Marcelo Araúz Lavadenz (born October 29, 1934, in

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

), is a

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

n festival director, culture promoter, choir leader and music educator. He spent his youth on the

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

s of Palmar de las Islas. He studied

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

at the Katholic University of Leuven in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

.CirulArt
biography
Araúz worked initially for the French

Alliance française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

and the Casa de la Cultura Raúl Otero Reiche in Santa Cruz. Then he became secretary-general for the Asociación Pro Arte y Cultura (Apac), a Bolivian organization for the promotion of art and culture. Furthermore, he is the founder of Urubichá Choir that is dedicated to

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

. The baroque in the region of Santa Cruz developed under the influence of old culture exchanges with the local

Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

.Viceministerio de Desarrollo de las Culturas de Bolivia (2003
''Gestion con la entrega de premios''
He is director of two biannual international festivals in Bolivia in the field of

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

: the ''Festival Internacional de Música Barroca y Renacentista "Misiones de Chiquitos"'' and the ''Festival Internacional de Santa Cruz de la Sierra''. Araúz was rewarded with prizes several times. One of them was the

Prince Claus Award The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Awa ...

from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 2002. Furthermore he received the highest award of Bolivia in 2003, in the

Order of the Condor of the Andes The Order of the Condor of the Andes () is a state decoration of the Plurinational State of Bolivia instituted on 12 April 1925. The Order is awarded for exceptional merit, either civil or military, shown by Bolivians or foreign nationals. The ...

.Prince Claus Fund
profile
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arauz Lavandez, Marcelo 21st-century Bolivian musicians Music educators Living people 1934 births People from Santa Cruz de la Sierra Bolivian expatriates in Belgium