Lourdes Perez and May Nasr in Concert

The ability of music to travel under bombs and across barriers joins two great voices from the Arab and Latin American worlds. Join us for a beautiful and rare concert with Lebanon’s May Nasr and Puerto Rico’s Lourdes Pérez as we celebrate the release of their full length Spanish/ Arabic duet album, Written in Water (Escrito en Agua).

May Nasr and Lourdes Pérez are considered musical icons and voices for peace in different worlds, oceans apart: May, from Lebanon, Lourdes, from Puerto Rico. It was the sound of one song during the bombing of Lebanon in 2006 that sparked their unlikely connection.

One of those devastating nights. a friend of May’s sent her “Te Llamo,” Lourdes’ Spanish version of “Ounadikum” (I Call To You) by Lebanese songwriter Ahmad Kaboor. A song about
survival and resilience, the song repeatedly provided May with a musical haven against the sound of shelling in the streets that night. The song had traveled the world, returning when most
needed.

After a year of exchanging letters and ideas across the sea, the two singer-songwriters met for the first time in New York and recorded Lourdes’ song “Caminaré” ( بمشي معكن – I Will Walk) as a duet which appeared in May’s debut CD, Lil Ghaly. They met again in May 2009, in San Antonio, Texas, this time presenting a complete body of work in Spanish and Arabic together.

Two years later they performed to a passionate audience at Gibralfáro Castle in Málaga, Spain overlooking the Mediterranean sea of Andalucia. And the song that originally brought them together, continues to work its magic as Ahmad Kaabour, the song’s beloved, elder songwriter joined them in the studio recording for Written in Water.

About Lourdes Pérez:

Born into improvisational, musical traditions of Moca, Puerto Rico, musician, poet and composer Lourdes Perez is noted for combining both power and fragility within the same, rich contralto voice. She has performed internationally for over 20 years, from performing arts centers to areas of conflict, paying soulful tribute to the passion and hope at the common heart of human struggle. Lourdes has released eight albums, composed scores for theater, dance, and film and has performed duets with legendary artists such as Mercedes Sosa, Jane Siberry, Indigo Girls and Mexican master decimista, Guillermo Velázquez. In 2006, she was awarded a United States

Artists unrestricted fellowship for music and was named one of the “finest living artists” in the U.S. Lourdes is the co-author and composer of the oral history song book and CD, Dulce Vigilante: Remembranzas de la Región Oeste de Puerto Rico (Chee Wee House, 2015).

“…achingly beautiful…audiences are stunned and enraptured…the power, wit an dignity that her deep-throated alto commands affects listeners whether they understand Spanish or not.” – Austin American Statesman

May Nasr:

Based in Beirut, “the great voice from Lebanon” May Nasr has inspired a world-wide following with her plaintive voice and acoustic guitar. A voice for freedom, justice, equality, humanity and love, May often focuses on the beauty of the Lebanese people in her music, using songs of peace, love and resilience to inspire positive change. She has been influenced by the songs of the great Fairouz, Ahmad Kaabour, Marcel Khalife and Julia Boutros. In her early singing career, May was trained by the great Zaki Nassif as well as Badia Sabra Haddad, former voice teacher of Fairouz. May has performed to ecstatic audiences throughout the Middle East and the world. Her first CD, Lil Ghaly, was released in November 2008.

“May’s singing comes from the heart and has the ability to go straight to the heart.” – Fareed

Abou El Kheir

The new album includes the song Te Llamo/Ounadikum with special guest Ahmad Kaboor, select songs by Lourdes translated to Arabic and songs by May translated to Spanish and a Spanish/Arabic version of Joan Manuel Serrat’s Mediterraneo.

Listen: http://lourdesperez.com/music.html