Every last Sunday of the month, composer, educator and community organizer, Mafer Bandola hosts workshops at Barbés, a popular bar in Brooklyn. In these didactic shows called Pipiris Nights, she teaches attendees about the instruments, music, and dance of joropo —  a style from the grassy plains of Venezuela. 

Attendees range from curious visitors to fellow Venezuelans, many of whom are recent immigrants, longing to reconnect with their roots. At Bandola's workshop, those Venezuelans often find themselves in tears while reminiscing over the country they left behind and watching their American children learn about their heritage. 

In the past year, the number of Venezuelans living in New York has increased exponentially as part of a larger migrant crisis. In December 2023, the New York Times reported that more than 136,000 migrants have arrived in New York since the spring of 2022. Many of these migrants are from Venezuela. The NYT describes this movement as something which could lead to the first "Little Caracas" in the U.S. 

Conditions in Venezuela — including a lack of food, medicine and essential services, increased crime and political unrest — have led many musicians to leave their country in search of better opportunities and quality of life. More than 7.3 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014, and as of 2023 the exodus is considered the largest displacement crisis in the world. This migration is creating more than a social and economic impact; Venezuelan migrant musicians are leaving aural trails wherever they settle.

Prior to the current crisis, the power and passion of Venezuelan music caught the attention of archivists for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in 2008. Patricia Abdelnour, then the Cultural Attaché to the Venezuelan Embassy, traveled to Venezuela with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings to explore the musical landscape of her home country. Abdelnour’s trip and work led to the recording of three albums and concerts in the U.S. for Venezuelan musicians who had never even traveled outside of Venezuela.

Y Que Viva Venezuela is one of these albums, performed by the group Maestros del Joropo which includes Alfonso Moreno, Roberto Koch, Aquiles Báez and José Martínez. In the above video, they perform alongside Venezuelan violinist, director, and member of the Music Council of UNESCO Venezuela Eddy Marcano. Marcano was recognized by the Latin GRAMMYs in 2010 for his contribution to Tesoros de la música Venezolana - Llanos.

Inside New York's "Little Caracas" music scene

Bandola's first experience in the U.S. as a musician was in 2014, when she was accepted into a month-long musical residency called  One Beat. To fill out the application, she "put each question through Google translate" because she didn’t know any English at the time, she says in Spanish via Zoom. At One Beat, Bandola met the members of LADAMA. 

Bandola is a pioneer in musica llanera, as the first woman bandolista (in some regions women accompanied musica llanera with dance and song, however, the playing was left to the working cowboys). Bandola is also the only bandolista to play an electric bandola, merging traditional and modern elements with LADAMA. 

There are plenty of styles within musica llanera, however, the most popular is Joropo. One that is accompanied by dance in festive settings. The llano work songs are sung to keep the cattle calm while they are being milked at dawn. There is an innate celebration and honoring of nature in musica llanera. The present-day style comes from a fusion of Indigenous, African, and Spanish influences, when colonization brought the Spanish style of fandango to Venezuela. LADAMA has incorporated these themes and sounds into their music by way of Bandola’s electric bandola stylings.

LADAMA toured Latin America in 2016 and 2017. During this time, Bandola endured many obstacles when traveling between countries. It was difficult for her to leave and enter Venezuela and the military at the Venezuelan airport would try to take away her instrument. 

"The ideal life for me would be to live in Venezuela and only leave to travel and tour with my music," she tells GRAMMY.com. "I never thought I’d live outside of my country, only travel." 

This is a shared experience for many Venezuelan musicians who made the difficult decision to leave. In a theater production in Miami called "Papá Cuatro," Mafer shares her life and immigration story alongside Venezuelan Latin GRAMMY winner Miguel Siso and Latin GRAMMY nominee Mariaca Semprún.

After the LADAMA tour concluded, Bandola "moved from country to country, because Venezuela wasn’t an option." After some time living in Canada during the pandemic, her manager successfully expedited the process to receive an artist visa and move to the United States permanently. 

