Rafael Angel Aparicio and Euclides Aparicio (Los Hermanos Aparicios) - Venezuela

1996-1997

(In the above photograph, taken at the 1997 Northwest Folklife Festival, Rafael Angel, center, and Euclides, left, are joined by their brother Rafael de Jesus, right) (Photo by Lisa Winant)

Rafael Angel Aparicio, Venezuelan harpist, first came to the University of Washington with his younger brother, Rafael de Jesus "Fuchito," to teach in the Ethnomusicology program in 1970. During the 1996-97 year, Rafael Angel Aparicio returned for a second stint as Visiting Artist, this time with another younger brother, Euclides. Angel's harp style is characteristic of the Venezuelan plains region (Los Llanos). His brothers both specialize in the cuatro and maracas, and the ensemble is completed with the addition of a string bass.

During the Aparicios' residency, the University of Washington Ethnomusicology Archives and Northwest Folklife collaborated with Rafael Angel Aparicio to produce a recording, "Recordando a Venezuela", which includes contemporary recordings of his ensemble as well as examples recorded during his previous residency with the University.