Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

In the midst of his hectic schedule as a conductor and pianist, Pablo Mielgo is busy promoting cultural and music exchanges between his native country of Spain and countries in North and South America and Europe. One example of this is the Spain-Venezuela Arts Festival now going on its third year. The Festival is promoting cultural exchange between the two countries through opera, symphony and chamber concerts performed by artists from both countries, arts exhibitions, as well as educational workshops for children and young people. The festival is part of Iber

With the success of the program in the United States, Colombia and Mexico, Pablo Mielgo has decided to bring the program to Asia. The first Asian country to benefit from the cultural exchange will be the Philippines.

"Spain is a part of the history of the Philippines; we share so many things together. So, it would be a great thing to link our cultures together through this program," said Pablo in an exclusive interview with the Asian Journal. "Ten years ago, this wouldn’t be possible. But now with the Internet and travel as it is, countries can truly be more connected. Having something like this program is much easier to put together," said the young 33-year old maestro.

Targeting 2010 for a Spain-Philippines Music Festival, Maestro Pablo Mielgo has chosen to work together with Filipino-American conductor Nové Deypalan, who will go to the Philippines on December 2010 to start the ball rolling for the historical 6-week event.

"I first met Pablo last year but it wasn’t until a few days ago when we got together again and he broached the idea to me. It’s a great opportunity for Spain and the Philippines to be more connected. We have so much here in the US that we can bring back to the Philippines. And one of them is music," said Nové Deypalan.