Live music and dance in Santander, December 2019

My last month in Santander started on a high note and finished on even higher one. Keep reading...

• 1 December: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4, Santander
  With the base band featuring Nadir Ibarra (tenor sax), Fer Serrano (piano), Manuel Cavero (double bass) and Daniel Rodríguez (drums) with guest musicians Manuel San Emeterio (guitar), Tom Ranby (alto sax) and others.
• 4 December: Dr. Bobô @ Rvbicón
  Modern jazz fusion trio featuring Juan Saiz (saxophones, flute), Pedro A. Terán Camus (drums, percussion) and Sergio Di Finizio (electric bass).
  

• 7 December: Sandman Cabaret @ Black Bird Club, Calle Vista Alegre 13
  This Dark Fusion & Tribal Fusion Bellydance show, purportedly inspired by The Sandman comic saga, was a strange and somewhat disappointing experience. I’ve seen a lot of tattoos but altogether it was not funny, daring or provocative enough even to be called cabaret. It was more like an end-of-the course showcase of several dance schools linked by a not very clear storyline narrated in a very annoying voice and interspersed with no less annoying Mr. Sandman sung by The Chordettes. Featuring Ai Khanum (Italy), Aicha Dance Troupe (Basque Country), Alicia Tuya (Asturias), Béu Riot (Cantabria), Caroline Crane (Basque Country), Cernéula Galupa (Basque Country and Cantabria), Delirium (Cantabria), Deyanira & Laura Malizia (Cantabria / Basque Country), Idhun (Valencia), Idunna Patricia Everglot (Cantabria), Mai Bastet (Cantabria), Marina Bartual (Cantabria), Miguel Palomera (Cantabria), Nur Bloodrose (Barcelona), Om Mayura (Cantabria), Paola Olaskoaga (Italy), TribalRock Fusion (Madrid) and Una Shamaa (Germany).
  

• 11 December: Surikato Blues @ Rvbicón
  Energetic rhythm and blues and rock’n’roll from Madrid featuring Víctor Sánchez (bass, guitar, vocals), Miguel Galván (drums), Joe O’Boyle (guitar, bass, vocals) and Cristian Castellanos (lead vocals).
  

• 14 December: Mujeres que cantan a mujeres @ Salón de actos de la Fundación Botín, Pedrueca 1
  A mini-concert by Yenia Popova, Mehnai and Gema Martínez at the closing of the 1^st Cantabrian Conference on Women and Aging.

• 17 December: Paula Bilá Quartet @ Canela Bar, Plaza de Cañadio
  This young singer-songwriter from Cádiz treated us to the delightful programme of blues and soul standards such as I Just Want to Make Love to You, I’d Rather Go Blind and River. With Rafael Santana (piano), Toño Gutiérrez (double bass) and Rodri Irizábal (drums).
• 20 December: Ara Malikian @ Palacio de Deportes de Santander
  I missed quite a few Ara Malikian shows during the last couple of years, consistent sold out being the main reason. But this time, he came practically to my workplace, so I had no excuses to miss him once again. Quite fittingly, this was the last musical event I’ve been not just in Santander but this year as well. Malikian is not only a brilliant violinist and showman; he’s got quite a sense of humour and, between the musical numbers, entertained us with hilarious personal anecdotes of ever diminishing plausibility. He was backed by no less amazing band featuring Humberto Armas (viola), Tony Carmona (guitar), Iván Ruiz Machado (double bass, electric bass), Anna Milman (violin), Iván “Melón” Lewis (piano), Georvis Pico (drums) and Cristina Suey (cello).

Goodbye, Santander. And now, it’s time to say: Happy New Year!

Live music and things in Santander, November 2019

November in Santander. Pretty quiet (and rainy, as expected)...

• 3 November: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4, Santander
  With the base band featuring Marcelo Véliz (trombone), Rafa Santana (piano), Toño Gutiérrez (double bass) and Yeyo Pilatti (drums).
• 6 November: Ferenc Nemeth Trio @ Rvbicón
  Amazing Ferenc Nemeth (drums) with Greg Tardy (tenor sax) and Tzumo Aprad (keyboards) presented their brand-new collaboration (they never played together before). Unfortunately, the CD is not released yet, otherwise I would have bought it.
  

