Popayán Music Festival
The Popayán Music Festival was founded in 1964, marking the beginning of a dream shared by a group of young enthusiasts of what was then known as “cultured music,” now referred to as “classical” or “academic” music. Since its inception, the Festival has held 62 editions to date. Throughout its long history, the Festival has brought together more than 4,000 soloists, ensembles, orchestras, and choirs from 30 countries across all five continents—artists of the highest caliber. We have held nearly 850 concerts, offering audiences a rich selection of the world’s musical literature, including national and world premieres of important works from the global repertoire.
The Festival has brought classical music from the universal repertoire, as well as works by national composers, to churches, parks, coliseums, cultural centers, and theaters. It has always sought to create spaces where all audiences can enjoy live performances of this music. Its policy of democratization ensures that, year after year, at least 90% of the programmed events remain free and open to the public.
On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the Popayán Music Festival was recognized by UNESCO as an event of global significance. To mark this milestone, the Ministry of Communications and the Postal Service of Colombia issued a special release entitled “Score of Brotherhood”, a title that has since become the Festival’s official slogan.
As part of its commitment to strengthening musical activity, the Festival has also supported the creation of events related to other musical genres, such as FestiJazz Popayán, which will celebrate its seventh edition in 2025, and the Semana Sinfónica (Symphonic Week), launched in 2024. In 2025, the Cauca Youth Symphony Orchestra is being established as a space for orchestral practice and development for the department’s young musicians—an initiative that also seeks to serve as a response to the violence affecting the southwest region of the country.
In 2003, the Municipal Government declared the Festival an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the City through Decree No. 68, and awarded it the Shield of the Most Noble and Most Loyal City of Popayán, in its highest heraldic category: the Grand Gold Cross. In 2004, it was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation under Law 891. In 2013, the Popayán Music Festival became the only event of its kind in all of the Americas to reach 50 consecutive editions. On this historic occasion, the Ministry of Culture granted it its highest honor: the Grand Order of the Ministry of Culture.
After 62 uninterrupted years, the name of the Festival has become a leading reference, earning it national and international prestige.
