Last year, many events were held in South America to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the start of the process that led to the independence. Colombia organized a pop concert that featured Juanes, Shakira and Aterciopelados, Mexico celebrated it with traveling exhibitions and Argentina with a rock-reggae concert. This year, the Bicentennial independence festivities continue with a South American tour by Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela.

The Bicentenary tour began on Sunday, June 12, in Caracas, with a concert at the Aula Magna (main lecture hall) of the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

On June 15 they will make their debut in Brazil at the Teatro Castro Alves located in Bahia. Two days later, they will perform in Paulinia, and then they will give three concerts in Sao Paulo (June 19, 20 and 21). Other stops on the tour include two performances in Rio de Janeiro (June 22 and 23), two concerts in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colón (June 26 and 27), one performance in Montevideo (June 28), and another one in Santiago de Chile (June 29).

On July 1 the orchestra will play in Bogota at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo.

The Bicentenary tour closes in Caracas, on July 5, the independence day of Venezuela. 

Dudamel and the orchestra will perform two alternating programs on the tour, one featuring Mahler's epic Seventh Symphony and the other featuring Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, Chavez's Symphonia India, Castellano's Santa Cruz de Pacairigua, and the second suite from Ravel's Daphnis & Chloe.

During the tour, chamber music ensembles drawn from the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra will give outreach concerts in Rio de Janeiro, Paulinia (Brazil) and Santiago de Chile.

Concert details.