The story of how she chose the venue for her joropo workshops was serendipitous and spiritual even. When she approached Oliver Conan, the French owner of Barbés, he shared that he had spent 6 months traveling and living in Venezuela. He had been inspired so much by the music and the culture of los llanos that he bought himself a cuatro (a traditional Venezuelan instrument with four strings) and learned how to play. He even has a portrait of a Venezuelan saint hung above the bar, Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez.

The first Pipiris Night took place in March 2022 and is still going strong.

Afro-Venezuelan tambores meet in New York City

Mafer Bandola isn't the only Venezuelan artist creating community in New York. Elsewhere in the city, Willie Quintana is making a name for himself in the sphere of Afro-Venezuelan tambores. Born in Valencia and raised in Barinas, Venezuela, Willie came from a musical family. 

In 2015, the lack of resources in Venezuela forced Quintana and his wife to move to the United States with their son. With him he brought a project that he hadn’t had the chance to develop in Venezuela;   Afro-Venezuelan drumming collective Tambor y Caña was born in NYC in 2017. 

Quintana shares that some new participants of Tambor y Caña recently arrived in the U.S.  — a few risking their lives crossing the southern border. He says these young men from small rural areas have the true authentic cadence of Afro-Venezuelan drumming. "They are insanely talented!" he shared in Spanish in a Zoom interview.

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To bring traditional Venezuelan instruments into the U.S., Quintana resorted to having friends bring a few instruments at a time when they traveled between the two countries. These drums — the cumaco, the mina, the curbata, the culo e’ puya, the long drum, and the pipa corta — are quite fragile and difficult to travel with in bulk.

Tambor y Caña has since performed at impressive venues throughout New York City, including the Lincoln Center, Barclays Center, Bronx Music House, and NYC City Hall. Inspired by the work Tambor y Caña was doing, a group of women became interested in learning Afro-Venezuelan drums. Through Quintana's drumming school (Escuela de Tambor Afrovenezolano y Percusión Afrolatina), TamborEllas was born.

Much like Bandola, TamborEllas are doing important work in Afro-Venezuelan musical tradition as it is generally dominated by men. 

Tambor y Caña haven’t recorded music yet, instead focusing on leading workshops throughout New York City schools both for children and adults. Quintana has also worked with Venezuelan classical maestro Samuel Marchán, leading workshops for youth in the East River Music Project. 

A burgeoning Venezuela 2.0 in Miami

Miami is also a hub for Venezuelan artists — so much so that Mafer Bandola felt nervous about finding a community in New York because so many Venezuelan musicians had left NYC for the south Florida city. 

The largest enclave of Venezuelan immigrants is in south Florida, the city of Doral (also known as Doralzuela), and there is increasing demand for Venezuelan performers to share their work in the area. 

Nostalgia for the country and people he left behind is a recurring theme in the music of now Miami-based Latin GRAMMY-nominated singer Danny Ocean. The lyrics of "Caracas en el 2000," a track with Miami-based Venezuelan artist ELENA ROSE and Jerry Di, reminisce about the youthful joy of walking along the streets of the capital city eating traditional Venezuelan foods with friends. Ocean's fond memories resonated with Venezuelan immigrants around the world, who share the sentiment of wanting to return soon. In "Caracas en el 2000" he sings, "quiero volver, quiero volver, cuándo?" (I want to return, but when?)

Simón Grossmann, often called the "Latin Jack Johnson," started performing while he was a summer camp counselor. Encouraged by colleagues and campers, Grossman recorded his first album, Ciclo, in 2017. Today it has over 7 million streams. 

The album’s producer, Venezuelan GRAMMY nominated José Luis Pardo has also worked with DJ Afro, Rawayana, Camila Luna, and Los Amigos Invisibles. 

