Lidia María Hernández López, "La India Canela," is a celebrated accordion player from the Dominican Republic. She has recorded several albums and won two Casandras. (The Casandra is the Dominican Republic's highest prize in the arts.) However, she says, "the best prize that one can win is the sentiment of the public, the people who appreciate and admire you."

La India is also happy that, in turn, she has influenced a younger generation of female accordionists: "It has been a great satisfaction for me that some of the young women have come up to me and said that they have seen in me an example to follow."

Here she demonstrates her dynamic ability during recording sessions for Smithsonian Folkways in Santiago, Dominican Republic, in 2007. In this video she is performing at the 2009 Festival.

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Category: Music

La India Canela discusses how modern musical and cultural influences are changing the traditional merengue típico sound. La India Canela be heard on the Smithsonian Folkways album "La India Canela: Merengue Típico from the Dominican Republic". Learn more about this album at http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=3206

Smithsonian Folklife Festival: http://festival.si.edu Smithsonian Folkways: http://folkways.si.edu