BBC Radio 3’s World Routes Academy brings together renowned Bogotá-based accordionist Egidio Cuadrado with London-born talent José Hernando Arias Noguera. Launched in 2010, the scheme aims to support and inspire UK based young world music artists by bringing them together with an internationally renowned artist in the same field and belonging to the same tradition. In this case, the spotlight has been on “vallenato”, the popular folk music from northern Colombia.

The concert on 31 July will be an opportunity to witness the fruits of a seven-month musical journey that has seen apprentice José Hernando learn the secrets of the trade from accordion master Egidio Cuadrado, share a stage with singer Carlos Vives, and travel throughout Colombia absorbing the more subtle influences that come with the local culture.

Egidio Cuadrado, crowned King of Vallenato in 1985 at the Vallenato Legend Festival in Colombia, is probably best known for his collaborations with Carlos Vives with whom he has revolutionised the vallenato tradition by fusing it with rock, pop and other Caribbean rhythms. Egidio – who brings his own band – says of the event: “We’re going to play a mix of vallenato songs alternating the four traditional rhythms that characterise this folk music: paseo, son, merengue and puya. We’ll perform some traditional and some new pieces, which fuse vallenato with other Caribbean rhythms, like the Colombian champeta and cumbia, or even some reggae”.

Together with his mentor, José Hernando will be making BBC Proms history by being the first Colombians to take centre stage at the festival. The concert promises to get everyone on their feet with his undeniable talent and José’s deep-rooted love for vallenato. José Hernando says “My dream is to make this music as well known as salsa and to write lyrics in English for it”.