On this West Virginia Morning, an experimental apple orchard in the state is helping to fight pollution, improve food scarcity and some hope even heal veterans. Briana Heaney has the story.
Larry Bellorín began making his living as a musician and music teacher when he was a teenager in Venezuela. His career was interrupted abruptly in 2013 when Venezuela’s state-run economy crashed and socialist President Nicholas Maduro cracked down on opponents and folks like Larry, who refused to choose sides. He and his family fled to Raleigh, North Carolina and have added their names to a huge backlog of asylum applicants.
Larry worked construction and thought his musical career was behind him until he met Joe Troop, a GRAMMY-nominated musician and North Carolina native who introduced him to the folk music and traditions of Appalachia, which Larry found eerily similar to the joropo he played in Venezuela.
Their duo, Larry & Joe, is the realization of a dream for both musicians. It’s also a reminder for Larry of what – and who – he had to leave behind.
Us & Them host Trey Kay tells the story of Larry Bellorín’s musical beginnings, his “magical” kinship and duo with Joe Troop and the song he can’t yet bring himself to sing.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.
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Editor’s note, June 8, 2023: The initial version of this story incorrectly stated the ages of Larry Bellorin and Joe Troop. That error has been corrected.
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