The great Orinoco River flows in a region shared by Venezuela and Colombia and along the watershed of the river lies Los Llanos, grasslands as far as the eye can behold. The unresticted openness and wild beauty of the plains have attracted humans for thousands of years, first with nomadic indigenous and later Spaniards who introduced horses and cattle. The result was a uniquely rich cowboy culture whose music continues to be one of Venezuela's least known treasures.When visiting Los Llanos, the natural beauty and horizon-to-horizon expanse nearly stop the heart. Los llaneros takes one back in time, strips the "civilized" world of its weariness and delivers life itself as its underived wildness connects us to our origins and true selves. The music of the llaneros speaks to the life and culture of authentic Venezuela. This is why we wish to offer it through music on Axis of Logic.

The music is distinguished by unique vocal styles and instruments that originated in Venezuela, Colombia and Paraguay. The cuatro has four single strings and it is the center piece of Venezuelan music. The arpa of los llanos is a standup harp with 32 gut strings and at times when the arpa is played, the fingers are literally a blur to vision. The maracas, (sometimes called rumba shakers) are a native instrument of Latin America, usually played in pairs and consisting of a dried calabash or gourd shell (cuia "cue-ya") or coconut shell filled with seeds or dried beans. They are also sometimes made of leather or wood. The Mina drum (Tambor Mina) is the largest of the drums that have origins in the Barlovento, Miranda region of Venezuela and have been traced back to the Cumaco drum whose origins have been traced to the Mina civilization, which occupied what is now known as Benin in Africa.

The music of los llaneros can best be heard by visiting Los Llanos! But the music is also played and sung live in bars, restaurants, and outdoor parillas (barbecues) in cities, towns and in "el campo" (the countryside) throughout Venezuela. When sung by a llanero (cowboy or cowgirl) with a band, the singer often leaves the stage, visits each table, pointing to patrons and singing a story of Los Llanos. It could be a ballad about the history of Venezuela, heroes of the independence wars, of love, of a beautiful landscape, of a favorite food, of misfortune or tragedy, a family story, of a personal success, even about a particular vaca (cow) or caballo (horse) or of just about anything else in the lives of the llaneros. Patrons respond with smiles, nods and affirmation, punctuating the music and story with applause. Often with no dance floor available the people spontaneously rise and dance meringue, salsa or the joropo which is the national dance of Venezuela among the tables with rapid sychronous complexities and footwork. We hope you'll enjoy sampling the music of Los Laneros in the videos below.

- Les Blough in Venezuela

The lovely Ana Veydó sings about her mother´s kitchen and traditional Venezuelan foods like the arépa in "La Cocina de mi mama."

Finally, a popular musical tribute to The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the tradition of Los Llanos by Pablo and Victor Escalona, produced by SDG Video in 2008.