Music Planet: Road Trip

Betto Arcos reports from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC

Betto Arcos is in Madrid, Spain exploring the rich and diverse world of Flamenco.

Polish singer Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk is our guide to the lost world of pre-WW2 Yiddish Tango. She explores its origins as it arrived from Argentina in the 1920s, to its then beating heart in Warsaw - and the many famous Jewish composers, who perished during the Holocaust. And we hear how Olga and others have been working to revive the music over the last 20 years and more.

Betto Arcos takes us to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival for a celebration of cajun and zydeco music

Sigmund de Souza is our guide to the Portuguese-influenced mando tradition of Goa

Betto Arcos on the playing styles and instruments of Lima's Afro-Peruvian tradition

Betto Arcos reports from the Cosquín Folk Festival in Argentina

Sebastian Bergholm takes us to the far north exploring the rich tradition of Sámi yoiking

Betto Arcos reports from Cali's Petronio Alvarez Festival (of Afro-Colombian music)

Betto Arcos is our guide to the classic American Latin label Ansonia Records

Brazilian guitarist Fabricio Mattos is our guide to the country's Choro music

Damascus-born qanun player Maya Youssef takes us on a journey around the music of Syria

Colombo-based percussionist Sumudi Suraweera is our guide to the music of Sri Lanka

Dipannita Acharya takes us on a journey through the music of the Bauls

Every year since 2008, musicians, singers and dancers gather on both sides of the fence of the US-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana. They get together to celebrate life, unity and brotherhood through the music and dance of Son Jarocho, a traditional music style from Veracruz. Betto Arcos reports from last month's event for our latest Road Trip.

Betto Arcos takes us on a sonic tour of Colombia's Festival Internacional de Cuerdas Pulsadas

Betto Arcos reports from the Son Para Milo Festival in Mexico City, with a special focus on Son Huasteco, a traditional style from the north eastern part of the country.

Betto Arcos reports from the Son Para Milo Festival in Mexico City, with a special focus on Son Huasteco, a traditional style from the north eastern part of the country.

Damascus-born, UK-based qanun player Maya Youssef is our guide to some of the great voices and instrumentalists from Syria's classical and folk traditions

Musicologist Mu Qian takes us on a Road Trip to Hubei province in central China

Betto Arcos takes us to Venezuela and Colombia with a focus on the cuatro instrument

Yijia Tu is our guide to the music of the Yi People of China (in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces)

Guitarist Fabricio Mattos takes us on a journey through the Carimbó music of Brazil.

Betto Arcos takes us on a journey through the music of the Colombian Andes

Betto Arcos reports from Valledupar, home to Vallenato, a folk style popularised in the 1990s by Carlos Vives and celebrated in the city's annual Vallenato Legend Festival.

Betto Arcos celebrates the rich and diverse folk music scene in Argentina with a focus on female artists from Mercedes Sosa and Teresa Parodi to Nadia Larcher and La Charo

Alexander Kan guides us through the revival of Russian folk music across the last century

Betto Arcos explores the varied and exciting folk scene of Uruguay

Betto Arcos is our guide to the Trova Suriana music tradition of southern Mexico

Mauro Durante is our guide to the music of Salento, southern Italy

Betto Arcos reports from Boyacá in Colombia, home to the traditional style of Carranga

Jean-Marc Matwaki takes us on a journey through the music of the DRC

Armen Manukyan takes us on a journey through the music of Armenia

Betto Arcos returns to Paraguay for this Road Trip, with a focus on Guaraní music

Due to the current global pandemic, most venues and performances spaces are closed and festivals cancelled. But musicians are still making music from their homes. Our intrepid guide Betto Arcos takes us on a guide to music from around Latin America that has been made during the lockdown.

Ivan Larenjeira, in this second Road Trip, takes us on a journey through Mozambique.

Betto Arcos guides us around Montevideo, Uruguay, as it prepares for Carnival

Marija Vitas takes us on a Road Trip through the music of Serbia

Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė takes us on a journey over the last century of Lithuanian music

Betto Arcos travels across northeast Argentina in search of Chamamé music; a genre of rural dance music absorbing Spanish, Guarani and African influences

Bill Odidi guides us through some of the greatest South African musicians, including Solomon Linda who wrote one of the most famous songs to come out of the region; 'Mbube'

In the second of two reports from Havana, Betto Arcos looks at the revival of Cuban son music; a direct result of the release of Buena Vista Social Club's first album in 1997