Colombian classical guitarist and composer Nilko Andreas Guarin prints a Colombian stamp at Carnegie Hall in New York. He left Bogota (the capital city of Colombia) to study in the United States and has received many awards, including "The Recognition Award," - awarded by the City of New York for his contribution to the arts - and the "Colombia Exterior" award, intended for Colombians who have distinguished themselves outside their country. In conversation with LPO, Nilko Andreas tells us his vision of classical music as a tool for social transformation and provides a version of the American dream, which shows that the United States is opening up to Hispanic.

Music has been your life since you were a child.

I have studied classical music since I was a child. I started 20 years ago, when there wasn't much to do in terms of classical music in Colombia. I wanted to continue growing, and I auditioned in the United States. I got a scholarship to study here. Music was always present in my life.

While I was studying at the music school, I also had fun with popular music. I started as a cellist, but I also had a guitar at home, which was like my break during my free time. Upon arriving in New York, I began to delve into classical music with the goal of becoming a concert performer. I couldn't afford housing, so I had to work to support myself. One of my first projects was to found a traditional Colombian music group.

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I realized while attending a program for the French Alliance of Renaissance Music, when visiting one of the towns of the cradle of vallenato, associated with drinking and partying, that no one had ever been exposed to classical music there. We were in the least suitable place for a concert like the one we were going to give and I thought they were going to reject us. I was surprised, because people who had never heard Renaissance music were touched. There I realized the prejudice of the elites who have kept classical music as something exclusive and for wealthy people, which has led to a rejection by humble people who think that classical music is boring. When you show people opera or classical music, regardless of their social position, they like it. Mass media play reggaeton, but if you expose people to it, they would like it too. This kind of art cheers you up, touches you and can cause a change in you. It is essential to expose audiences without leaving aside folklore, and in my case, my Colombian idiosyncrasy.

Upon arriving in New York, I began to delve into classical music with the goal of becoming a concert performer. I couldn't afford housing, so I had to work to support myself. One of my first projects was to found a traditional Colombian music group.

Latin American countries usually export their folklore, but you claim that classical music should also be able to come from countries like yours.

I have a series called Amazonas, where we present classical music by Latin American composers at Carnegie Hall. It's been 10 years, and we seek to represent the classical music of Latin American composers and instrumentalists.

Being a Colombian I realized that classical music is not allowed to reach everyone, and there are projects that fight to change it. I have been part of initiatives in which we went to humble neighborhoods to teach music to children. The idea of the project is from Antonio Abreu, who created a system in Venezuela to reconstruct the social fabric. One of the most acclaimed names of this initiative is Gustavo Dudamel, a talented musician who earned conducting skills and no one knew where he came from in Europe. Surprised, the organizers went to Venezuela to investigate this system and then it became international.

LPO

This vision of democratizing society through music can also make us think that the wave of immigrants contributes in many ways and contributes to a country that is changing.

In the last 10 years, I have felt an opening of the Anglo-Saxon universe. In the United States, there has traditionally been brutal misinformation, especially since Trump. They have realized that this is not the way and have opened their ears to the perception of other cultures. Nowadays it is "cool" to know about Mexican cuisine or, for example, the importance of indigenous things. Many Americans want to travel more, we are witnessing a paleo-futurist wave due to the need of other horizons. Latin Americans are now recognized beyond social problems. Dudamel, who was previously mentioned as director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is now going to be director of the New York Philharmonic. The great tenors fill the MET opera house, Peruvian Juan Diego Flores and Mexican Javier Camareno. We also see it on legendary television programs such as Saturday Night Live: they invite Carol G or Bad Bunny. Latin Americans have a broader presence and are being recognized in culture.

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It is said that the Latino vote is going to be the focus of the next presidential elections, but perhaps it is a reflection of the culture that has already changed as you mention.

The arts speak directly to the human unconscious, they go directly to feelings. When you see a painting in a museum or listen to a song, it goes straight to your feelings, it makes you cry or dance. It goes beyond intellectual appreciation, you can't understand but you like it. If we are positioning in the arts, that undoubtedly influences other types of thoughts. That is my philosophy, I hate wars and savage capitalism. But I don't see myself making a revolution. My thing is to write music and touch people's hearts through my art. That is why we bring children from Colombia to Carnegie Hall, who in turn contribute to improving the planet through music. Speaking with fellow painters or dancers, there is a consensus towards the real function of art. And I think that every artist should have social responsibility. And art as a personal thing is something wasted, it must have a social purpose.

Latinos now are recognized beyond social problems. Dudamel was director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and now he will be director of the New York Philharmonic. The great tenors fill the MET opera house, Peruvian Juan Diego Flores and Mexican Javier Camareno.

LPO

You are proud of your roots but nowadays no one takes away the New Yorker label from you.

I have had dual nationality for more than 10 years. For many years, I thought that being a New Yorker was being an American, but in the last 2 years I have started research work on what the United States is culturally. I am traveling to the heart of this country, to Kansas City, Missouri, to learn who the American is. I have realized that New York has nothing to do with the rest of the country. This fascinating world in one place does not fully represent the mysterious universe that is the United States. This country also has a lot of folklore, from the black world of the South to the white misery of Appalachia. I am focused on classical music, a kind of art that goes deeper than banal music, without denying my roots.

For many years, I thought that being a New Yorker was being an American, but in the last 2 years I have started research work on what the United States is culturally. I am traveling to the heart of this country, to Kansas City, Missouri, to learn who the American is. New York has nothing to do with the rest of the country.

In a tense global context, where do you think the United States is going toward? Is the country declining?

We are experiencing a providential moment. Sometimes there are no options, because there are no exits. The United States is in a positive moment due to open doors, which did not exist before. The monopoly of capital and the media meant that people did not know where things were. Here you have sports leagues called world series, that show you that they don't care about the rest of the world. The feminist movement, the empowerment of minorities, there are a number of aligned trends and people know about that. There are other countries that have already gone through that. For example, socialism cut off the king's head in France.

Real change is very difficult, but now the elements are in place for awareness and change if people are open to receiving cultures and learning from abroad. Another thing I discovered traveling to the heart of this country is that we have more in common than we thought with the American peasant who is oppressed and abused, it reminds me of Latin America where the peasant also has no voice. Talking to them you see that they are aware of that. Before I thought it was the opposite, that the American rejects you, but I have realized that we have a lot in common. This is a time of possibilities, because there are paths to take. Whether the right decision is made or not is another thing. If we continue to feed capital, we will end up seeing that the only thing it is interested in is financing wars and destroying the planet. What is happening in the Middle East or Ukraine is simply a matter of capital greed; the arms that the United States sends to Israel are financed by the humble people of this country. They have to make the right decision

Translator: Bibiana Ruiz.