2018 Latin Grammy winner, Miguel Siso is considered to be one of the most important musicians in Venezuela. Bringing a global perspective on music, Miguel Siso continues to connect with international artists, creating new sounds, and achieving an eclectic fusion of elements from folkloric to contemporary.
His recent album, “Identidad,” produced by Guataca Productions won him Best Instrumental Album, a category no Venezuelan project has ever been won, let alone been nominated for in the past. Being recognized by the Latin Recording Academy of the United States, alone, is a triumph for generation of musicians coming from the region. As artists modernized traditional root genres, new sounds, such as Siso’s emerged.
A strong advocate for his home country, Miguel Siso dedicated his award to his country, exclaiming, “Long live Venezuela!” “Identidad,” or Identity, is a reflection of Siso’s development and experiences in recent years, such as his win in the third edition of La Siembra del Cuatro Festival.
Recently on tour for his Identidad album, Miguel visited countries around the globe, including five cities in the United States. After hearing the Venezuelan Society of Pediatrics estimation that 78% of the country’s child population is at risk for some type of malnutrition as a result of the economic crisis, Miguel Siso became determined to do something. Thus, a percentage of all the funds raised by the Identidad Tour through Guataca was donated to the organization Aid for Life which will then provide a shipment of nutritious bars, created to tackle malnutrition in babies six months and older, to schools throughout Venezuela, of which he graduated.
Identidad is a contemporary, yet folkloric project of high quality and virtue. Miguel Siso is hailed throughout Venezuela as the musician who has taken the sound of the cuatro to the most distant stages. Reflecting on his experience, Miguel stated, “Since I was a child, the national instrument has been very special to me and led me to routes today that I travel and along the way, I have found fantastic adventures and people, who like me, enjoy the music of my homeland. In addition to being a harmonic instrument, the cuarto has an impressive rhythmic and melodic capacity, and this makes it an instrument with a unique sound in the world.”
