich Ordóñez, Director General of Cultural Promotion and Festivals and interim head of the Directorate General of International Affairs, said that Bolero, which was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) last December, encourages cultural dialogue and diversity, promotes respect, and contributes to the emotional education and identity of its practitioners and the community in general, and she invited those interested to participate in the competition.

The Foreign Ministry's Executive Director of Cultural and Tourist Diplomacy, Juan Patricio Riveroll Mendoza, thanked the participating institutions, saying that the role of Mexico's cultural diplomacy is to highlight ongoing artistic initiatives.

The Cultural Counselor of the Cuban Embassy in Mexico, Norma Rodríguez Derivet, discussed the history of Bolero in Cuba, which was introduced to the continent via the port of Veracruz, where there was a rich cultural exchange. Mexico added its own characteristics to Bolero and this competition, she said, "adds one more page to this history."

Channel 22 Director Pável Granados Chaparro said the contest helps fight against one of the main risks suffered by Bolero, which is oblivion. He also reported that both Canal 22 and Canal Once would broadcast the call, the competition itself, and its winners and their entries.

In his remarks, Fonoteca Nacional Director Francisco Rivas Mesa said that this kind of initiative helps promote a culture of listening, and invited Mexico's citizens to come listen to Bolero at Mexico's audio library.

Also participating in the event were Director of Visual Arts Rafael Toriz López of the Mexican Foreign Ministry's Directorate General of Cultural Diplomacy and Elefanta Editorial Editor Emiliano Becerril Silva.

The competition is open to all of Iberoamerica

The first International Spanish-language Bolero Vivo: Music and Lyrics Competition is open to Spanish-speaking people over 18 years of age, in two categories: Literary Composition and Musical Composition.

Applicants must demonstrate they hold the copyright to their previously unpublished submission. Applications must be submitted online and will be received until Friday, August 2, 2024 at 23:59 p.m. (GMT-6).

Three financial prizes and 10 recognitions per category will be awarded. The winners will be announced on Sunday, August 25, 2024, on the social media accounts of the Mexican embassy in Cuba and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The complete rules of the competition can be consulted on the website of the Ibermúsicas multilateral international cooperation program dedicated to the musical arts that promotes knowledge of Iberoamerican musical diversity: ibermusicas.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Convocatoria-Bolero-Vivo.pdf.