• 13 November: Max Ionata Trio @ Rvbicón
  Max Ionata (tenor sax) with Jesper Bodilsen (double bass) and Martin Andersen (drums).
  

• 20 November: Rémi Dugué Trio @ Rvbicón
  An evening of manouche jazz with Rémi Dugué (guitar), Dany García (guitar) and Manuel Cavero (double bass).
  

• 22 November: Kolektiv Lapso Cirk @ La estación de tren de Adif, Santander
  David and Tomas of Kolektiv Lapso Cirk presented Ovvio, an entertaining equilibristic show employing simple objects such as wooden planks and deckchairs. It was free of charge and took place at the foyer of the Santander Adif rail station, where additional enertainment was provided by the train departure announcements. The show was a part of the VIII International Circus Festival En la Cuerda Floja.

• 24 November: Maddy Smith, José A. Gallego and Kate Gass @ La Pirula, Calle Peña Herbosa, 21
  A charming programme of English, Irish, French and (sometimes) Spanish folk and folk-y songs.
• 27 November: Asere Quartet @ Rvbicón
  Another international modern jazz collective featuring Fèlix Rossy (trumpet), Leandro Irarragorri (piano), Josep Cordobés (drums) and Calvin Lennig (double bass).
  

It’s almost Christmas time — and only three weeks till I leave these shores.

The Wall

by Pink Floyd

I first heard The Wall in 1980, not long after the album was released. At first, I was unimpressed. It felt too long, with too much lyrics and too little instrumental parts — a far cry from Pink Floyd I knew and loved. I didn’t change my opinion upon hearing The Final Cut a few years later — in my view, the latter album was more focused, shorter and therefore better.

By the end of the ’80s, however, I grew to like it. And after seeing the movie and especially after watching The Wall in Berlin on live TV (still in the USSR!), I have finally accepted that it’s Pink Floyd all right. And you know what? The forty-year old album still rocks.

Theatre and live music in Santander, October 2019

It’s Halloween already — and so it’s time for my overview of October in Santander.

• 2 October: Mabel Sierra Soul Band @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4, Santander
  Fantastic Mabel Sierra with Iván Velasco (guitar), Miguel Sánchez (bass) and Natxo Miralles (drums).
  

• 5 October: Maison Close @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas de la Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP), Avenida de los Castros, 42
  The ninth Festival de Teatro Amateur organised by Federación de Grupos de Teatro Aficionado de Cantabria (FETEACAN) was opened by Maison Close by Paraskenia Teatro (Talavera de la Reina, Toledo) featuring Prado Amor as Madame Nicole and Roberto Jifer as Totó. I enjoyed the play so much that I came again next day (Sunday), and the following weekend. Incidently, all the shows at UIMP were free of charge.
  

• 6 October: La gata @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas
  An adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Athenea Teatro (Valladolid). With Nuria García as Maggie, Pedro Yllera as Brick, Francisco Alonso as Big Daddy, Pilar Redondo as Big Mama, Carlos Barrientos as Cooper and Diana Saraiva as Mae. Directed by Xiqui Rodríguez.
• 6 October: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón
  After watching La gata, I directed myself to Rvbicón to see what was remaining of the traditional jam session. With the base band featuring Nadir Ibarra (sax), Rafa Santana (piano), Manuel Cavero (double bass) and Yeyo Pilatti (drums).
• 12 October: El burgués gentilhombre @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas
  Alhama Teatro of Corella (Navarre) presented their version of Molière’s classic comedy. Adaptation and direction by Rebeca Sanz-Conde, with Lucas Eza, Antonio Martín, Manuel Izal, Javier Fernández, Mónica Garbayo, Ángela Jiménez Traí and Mª Luz Sesma.
• 13 October: Persona, yo y nosotros al mismo tiempo @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas
  A modern comedy by La Peseta Teatro of Asturias directed by Cristina Bravo. I loved the way the actors were taking their turns to break the fourth wall while the rest of the cast stayed “frozen”. With Esperanza Munilla, Kuka Suárez, Javier Val and Fernando Zapatero.

