US embassy cable - 05ASUNCION431

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASUNCION 000431 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR ECA/PE/C/CE (MERANTE), ECA/PE/C/CU (ROUSE),ECA/PE 
(THOREL), ECA/PE/C (LPEREZ), WHA/PDA (GOULD), WHA/BSC 
(MURRAY) 
POSTS FOR PAOS AND CAOS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PA, KPAO, SCUL 
SUBJECT: AMERICAN VOICES BRINGS BLACK HISTORY MONTH TO 
PARAGUAY 
 
 
1.  Summary:  In conjunction with performances for Embassy 
San Jose, Embassy Tegucigalpa and Embassy Managua, Embassy 
Asuncion hosted Daniel Washington, baritone, and John 
Ferguson, pianist, for four concerts the week of 2/21 in 
commemoration of Black History month.   An estimated 750 
people attended the concerts.  Media coverage was unusually 
extensive and included a live broadcast by a Ciudad del Este 
radio station with an estimated listernship of 500,000.  The 
musicians also provided training for Paraguay's up-and- 
coming vocalists at the National Conservatory of Music. 
Audience members offered the band a standing ovation in 
several venues and staff received many expressions of 
profuse thanks for having brought such skilled musicians to 
Paraguay. The enthusiasm and fantastic talent of Washington 
and Ferguson contributed significantly to the resounding 
success of the program. End summary. 
 
Performances 
------------ 
2. The concerts were held at the Ambassador's residence, at 
the Asuncion bi-national center, in Villarrica (a mid-sized 
university town) and in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay's second- 
largest city located in the strategic Tri-Border region. The 
Asuncion bi-national center, Villarrica and Ciudad del Este 
performances were free and open to the public. 
 
3. The guest list for the reception and performance at the 
Ambassador's residence consisted of forty of the most 
influential Embassy contacts.  The Minister of Finance, a 
very high-profile government official, was in attendance. 
This elite group was impressed by Ferguson and Washington's 
remarkable talent and enchanted by their moving renditions 
of little-known African-American spirituals. 
 
4.  The following day the duo gave a master class at the 
National Conservatory of Music.  Several of the students 
were so impressed by the musicians that they attended the 
concert that same evening at the Paraguayan American 
Cultural Center.  The Ambassador also attended this 
performance, which was preceded by the Center's annual VIP 
anniversary reception. The 300-seat theatre was virtually 
full and enthusiastic spectators from all walks of life were 
heard marveling at the speed with which Ferguson's fingers 
danced across the keys. At the conclusion of the program, 
the master class students could be seen, wide-eyed, with 
programs in hand, tentatively asking for autographs from 
Washington and Ferguson, who graciously provided them and 
offered the students advice on how to continue their 
professional development. 
 
5.  Villarrica, a university town of approximately 50,000 
situated 3 hours outside of Asuncion, was the next stop on 
Ferguson and Washington's Paraguayan tour.  As there was no 
piano to be had in the town nor anywhere in the surrounding 
area, post's PAO sent her Clavinova electronic piano for the 
performance, which was transported in the back of an Embassy 
Suburban.  The predominantly college-aged crowd was 
captivated by the performance and many stayed afterwards to 
practice their English and chat with the musicians. 
 
6.  Ciudad del Este was Ferguson and Washington's final 
venue.  Approximately 400 people attended this performance, 
ranging from the newly appointed bishop to the local 
director of tourism to members of the area's large Lebanese 
community to a group of recently immigrated Chinese piano 
students. The crowd demanded an encore with a standing 
ovation and many individuals approached Embassy staff and 
enthusiastically lobbied for future cultural programming in 
their area. 
 
Media Coverage 
-------------- 
 
7. Media coverage of the tour was unusually extensive.  All 
three major Paraguayan dailies published multiple stories on 
the tour. "La Nacion", Paraguay's third largest, business- 
oriented daily, ran articles for four consecutive days.  In 
addition, the Ciudad del Este paper covered the performance. 
 
8.  Radio Nanduti, the most listened-to radio station in 
Paraguay, aired an interview with the musicians and 
broadcast cuts from their CDs for several days leading up to 
the performances.  Ciudad del Este-based Radio Magnifico, 
with an estimated listenership of 500,000, carried the 
concert live and in its entirety, vastly increasing the 
reach of this program. 
 
9.  A local cable television station in Villarrica 
interviewed the musicians prior to the concert and also 
broadcast the first few songs to their audience of several 
thousand. 
 
Funding 
------- 
10. American Voices' Paraguay/Costa Rica/Honduras/Nicaragua 
tour was Post-funded by the four participating Embassies. 
International airfare was shared between the Posts while 
local institutions provided in-kind support. 
 
11.  Comment:  One of Post's MPP strategies is to broaden 
the audience reached by public diplomacy programs.  Since 
Paraguay is a music-loving country and U.S. groups are a 
rarity, musical events, and in particular public-access 
performances, are a perfect way to help meet this goal.  In 
addition, as the program consisted of songs selected in 
commemoration of Black History month, awareness of cultural 
diversity within the U.S. was increased among attendees. The 
program also gave Post the opportunity to promote mutual 
understanding with the Paraguayan people by sharing a unique 
part of American culture through the universal medium of 
music.  End comment. 
 
KEANE