User:Juanca Pinzon/Petronio Álvarez Pacific Festival

The Pacific Music Festival "Petronio Alvarez", or simply "El Petronio", is a festival dedicated to or directly related to the music of Colombian Pacific folklore. It is held in the city of Santiago de Cali, Colombia in august. It seeks to highlight composers, musical groups and researchers of music of Afro-Colombian origin. It is organized by local institutions related to culture and promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Mayor of Santiago de Cali.

History
He started on August 9, 1996 by a political will of the then governor of the Valle del Cauca Germán Villegas Villegas, and on the initiative of the humanist and cultural manager Germán Patiño Ossa, who at the time was working as cultural manager of the department. According to its creator, the emergence of the festival follows two fundamental reasons: A government initiative that sought to vindicate the city of Cali with its history, preserving the essence of its foundation: "to be a nexus bridge between the interior of the country and the South Sea", recognizing the importance of the Afro-descendant population in shaping a Vallecaucan culture and re-establishing Cali's relationship with the Pacific coast, and this is how the capital of valle del Cauca becomes through the event, a bridge that saw the music coming from different Pacific communities that were then in the process of extinction. The name of the festival is a symbolic act that pays homage to the musician Bonaverense Patricio Romano Petronio Alvarez Quintero (1914-1966), at that time a tribute to Vallecan authors excludes the composer despite the importance and incidence of his work; Being this creator of some very sound compositions and of great reception nationally and internationally, that is why it is determined that the name of the festival pays homage to "Petronio" and all those important and unseen musicians and composers who have been marginalized by latent racism.

His first versions were held at the Los Cristales open-air theatre, but a guardianship forced him to move in 2008 to the Plaza de Toros until 2010. In 2011 it was held at the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero and since 2012 it is held in the Pan American Sports Unit; This Petronio Alvarez Pacific Music Festival has become one of the most important cultural events in the Cauca Valley department over time, characterized by exposing great artists from the region and thus generating great remembrance in the minds of its attendees. Musicians, craftsmen and spectators from all over the country gather to witness and participate in this great event that, year after year, allows you to enjoy the culture of the region.

In 2020 and for the first time in history, the event began to be canceled by the COVID-19 sickness pandemic.

Characters
Among its modalities are those like marimba, chirimía, libre, cancion inedita, vocal performer, marimba performer and clarinet performer. In the latest version was added the violin, a practice recently recovered in the Department of Cauca, after this follow the Afro musical groups.