• 18 October: Gaye Su Akyol @ El Centro Botín, Muelle de Albareda
  That evening, there were at least two other concerts in Santander that I wanted to see but I think I made the right decision. Gaye Su Akyol and the band were phenomenal.

• 27 October: MAR (Micrófono Abierto Rvbicón) @ Rvbicón
  I went to see, for the first time ever, what the MAR is all about. Basically, anybody who wants to sing, play, read poetry, perform monologues etc. can do it. Inevitably, a mixed bag of an evening saved by the inimitable ambience of the place.

Bring on November...

Über sieben Brücken

by Karat

Über sieben Brücken was the first — and, in my view, still the best — LP of the East German band Karat I ever heard. I’m not quite sure where my brother’s classmate, who lent it to us, got it from; it even could have been the famous Moscow record store, not-too-inventively named Мелодия — I bought some of Karat’s later vinyls there. Does not matter really.

German has never appealed to me as particularly musical language, yet, in spite of this, I instantly fell in love with this record. For me, the first riffs of He, Mama became the quintessence of rock’n’roll; the seamless transition to Blues by shifting the accent within its quasi-final five-note figure (mind you, it’s the same note) is impeccable, as is the gradual acceleration of the Blues and surprise return to the chorus of He, Mama. The haunting Musik zu einem nichtexistierenden Film has always made me daydream of that non-existent film. One day, I thought, I’ll shoot it myself. The magnificent Auf den Meeren is my favourite song of this album: today it makes me think of a funkier version of Another Brick in the Wall, although I am pretty sure Karat were not aware of it at the time (Pink Floyd released their hit only in November 1979). The country-influenced Das, was ich will could have been awfully out of place here if not for the fact it’s just one minute long. As such, it makes a welcome break and brings the first side to a close.

The second side opens with playful Gewitterregen full of odd meters — I still scratch my head trying to figure out what is going on here. It makes way to epic rock-waltz Albatros. As I realise now, the bass line of the Albatros’s bridge, together with the one in Auf den Meeren, had influenced my own bass playing a lot. Another solid rock’n’roll, Wenn das Schweigen bricht, is probably the only “disposable” song of the album; at least I prefer to skip it and go straight to the closing track, a beautiful ballad-cum-drinking song in the best sense of the latter term.

Über sieben Brücken mußt Du gehn (Ed Swillms/Helmut Richter) Manchmal geh’ ich meine Straße ohne Blick, manchmal wünsch’ ich mir mein Schaukelpferd zurück. Manchmal bin ich ohne Rast und Ruh’, manchmal schließ’ ich alle Türen nach mir zu. Manchmal ist mir kalt und manchmal heiß, manchmal weiß ich nicht mehr was ich weiß. Manchmal bin ich schon am Morgen müd’, und dann such’ ich Trost in einem Lied. Über sieben Brücken mußt du geh’n, sieben dunkle Jahre übersteh’n, siebenmal wirst du die Asche sein, aber einmal auch der helle Schein. Manchmal scheint die Uhr des Lebens still zu stehn, manchmal scheint man immer nur im Kreis zu gehn. Manchmal ist man wie von Fernweh krank, manchmal sitzt man still auf einer Bank. Manchmal greift man nach der ganzen Welt, manchmal meint man, dass der Glücksstern fällt. Manchmal nimmt man, wo man lieber gibt, manchmal hasst man das, was man doch liebt. Über sieben Brücken mußt du geh’n, sieben dunkle Jahre übersteh’n, siebenmal wirst du die Asche sein, aber einmal auch der helle Schein.