Grossmann released  Mujer Eléctrica in 2018 and Bahia Margarita three years later; the latter is considered to be his best work to date. In an interview with NPR, Grossmann said the album was inspired by the Venezuelan island of Margarita where he spent many childhood summers. Grossman recalled those memories during the quarantine lockdown as a form of escape and wondered "what would my adult self be doing in that place right now?"

Also known for his skillful lyricism, Migguel Anggelo is a dancer, actor, and musician who has moved away from traditional Venezuelan styles. When he was trying to get projects off the ground in Miami, he was told his experimental style was "not commercial enough" and too "poetic" for the Miami music scene. Fittingly, he even speaks in metaphors. 

"I am a Venezuelan tree, an Araguaney, the national tree from Venezuela. I am beautiful and have huge branches," Anggelo says, describing himself. "I can offer you my shade, my music. I can comfort you…I came here to give you music and shade from the sun and the rain."

On "Inmigrantes" Anggelo sings in Spanish, "my only frontier is my mother’s womb." He shares that he was ecstatic and surprised when he toured in Russia and audiences sang along to the English and Spanish lyrics. Migguel Anggelo has two albums, Dónde Estará Matisse and La Casa Azul, and he is currently working on his third album. He has completed residencies at the Lincoln Center, Miami Light Project, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and BRIC (Brooklyn) and hopes to continue expanding his repertoire. 

As an openly gay man from a relatively machista culture, Migguel Anggelo has inspired people to come out to their families through his performances. Migguel Anggelo wants American audiences to see that immigrants are not bad, as some American pundits like to say. 

San Juan USA brings a Venezuelan drumming festival to Miami

Approximately 100,000 people were kidnapped from West Africa and enslaved in Venezuelan territories between 1576 and 1810. Along Venezuela's coast and bordering states, their descendants now celebrate the festival of San Juan, in which they honor and worship St. John the Baptist. The cornerstone of this June event is the drumming tradition, during which traditional maraca accompanies the beat of the Afro-Venezuelan drums. The festive cycle includes many musical and dance rituals grounded in mythical and symbolic traditions which have been taught for the past 400 years. 

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San Juan USA, which includes Grace Salamanca, Marcos Espinoza, and Pedro Sarabia, continues this tradition with an annual festival at the Miami Beach Bandshell. In February, San Juan USA led a dance and drumming workshop as part of a Black History Month celebration. Children gathered around the traditional drums with bright smiles and insatiable curiosity as the musicians showed them how to play the instruments. San Juan USA’s participation in such community events, underscores the importance Venezuelan artists place on educating people about the culture and musical tradition of their country.

Local Venezuelan artists are performing innovative sets at new venues, such as ZeyZey in Miami's Little River neighborhood. In February, Venezuelan DJ Venezonix and tambores group San Juan USA performed a combination of traditional Afro-Venezuelan styles with EDM and house beats. The crowd, many of whom were Venezuelan, took advantage of the venue’s large terrace to dance the traditional tambores style. The event successfully brought a modern take of traditional Venezuelan music to an audience of Venezuelan immigrants and visitors, as well as locals and tourists of other cultures. 

Luis "Papo'' Marquez — Cuban singer, composer, and producer and president of Miami recording studio PapoMusic — lived in Venezuela for many years, and collaborated with local artists. He attributes a large part of his musical formation to the time he spent working with musicians in Venezuela. "I quickly realized that Venezuelan musicians were very versatile," Marquez says via WhatsApp. 

This openness and versatility allows its musicians to adapt to many genres. Venezuela has always been receptive to international music, Marquez continues, adding that the Venezuleans he knows will learn any style of music — including pop, rock, flamenco, salsa, and jazz. 

"Venezuelans in general are very talented and hard-working people," he says in Spanish. It’s easy for them to enter any scene, specifically the American music scene, due to their outstanding preparedness. 

Marquez refers to himself as Cuban Venezuelan due to the influence the country had on his career, and their shared histories. He is proud of the impact this community of creative, well-rounded, and determined musicians have made here in the states. The success, talent and prolific nature of Venezuelan musicians is proof that, while you can take the artist out of Venezuela, but you cannot take the love and pride with which they sing and play.  

