A nine-day long celebration of music of classical taste, the Cartagena International Music festival takes place every year in world class venues of Cartagena like La Popa hill, San Felipe castle, Getsemani auditorium etc.
Each year, more than 20,000 classical music enthusiasts come together in the coastal city of Cartagena for its International Music festival held in the month of January.
This festival has an original theme every year which reflects both the old as well as the “New World” viewpoint that adds to its glory. Some of the past themes were “The Italian Style” (2013), “Fables” (2014) and “Hacia Tierra Firme” – Towards the Mainland (2016).
This festival not only highlights the city’s splendid acoustics but also gives many people to witness tuxedoed performers at their best and also mingle with the topmost members of Columbia’s upper society.
This festival brings to the stage some of the best orchestral acts and world famous musicians are met with the task of performing for packed plazas and theatres surrounded by spectacular lights and musical instruments of all kinds.
What Makes This Festival So Famous?
Hosting more than forty concerts, this festival was founded by the Italian-American harpist Victor Salvi and his wife, Julia who is a socialite from Bogota. This festival is targeted to introduce to the people of Columbia particularly the young people, the magic of classical masterpieces. A spectacular feature of this festival is that the international guest musicians give free master classes to hundreds of young potential Columbian musicians. Workshops are conducted where students, children, music teachers and music professionals are given a proper training starting from instrument knowledge to exhibitions and conferences. Music scholarships for budding musicians to help them start from scratch are also funded. Last year’s (2016) festival included performers like Rinaldo Alessandrini who is the director of Concerto Italiano, the Spanish composer and conductor Jordi Savall and the winner of Grammy awards Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Why Cartagena Is The Perfect Location For This Festival?
Crowned with the title of Columbia’s most romantic city, it can be described aptly as a walled city which has a notable history and which gets drowned in the color orange as the sun sets every evening on the Caribbean. It showcases such a perfect setting that it’s impossible to imagine the Cartagena International Music Festival being held anywhere else but here. This city hosts a wide range of places to stay starting from extravagant five star hotels to humbler hostelries. This Caribbean city is also home to splendid bars and restaurants. Places worth a visit in this museum filled city are the Palace of Inquisition, the Gold Museum, the Maritime Museum, San Felipe Castle, the Museum of Modern Art and San Pedro Claver’s Church. Taking an evening stroll on the city wall, remembering the pirates who besieged this place centuries ago and imagining them to be still around is sure an effective way to experience a chill through your spine. This festival borrows best of Cartagena’s picturesque private as well as public venues to produce a cultured and glittering start to a year.
Cartagena International Music Festival – 2017
This festival was started in 2007 taking inspiration from the Spoleto Festival of the United States and has been happening every year in the month of January ever since. The whole program and schedule of events will be declared on the 1st of December 2016. The dates of the festival however have been announced. The nine-day long music festival is going to take place from the 8th of January 2017 to the 16th of January 2017. Every year, this festival is associated with a theme and the year 2017 is not going to be an exception. The theme is yet to be announced though. In case you missed out on the bookings of the tickets or you don’t have enough money to do so, well then no need to worry as free concerts are going to take place on the 9th, 10th, 13th and 14th of January 2017. Just make sure to claim your free tickets for the concerts on the day of the event itself from the Cine Columbia ticket booths in Caribe Plaza or Centro de Convenciones 8AM henceforth.
How To Get To Cartagena?
Cartagena is a globally acclaimed destination and reaching there is no big issue. There are many routes to this Caribbean city. Taking a direct flight from Bogota, Medellin, Cali and San Andres or from Miami, Panama, Fort Lauderdale and New York City is one option. Buses apply to this route too as they run regularly from Barranquilla and Santa Marta. For all the adventurous souls out there, a sailboat from Panama City can take you to Cartagena though that includes a three-day stop at the San Blas islands.