A Jazz Festival Backed by Eight Countries Opens in Caracas on 18 September
VENEZUELA · LIVE MUSIC
Key Facts
- —The run 14 September to 4 October 2026. The first publicly scheduled concert is Friday 18 September.
- —The opening 5 p.m. Caracas time at the Asociación Cultural Humboldt in San Bernardino. Free, until capacity.
- —The venues Six concert sites in total, five in Caracas and one in La Guaira.
- —The backers The European Union delegation plus Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
- —The benefit 26 September at Monte Sacro. Free entry, collecting school supplies for earthquake-affected schools.
- —Most dates still unannounced Only four of sixteen activities have published dates. The rest are unannounced.
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Seven European embassies and the European Union delegation are paying for it. Several of the concerts cost nothing to attend.
The fourth Euro-Venezuelan jazz festival runs in Caracas from 14 September to 4 October 2026. The first concert with a published date is Friday 18 September.
It opens at 5 p.m. Caracas time at the Asociación Cultural Humboldt in San Bernardino. Entry is free, on a first-come basis until the room fills.
Eight countries take part, counting Venezuela. The European Union delegation organises it with seven European embassies and missions.
Who Is Paying, and Why That Matters
The jazz festival is paid for by the European Union delegation in Venezuela. Seven embassies join it: Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
That funding structure explains the ticketing. Several concerts are free and the rest are described as reduced price. That pricing pattern is unusual for an international festival.
The stated motto is united in diversity, united in solidarity. Two of the four scheduled concerts are explicitly charitable.
The Dates That Are Confirmed
Friday 18 September, 5 p.m., Asociación Cultural Humboldt, San Bernardino. Mari Bel from Belgium plays alongside the Venezuelan singers Biella Da Costa, Hana Kobayashi and Valentina Becerra.
Saturday 19 September, 4 p.m., Centro Cultural de Arte Moderno in La Castellana. A Belgian delegation shares the bill with the quartet of the Venezuelan guitarist Juan Ángel Esquivel.
Saturday 26 September, 5 p.m., Centro Cultural Monte Sacro in Bello Monte. Polish and Swiss musicians play, entry is free, and this is the benefit concert.
Friday 2 October, 5 p.m., Teatro Pedro Elías Gutiérrez in La Guaira. Portuguese and German delegations perform for coastal communities.
What Has Not Been Announced
The jazz festival advertises sixteen activities in total. They break down as seven concerts, five masterclasses and four jam sessions.
Only the four concerts above carry a published date, time, venue and line-up. Three concerts, all five masterclasses and all four jam sessions remain unscheduled publicly.
The concert halls at the Central University of Venezuela and the Teatro Trasnocho Cultural are both listed as venues without dates attached.
Masterclass registration runs through the European Union delegation’s social media rather than a booking site. Jam sessions are free and use separate bars and cultural spaces.
Who Is Playing
The European side includes Magro from Germany, a Berlin-based drummer who mixes jazz with hip-hop and electronic production. Piotr Schmidt brings trumpet from Poland.
Sarah Buechi arrives from Switzerland with her Pink Mountain Sagas project. Sofia Ribeiro and Juan Andrés Ospina represent Portugal, and Osdelly LaCroes the Netherlands.
The Venezuelan line-up leans on voice. Biella Da Costa, Hana Kobayashi, Sofía Castillo and Valentina Becerra all appear across the programme.
Instrumentalists include Josué Pinto on saxophone, Jesús Milano on piano, Bernardo Ruiz on bass and Miguel De Vincenzo on drums.
Practical Notes
The Humboldt is a German cultural association in San Bernardino, a quiet residential district. La Castellana and Bello Monte are in the eastern part of the city.
Reaching the theatre in La Guaira means the highway over the coastal range. Allow forty-five to sixty minutes from eastern Caracas.
Free concerts take no reservations. Arriving early is the only way to be sure of a seat.
Spoken programming is in Spanish. The music itself needs no translation.
One site to avoid: a domain that once carried the festival’s name now serves online gambling content and still ranks high in search results. The real programme lives on the European Union delegation’s own microsite and social accounts, and anything else claiming to be official is not.
More: Venezuela news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the jazz festival run?
From 14 September to 4 October 2026, although the first publicly scheduled concert is Friday 18 September at 5 p.m. Caracas time.
Is it free?
Several concerts are, including the 18 September opening and the 26 September benefit. Others are described as reduced price, and ticket levels have not been published.
Where are the concerts held?
Six venues in total. Five are in Caracas, including the Asociación Cultural Humboldt and the Centro Cultural de Arte Moderno, and the sixth is in La Guaira.
What is the benefit concert for?
It collects school supplies and donations for school populations affected by recent earthquakes in Venezuela. It takes place on 26 September at Monte Sacro.
Who organises it?
The European Union delegation in Venezuela, with the embassies and missions of Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
Sources: The European Union delegation’s official programme microsite, El Nacional, Últimas Noticias, Informe21 and Radio Nacional de Venezuela.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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