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 www.oim.org.co