In 2008, an all-star group of Venezuelan musicians, Maestros del Joropo Oriental, gathered to record the album Y Que Viva Venezuela! For the song "El Violinista Oriental (The Eastern Violinist) joropo con estribillo," the producers brought in the extraordinary violinist Eddy Marcano, who grew up both in the Joropo and symphonic traditions. Marcano joins other Venezuelan Joropo masters—Alfonso Moreno, Roberto Koch, Aquiles Báez and José Martínez—on the performance of this electrifying Alberto Valderrama original.

"Music that has roots, that has identity, has a powerful strength," says musician-producer Aquiles Báez about the joropo oriental of eastern Venezuela. Amid the anonymous global musical mix, masters of this string-driven, highly improvised, local music spin out endless threads of artful melody woven into a rich rhythmic fabric. This all-star group of Venezuelan masters applies a rainbow of sounds - guitars unique to the region, button accordion, violin, maracas, bass, and drums—to paint a panorama of a rediscovered, powerful musical tradition on the ascendance.

This album is part of the Smithsonian Folkways Tradiciones/Traditions series of Latino music, produced with support by the Smithsonian Latino Center.