AFP Guest Artists
As you might imagine from the photograph,
Rita Cantu was one of the artists who filled in for Dolan while he was recovering
from elbow surgery in December 2001. Rita's is among the most entertaining
of one-woman shows, as she plays her guitar expertly, sings in an angelic
yet strong voice, and plays a number of other instruments including dulcimer,
autoharp, wood flute, and drums. Rita
is wearing an instrument around her neck, an ocarina. Her show
was a multimedia event, with a slide show synchronized with her music. She
bills herself as "an environmental interpreter, singer, songwriter, author,
environmental educator, and traveler."
Rita is a graduate of the University of
Arizona and currently works as a consultant with the National Forest Service
where she develops programs to link conservation with the arts. Rita
lends her own immense talents to these programs at times. Please visit
Rita's Web site, www.ritacantu.com, to learn
more about this busy lady.
Rita has been invited to represent the
Forest Service at the 2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. She'll be performing several shows
each day on the Capital Mall between June 21 and July 4. If you are
in the Washington, D.C., area, please try to get out there and see Rita.
Rita currently has two CDs available and
is working on the third, as well as a re-release of an early recording she
did of Appalachian music. Audio clips from all of these recordings
are available on her Web site.
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