WHO WE ARE
The Encuentros are a living and educational experience centered around traditional roots music and dance. Originally focused on the Iberian Peninsula, since 2021 they have expanded to other territories.
In every corner of the world there is music and a unique tradition that has survived to this day. We propose immersing ourselves in different traditions through the contemporary vision of their transmitters, learning first-hand from musicians and dancers rooted in each culture.
Throughout history, dance and music have been closely linked to specific moments in life: festivities, rituals, celebrations, and community work. They helped lighten working hours, but also created moments of deep connection, shared rest, and collective emotional expression. In a world where music is often consumed individually and as mere entertainment, reviving these communal practices is a way to enrich our social and artistic lives.
This is why coexistence is a key element of the Encuentros. It allows people to meet, share knowledge and artistic practices. Classes are important, but just as important are the jam sessions and informal gatherings, where teachers and participants share the joy of music and dance on equal footing. It is in these spaces of freedom and improvisation that music truly becomes a shared experience.
The Encuentros began in September 2015 in Galicia when, together with Coetus, we organized a series of courses and concerts called "Ir y venir". Alongside Coetus musicians, participants included Juan Quintero and Luna Monti from Argentina, the Galician vocal and percussion group Aliboria, and around a hundred people who attended the workshops and concerts.
This experience became the seed for another gathering the following year in Menorca, where we held a course on Iberian Peninsula music focused on percussion and voice, with around thirty participants, and celebrated the first student concert at the Maó Cloister. A beautiful community emerged there, revealing the full potential of working with traditional music in a collective setting.
In 2017, in Sant Pere de Ribes, the first course officially called Encuentro took place. The number of participants doubled, and wind and guitar workshops were added. Every afternoon featured collective dance. It was incredible!
Since then, the Encuentros have continued to grow. In 2019, for example, we held two editions due to overwhelming demand: one in Pontós and another in Castellnou. These locations have alternated as venues up to the present day.
From 2021 onwards, the Encuentros expanded beyond the Iberian Peninsula to include other territories. This led to the creation of the West Africa Encuentro, the Italy Encuentro, and the Iberian-Argentine Encuentro, until all of them merged in 2023 into the great Encuentro of roots music.
In 2025, the Petit Encuentro was established, and the Encuentro Son Jarocho and Encuentro Experimental were introduced. We continue to explore and create new ways of meeting and learning around the traditional music that gives us so much. We don’t know what the future holds, but there will surely be more Encuentros to keep celebrating life in community.
