Until recently, Dairo, a young man from Colombia's northern coast,
made his living singing the folkloric vallenata rhythms with his
group at special events in his native city of Cesar.

But one day last May the group received an offer they couldn't
refuse: to travel to Spain as part of an IOM-managed temporary
labour migration programme, earn money and spread Colombia's
vallenata musical culture.  This was the group's dream come
true.

Dairo and the other three members of the group are well-known in
this part of Colombia where they are hired for special events where
the vallenato is more than just music, it symbolizes their coastal
roots.

According to the artists, the vallenato represents the
mestizaje, or cultural mix of those who have shared for centuries
the lush tropical land of Colombia's northern coast.  The
three instruments used to play vallenato – accordion,
guacharaca and the vallenata box, came together as did the three
cultures – the indigenous, the Spanish, and the African.

Twenty-seven-year-old Dairo, who plays the accordion, says he
learnt the instrument and vallenato music from his grandparents and
uncles.  The other members of the group have also played since
childhood, but were less fortunate because they could not devote
themselves 100 per cent to their music and had to work the fields
and do other jobs in order to provide for their families.

Dairo and his group were selected along with 300 other
applicants to take part in the Temporary and Circular Labour
Migration Programme (MLTC by its Spanish acronym) implemented by
IOM Colombia and the Unió de Pagesos / Agricultores
Solidarios of Spain, with financing from the Aeneas Programme of
the European Commission.

The selected migrants will work for six months harvesting fruits
in the Catalonia region of Spain, with the option of participating
in the programme next year.

IOM's local partner, the Fundación Carboandes de
Valledupar, selected Dairo and his friends not only because their
experience in agricultural work, but because MLTC wants to promote
cultural activities as part of the programme.

Catalonia here we come!

So on the 1st of July, Dairo and his friends took off to
Catalonia.  But while waiting for their flight, and to the
delight of the public, they gave an impromptu performance at the
airport.  They played paseos, puyas and sons, typical sounds
of their extensive repertoire.

The music made them a bit melancholy and made them think of
their families being left behind.  Dairo said, "Our family is
the reason we will return soon. But also because we want to
continue to entertain our friends and neighbours in Cesar, and to
tell them how they live on the other side of the ocean."

The men will work in the fields Monday through Friday and the
weekends will be spent playing their beloved vallenatos in full
costume at music festivals and other events throughout Catalonia
and in neighbouring France.

"We never imagined that we would travel to a foreign land to do
what we love best – playing vallenatos," explains Henry
Pinto, the singer.  "But also we will be making money and
learning new things!"

In six months the group of 300 will return home while other
Colombian labour migrants pack their bags to take part in the MLTC
programme, which aims to benefit 1,800 Colombians in 2008.

For more information, please visit the IOM Colombia website at
target="_blank" title="">www.oim.org.co