Henderson Songwriter Suni Paz Featured in March 4 Online NEA Program

The Music of Henderson Songwriter Suni Paz Will Be Included in a March 4 Online Presentation Offered by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Featuring the Agency’s National Heritage Fellows.

Paz, one of the first artists to bring the nueva canción tradition of music to North American audiences, was named a National Heritage Fellow in 2020. Her music will be featured in the NEA program “The Culture of America: A Cross-County Visit with the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows.” The pre-recorded, one-hour virtual presentation will be hosted by storyteller Queen Nur, who takes viewers into the homes and communities where the 2020 National Heritage Fellows live and create. The free webcast will happen at 5 p.m. March 4; it is accessible here.

Other artists to be featured in “The Culture of America” are soul musician William Bell; folk singer Onnik Dinkjian; dancers Zakarya and Naomi Diouf; beadwork artist Karen Ann Hoffman; dance group Los Matachines de la Santa Cruz de la Ladriellera; radio content producer Hugo N. Morales; fiddler and banjo player John Morris; and canoe builder Wayne Valliere.

The National Heritage Fellowships are the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Fellowship recipients are nominated by the public, often by members of their own communities, and then judged by a panel of experts in the folk and traditional arts. The panel’s recommendations are reviewed by the National Council on the Arts, which sends its recommendations to the Arts Endowment chairman, who makes the final decision.