His professional career is proof of how talent, work and optimism in everything he undertakes expands harmoniously as the musical notes he puts in his compositions. Proud to be a Panamanian that bring back some of the magic of Jazz to his home country, Danilo Pérez, founder and artistic director works along with his wife Patricia Zarate Perez, colleagues, volunteers and students, to continue organizing the Panama Jazz Festival. Winner of a Grammy and multiple international awards, his legacy as artistic director goes beyond his talent as a pianist, composer and teacher. He wants to leave the bases to teach and share this musical genre and its fusions, to the rhythms of his Jam Sessions.
Our guest of the month is a prophet in his land. Danilo Pérez shares his vision of how music and education can generate massive attractive spaces for tourists eager for artistic cultural expressions.
What does music mean as a country’s identity and how does it impact people in other countries?
“Music is the artistic activity that contributes the most to cultural diversity. It is also the most popular and widespread of cultural manifestations. In moments where cultural, musical and social globalization is the norm; Panama, due to its history and geographical position, can play an influential role. The history of Panamanian jazz must be used as a tool to promote diplomacy worldwide”.
What relevance does the Panama Jazz Festival has as a national and international cultural event?
“The Panama Jazz Festival is positioned as the most important event in the region because of its artistic quality, as well as its educational and social approach. We have developed cultural and educational tourism like never before. Today, citizens of other countries come to train with us. Approximately one third of our public is tourist and two thirds are locals. As an event, it has promoted the creation of other artistic festivals in Panama and Latin America”.
How does this event contribute to Panama’s tourism when bringing music and workshops to Panamanians and people from abroad every year?
“Culture is not just an excellent economic investment. It is a social and cultural investment, a source of sustainable work. I feel a great responsibility to fulfill my mandate as Cultural Ambassador of Panama, and promote our country as the Heart of America and Bridge of the Universe. With the Panama Jazz Festival we have created a cultural tourism in the country, with an attendance of more than 30,000 people every year. A new educational tourism has also been created, with more than five thousand students annually”.
About how many tourists come into the country in January and how much is the estimated hotel occupancy to attend the Festival?
“The festival attracts approximately 30,000 people to Panama in January of each year. Thanks to quantitative studies, we know that approximately one third are tourists. From the first edition of this Festival to the present more than 300,000 people have atended between Panamanians and foreigners. With relation to the respect to hotel occupancy 100 to 150 are invited annually”.
If you could describe Panama musically, what melody and musical style would it be?
“It would be Jazz, or what I call Global Jazz, for its history and cultural diversity. I have dedicated many musical compositions to my country, but an instrumental composition I would called it Panama 2000 or Galactic Panama. In a song with lyrics it would be: Patria, by Ruben Blades ”.
The seventeenth version of the Panama Jazz Festival will be held from January 13 to 18, 2020, under the slogan “The Great Patio Party”. This year, there will be a tribute to Panamanian saxophonist Reggie Johnson. Danilo Perez, colleagues, members of the Foundation that bears his name and guest artists, together with Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), invites everybody to enjoy Global Jazz here in Panama.