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Fans likely know Danny Ocean best for "Me Rehúso" — his global megahit from 2017 — but the Venezuelan singer/songwriter digs into deeper and more introspective territory with his newer material, including "Fuera Del Mercado."

In this episode of Press Play at Home, watch Ocean's intimate onstage performance of the song. Though the stage is decked out for a full concert — featuring a band, lighting and even a bodyguard standing by the pit — there's no one in the audience. The empty venue makes for a rendition of the song that's introspective, and even eerie, despite its danceable beat.

"Fuera Del Mercado" translates to "Off the Market" in English. But as Ocean explained to La Mezcla, it's unfortunately not about himself going off the market — instead, it's a bittersweet goodbye to an ex.

"The story of when someone finds out that a person they like very much is going to get married, and also in the end you realize that the happiness of the other person is what is most valuable, and also your happiness," Ocean wrote.

That yearning, regret and optimism all come through in the singer/songwriter's performance, amplified by his expressive vocal delivery. The complex narratives behind "Fuera Del Mercado" are representative of what Ocean set out to do when he was making his second full-length album, @dannocean. 

"The process of this album has been love and hate," he told Rolling Stone, adding that he hopes fans will see a "darker Danny" in the results. "It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to say, the stories I wanted to write, visually how I wanted to express myself."

"Fuera Del Mercado" is one of 16 songs on @dannocean, which is available on all streaming platforms now. Enjoy the video above, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more episodes of Press Play at Home.

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Since Mike Piacentini’s switch from computer science to audio engineering in college, his family has been his biggest champions. So, when he received his nomination for Best Immersive Album for Madison Beer's pop album Silence Between Songs, at the 2024 GRAMMYs, it was a no-brainer to invite his parents and wife.

“He’s always been into music. He had his own band, so [the shift] wasn’t surprising at all,” Piacentini’s mother says in the newest episode of Family Matters. “He’s very talented. I knew one day he would be here. It’s great to see it actually happen.”

In homage to his parents’ support, Piacentini offered to let his father write a short but simple acceptance in case he won: “Thank you, Mom and Dad,” he jokes.

Alongside his blood relatives, Piacentini also had support from his colleague Sean Brennan. "It's a tremendous honor, especially to be here with [Piacentini]. We work day in and day out in the studio," Brennan explains. "He's someone who's always there."

Press play on the video above to learn more about Mike Piacentini's support system, and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Family Matters.

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It's fair to say that the 1980s hadn't been particularly kind to country legend Johnny Cash. Once considered the Don of the Nashville scene, the singer/songwriter suddenly found himself dropped by Columbia Records, recording terrible parody songs (remember "The Chicken in Black"?), and addicted to painkillers after a bizarre accident in which he was kicked by an ostrich.

But as the new decade approached, Cash's reputation gradually started to recover. A 1988 tribute album, 'Til Things Are Brighter, alerted a much younger indie generation of his catalog of classics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. And then arguably the biggest band in the world at the time, U2, invited him to take lead vocals on Zooropa's post-apocalyptic closer "The Wanderer." The scene was set for a triumphant comeback, and on 1994's American Recordings, the Man in Black duly obliged.

The Rick Rubin-produced album was far from a one-off. Cash delivered three American follow-ups in his lifetime (1996's Unchained, 2000's Solitary Man, and 2002's The Man Comes Around). And two posthumous volumes (2006's A Hundred Highways, 2010's Ain't No Grave)  further bridged the gap between his statuses as country outlaw and elder statesman — and helped further his legacy as one of country's all-time greats.

As the first American Recordings installment celebrates its 30th anniversary, here's a look at how the series deservedly rejuvenated the career of an American recording legend.

