# Venezuela Youth Orchestra US tour canceled



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

"Venezuelan star conductor Gustavo Dudamel has confirmed media reports that his US tour with Venezuela's National Youth Orchestra has been cancelled. Dudamel said the cancellation, which came just days after President Nicolás Maduro publicly criticised him, was "heartbreaking"."

One hundred and eighty young musicians had been rehearsing for three months for the four-city US tour scheduled for September.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40999462


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Dudamel has to be in a tough spot. He is one of the most famous Venezuelans and The Political situation there has been volatile for years. I believe that he has tried to stay above the fray but I wasn't aware that he had finally spoken out, and he must have been under tremendous pressure to do so. It is very reminiscent of the issues that famous musicians had to confront in the 1930s.
Two famous examples would be the contrasting cases of Toscanini and Furtwangler. The former became lionized as the epitome of Anti Fascism and the latter is forever tainted by his decision to stay in Germany and attempt to preserve cultural standards while working in a country run by criminals. And then there are the generations of Artists oppressed by the former U.S.S.R.
In a totalitarian dictatorship there can be no room for Artists to be apolitical. I don't think that Venezuela is a totalitarian state yet--there seems to be a functioning opposition press, for example--but for how long? Is Dudamel's family at risk for reprisals? Let's hope not.
The biggest losers are the kids who participate in El Sistema. 
Dudamel needs to be supported. I will now buy every CD he has out there


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## chill782002 (Jan 12, 2017)

Venezuela is a dictatorship and it is no surprise that the Maduro government has responded in the way it has to Dudamel's criticism. 

While it is true that Venezuela prior to 1999 was a very unequal society and that Chavez was loved by the majority for his attempts to reduce this inequality using the nation's oil revenue, the oil price has now collapsed and the government has run up debts against future predicted oil revenue that it cannot service. In addition, Maduro only became President due to Chavez' unexpected death and is way out of his depth and unable to deal with the huge economic crisis the country is facing. This is why he has turned to repression and cracking down on criticism in a desperate attempt to stay in power. In his mind, people are either with him or against him. 

I highly respect Dudamel for having the courage to speak out when it would be so much easier to stay quiet.


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