Rio de Janeiro to host Azerbaijan culture week
By Amina Nazarli
The Week of Azerbaijani Culture will be held in the Brazilian magnificent city of festivals, Rio de Janeiro on April 21-27.
The event will be co-organized by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Azerbaijani Embassy in Brazil and Rio de Janeiro’s city hall, the ministry reported.
Being held for the first time in South America, the event aims to develop relations in between the two countries and promote Azerbaijani culture abroad. The event will coincide with the celebrations dedicated to Rio de Janeiro’s 450th anniversary.
The city, famous for its giant statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mountain will host several interesting events clearly expressing Azerbaijani culture. The week will please guests, giving the two nations a chance better to know each other.
A photo exhibition titled “Azerbaijan yesterday, today and tomorrow” will be the piece de resistance of the event, giving information about Azerbaijan culture -- samples of its flavored national cuisine, rich culture, ancient history, as well as its architectural monuments and tourist potential.
Moreover, during the week Azerbaijani national music - Mugam will be performed at the events and will surely enchant music lovers.
It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific local modes. Mugam is a modal system. Unlike Western modes, "Mugam" modes are associated not only with scales but with an orally transmitted collection of melodies and melodic fragments that performers use in the course of improvisation. Mugam is a compound composition of many parts.
It is one of Azerbaijan's most valuable cultural achievements.
The colorful performances of the Azerbaijan State Dance Ensemble will help the Brazilians to plunge into the world of the Azerbaijani culture.
Concerts will be held by the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Azerbaijani people’s artist Yalchin Adigezalov. Other performances of the “Trio Karabakh” also promise to give Brazilians a taste of Azerbaijan.
The week will also feature films. In 2013, Brasilia hosted Azerbaijani movies at the "Mostra de filmes do Azerbaijao" festival held in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and San Paolo.
Famous art centers in Rio de Janeiro: “Cidade des Artes” - “Cafe das artes”, “Gallery”, “Teatro de Camara”, “Sala de Leitura”, and “Grande Sala” will act as venues for the Azerbaijani culture week.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1993. The Brazilian Embassy in Azerbaijan was opened in 2009 and Azerbaijan's Embassy was established in Brazil in 2012.
Since 2013, Azerbaijani capital, Baku, considered the pearl of the Caspian Sea, and Rio de Janeiro, became twin cities. The law goes on to say that both Baku and Rio de Janeiro are cultural heritage centers of the world - visited by thousands of tourists every year.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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