It United Him With A New Muse 

Best known for his pioneering work with Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, Rick Rubin seemed an unusual fit for a sixty-something country singer whose glory days were considered decades behind him. But left spellbound by Cash's performance at a Bob Dylan anniversary gig in 1992, the superproducer offered to make the Nashville legend a superstar once more.

Cash took some persuading, but eventually agreed to join forces on the assurance he'd be in the creative driving seat, and a new unlikely dream team was born. Rubin lent his talents to all six volumes of American Recordings — co-producing the middle two with Cash's son John Carter Cash – and won the first GRAMMY of his career for his efforts. The Def Jam co-founder would also later work his magic with several other '60s heroes including Neil Diamond, Yusuf and Neil Young.

It Saw Cash Lean Into Contemporary Music More Than Ever

Cash had never been averse to tackling contemporary material. He covered Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman" in 1983, just a year after it appeared on The Boss' Nebraska. But the American Recordings series saw the Man in Black embrace the sounds du jour like never before, whether the grunge of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage," electro-blues of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," or most famously, industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."

On paper, this could have been nothing short of a disaster, the sign of an aging artist desperately latching onto a much younger musical generation in a transparent bid for relevancy. But instead, Cash elevates the Gen X classics into modern hymns, his sonorous voice injecting a sense of gravitas and Rubin's production stripping things back to their bare but compelling essentials. Far from an embarrassing grandad act, this was the sound of a man respectfully making the source material his own.

It Returned Cash To The Charts 

Cash had reached the lower end of the Billboard 200 in the '80s as part of supergroups The Highwaymen and Class of '55. But you had to go all the way back to 1976's One Piece at a Time to find his last entry as a solo artist. The American Recordings series, however, slowly but surely restored the Man in Black to his former chart glories.

Indeed, while its first two volumes charted at numbers 110 and 170 respectively, the third peaked at a slightly more impressive 88 and the fourth at 22, his highest position since 1970's Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. The posthumous fifth entry, meanwhile, went all the way to No. 1, remarkably the first time ever the country legend had achieved such a feat with a studio effort (live album At San Quentin had previously topped the charts in 1971).

"Hurt" also became Cash's first solo US country hit in 14 years in 2003. And while it only landed at No. 56 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, it remains Cash's most-streamed song to date with over 600 million streams on Spotify alone.

It Included Masterful Collaborators 

As well as handing over the producer reins to Rubin, Cash also surrounded himself with some of the rock world's finest musicians. Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood all lent their considerable talents to Unchained. Sheryl Crow and Will Oldham did the same on Solitary Man, while Nick Cave, Fiona Apple and Don Henley joined him in the studio on The Man Comes Around.

But Cash also kept things more traditional by recruiting fellow country legend Merle Haggard, 'fifth Beatle'Billy Preston, and "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" songwriter Jack Clement, while the presence of wifeJune Carter Cash and son John made the third American Recordings something of a family affair.

It Went Back To Basics 

While American Recordings was, in many respects, Cash's most forward-thinking album, it wasn't afraid to keep one foot in the past, either. For one, the star recorded most of its first volume in his Tennessee cabin armed with only a guitar, a throwback to his 1950s beginnings with first producer Sam Phillips.

Cash also trawled through his own back catalog for inspiration, re-recording several tracks he believed had unfairly gone under the radar including 1955 single "Mean Eyed Cat," murder ballad "Delia's Gone" from 1962's The Sound of Johnny Cash, and "I'm Leaving Now" from 1985's Rainbow.

It Proved He Was Still A Masterful Songwriter…

Although Cash's unlikely covers grabbed most of the attention, the American Recordings series showed that his stellar songwriting skills remained intact throughout his later years, too. "Meet Me in Heaven," for example, is a beautifully poignant tribute to the older brother who died at just 15, while the folksy "Let the Train Blow the Whistle" added to Cash's arsenal of railroad anthems.

"Drive On," meanwhile, is worthy of gracing any Best Of compilation, a powerful lament to those who came back from the Vietnam War with both emotional and physical scars ("And even now, every time I dream/ I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream").

