Chile | Independence Day
Chilean band Quimantu performs the music of Violeta Parra in a packed St John’s Smith Square
Colombian Ambassador Nestor Osorio and Paola Napoli
Cuban Ambassador Mrs Teresita Vicente, Mariana Luiselli, Mexican Ambassador Julian Ventura, Laurent Prosper (Haiti) and former UK Ambassador to Chile Jon Benjamin
Bolivian Ambassador Roberto Calzadilla and Cuban Ambassador Mrs Teresita Vicente
Chilean Cultural Attache Katalina Herrera introduces the concert
Ambassador Drago gives his Independence Day remarks
Brazilian Ambassador Mr Eduardo dos Santos, wife of the Italian Ambassador Karen Lawrence, Linette de Jager and Argentine Ambassador Carlos Sersale
A tour de force by Mauricio Venegas-Astorga
Jeremy Corbyn and his son join Latin American heads of mission in his appreciation
Ambassador Drago thanks Quimantu’s Rachel Panton with bouquets
Ambassador Drago with the Ambassador of Kuwait and the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Khaled Al Duwaisan and the Ambassador of Honduras and GRULA Dean Ivan Romero Martinez
Deputy head of Mission Matthias Francke and guest
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Hitting a high note
To toast Chile’s 207th anniversary of Independence, Ambassador Rolando Drago hosted a musical tribute to Chilean composer, folklorist and social activist Violeta Parra on the centenary of her birth. Her compositions were interpreted movingly by Chilean- British folk band Quimantu, headed by maestro Mauricio Venegas- Astorga who put together an imaginative repertoire fusing Chilean traditional songs and British folk (with a bit of Bach) that delighted the audience of ambassadors, parliamentarians (including Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn) and members of the Chilean Community. The concert was a high note in a year that has seen the flourishing of British-Chilean ties since the presidential visit in 2016, said the Ambassador, who treated guests to a post-concert empanada paired with a bold Chilean red.
PHOTOS: PIERE DE VILLIERS