Atlas Presents Jazz: Sofia Viola

Sofia Viola takes the stage embracing her guitar and her charangón and performs her songs which drift from tango to vibrations of the Andes, from milonga to happy cumbia, from rock to vallenato, and from chamamé to blues, in a show that is pure interpretative power. She composes songs in which she professes her unconditional love for Latin American folklore in all its dimensions; and in her solo show, she tells micro-stories that speak of love, ecology, junk food, and universal themes from her perspective. Sofia’s provocative humor leads the audience on a journey to discover the roots of Argentina through the characters and landscapes that inhabit her songs.

Artist biography: 

Sofia Viola is an Argentinian singer, composer, and actress. For the past 13 years, she travels accompanied by her guitar and her charangón true to her nomadic style. She has toured Argentina and many neighboring countries such as Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia, after which she jumped across the ocean to appear in Europe, where she has played in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Pirineos Sur, and Berlin.

Her style is informed by the suburban tango, but she also draws from rock music and the Argentinian “Tropical Wave” style. Throughout her journey, she is received and loved by audiences of all ages. Her performances have an indie-folk touch with influences of tangos, milongas, cumbias, vallenatos, boleros, blues, among many other rhythms she both absorbs and composes.

This engagement of Sofia Viola is funded through Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America, a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.