…And Still A Master Interpreter 

As well as putting new spins on his own songs and various contemporary rock favorites, Cash further displayed both his interpretive and curatorial skills by covering a variety of spirituals, standards and pop hits first released during his commercial heyday.

The likes of early 19th century gospel "Wayfaring Stranger," wartime favorite "We'll Meet Again," and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" may have been firmly in Cash's wheelhouse. But more leftfield choices such as Loudon Wainwright III's offbeat morality tale "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" proved that even when outside his comfort zone, he could stamp his own identity with aplomb.

It Made Him An Unlikely MTV Star 

Cash was 62 years old when American Recordings hit the shelves — not exactly a prime age for MTV play. Yet thanks to some inspired creative decisions, the career-reviving series spawned two videos that received regular rotation on the network. Firstly, "Delia's Gone" caught attention for two major reasons: it was directed by Anton Corbijn, the man renowned for his long-running creative partnership with Depeche Mode, and it starred Kate Moss, the world's biggest supermodel at the time, as the titular victim.  

Then nine years later, Cash picked up six nominations — winning Best Cinematography — at the MTV Video Music Awards thanks to Mark Romanek's emotionally devastating treatment for "Hurt." Interspersing clips of the clearly fragile country singer at the rundown Museum of Cash with footage from his earlier days and artistic shots of decaying fruits and flowers, the promo perfectly embodied the transient nature of life. And it had the capacity to reduce even the hardest of hearts to tears.

It Added To His GRAMMY Haul 

Cash won almost as many GRAMMYs with his American Recordings series as he had during the previous 40 years of his career. The Man in Black first added to his trophy collection in 1995 when the first volume won Best Contemporary Folk Album. This was the first time he'd been recognized at the ceremony for his musical talents since the June Carter Cash duet "If I Were A Carpenter" won Best Country Performance for a Duo or Group with Vocal back in 1971  

Three years later, Unchained was crowned Best Country Album. And after picking up a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, Cash won 2001's Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Solitary Man," then again in the same Category for "Give My Love to Rose"in 2003. He posthumously won two more GRAMMYs for Best Short Form Video, in 2004 for "Hurt" and in 2008 for "God's Gonna Cut You Down." In total, the American Recordings series won Cash six more GRAMMYs, bringing his overall count to 13. 

It Was A Powerful Epitaph

In 1997, Cash was told he'd just 18 months to live after being misdiagnosed with neurodegenerative condition Shy-Drager syndrome (later changed to autonomic neuropathy). He ended up outliving this prognosis by a good four years, but during this period, he lost the love of his life and was forced to record his swansong in-between lengthy stints in the hospital.  

Little wonder, therefore, that the American Recordings series is defined by the theme of mortality: see "The Man Comes Around," a biblical ode to the Grim Reaper ("And I looked, and behold a pale horse/ And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him"), Death Row anthem "The Mercy Seat," and funeral favorite "Danny Boy." As with David Bowie's Blackstar, Cash was able to reflect on his impermanence in his own terms in a sobering, yet compelling manner that continues to resonate decades on. 

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Jon Batiste walked into the 2022 GRAMMYs with a whopping 11 nominations, making him the most recognized artist of the evening. By the end of the night, he received five GRAMMYs for Best American Roots Performance, Best American Roots Song, Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media, Best Music Video, and the highly coveted Album Of The Year.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch Batiste take the stage to accept the award for Album Of The Year for his sixth studio album, We Are

Batiste began his praises by acknowledging God: "I just put my head down and work on the craft every day. I love music, he said. "I've been playing since I was a little boy. It's more than entertainment for me — it's a spiritual practice." He also thanked the "many people that went into making this album," including his grandfather, nephew, father, and executive producer, Ryan Lynn.

"This [award] is for real artists, real musicians. Let's just keep going. Be you! That's it. I love you even if I don't know you," Batiste cheered.

Press play on the video above to hear Jon Batiste's complete acceptance speech and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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