Über sieben Brücken Side 1 Introduktion (Swillms) He, Mama (Swillms/Dreilich) Blues (Karat/Dreilich) Wilder Mohn (Swillms/Kaiser, Dreilich) Musik zu einem nichtexistierenden Film (Swillms) Auf den Meeren (Swillms/Demmler) Das, was ich will (Dreilich) Side 2 Gewitterregen (Swillms/Kaiser) Albatros (Swillms/Kaiser) Wenn das Schweigen bricht (Swillms/Kaiser) Über sieben Brücken mußt Du gehn (Swillms/Helmut Richter) Herbert Dreilich: lead vocals, 12-string guitar Henning Protzmann: bass guitar, vocals Bernd Römer: guitar, 12-string guitar Michael Schwandt: drums Ulrich “Ed” Swillms: piano, keyboards String and Woodwind Ensemble “Otto-Karl Beck” (5, 9)

In the Court of the Crimson King

by King Crimson

Fifty years young today, In the Court of the Crimson King still sounds fresh and powerful. The lenghty article in Rolling Stone goes on about how KC inspred everybody from Yes to Kanye West — strangely, failing to mention Deep Purple’s Into the Fire.

I first heard and saw ITCOTKC in mid-1980s. In my humble opinion, it is one of the handful of rock albums worth having on vinyl for their cover art alone. Sadly, its creator, Barry Godber, died in 1970 at the age of 24, leaving after himself no other album cover. The cover art alone, I said, but isn’t it nice to have inside the first ever prog-rock record as well? Both the vinyl I heard back then and the CD I acquired in Italy in 1994 (one of the very first CDs I ever bought) predated the 1993 “rediscovery” of the original master tapes. I have to say that I didn’t hear any of the “newer” version of the album. I suppose they are all very decent, and the 50^th anniversary edition is coming out soon. Undoubtedly it will be branded “definitive” for the next 10 years or so. However, for me and for everyone who grew on their music in 1970s and 1980s, the ’69 version is the definitive.

Theatre and live music in Santander and Las Palmas, September 2019

I spent this September in Santander and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

• 7 September: Devórate @ Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria, Calle de Gamazo, Santander
  There is nothing wrong in dancing in the nude. It will do us a lot of good to dance more, to get naked more, and to make love more, and any combination thereof. Personally, I preferred Retrópica to Mari Paula’s brand new creation, Devórate. The opening is almost painfully slow; I’m sure the lovers of Sokurov would appreciate it more than I did. However, there was an absolutely stunning African dance part in the middle; I’d love to see more of that.

• 8 September: Jam session @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4, Santander
  The sixth edition of Raqueros del Jazz, organised and hosted by Rvbicón, kicked off with a jam. Toño Gutiérrez (bass), Rafa Santana (piano), Rodrigo Irizábal (drums), Manuel Cavero (double bass) and others.

• 10 September: Víctor Antón Group @ Rvbicón
  Technically accomplished but rather predictable mainstream jazz collective featuring Víctor Antón (guitar), Roberto Nieva (alto sax), Marcos Salcines (piano), Darío Guibert (double bass) and Mikel Urretagoiena (drums). The original compositions sounded as if I heard all this before. Then they played encore which was simply fantastic. Why not the all of the concert?
• 12 September: Raynald Colom Trio with Eliot Zigmund @ Rvbicón
  Raynald Colom (trumpet), Juan Sebastián (piano), Manel Fortiá (double bass) and jazz legend Eliot Zigmund (drums) playing mostly modern jazz standards and making them sound fresh and their own. (Cf. the previous act.) Unfortunately, I wasn’t in Santander for the second week of Raqueros; then again, nobody could be in two places at once.
• 19 September: Fasur Rodríguez @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  An event organised by Mousikê La Laguna opens the new season of jazz masterclasses.

• 21 September: Totem @ Meloneras
  The final live event as well as the highlight of the month. Bravo, Cirque du Soleil!

Back to Santander, I’m looking forward to see and hear more.

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht

a film by Werner Herzog

This 1979 film is the second feature in El reflejo del vampiro cycle (and the last one I was able to watch). Curiously, just like it was the case with Drácula, there were two versions made, English and German, to avoid dubbing, although this time the same cast was involved. Filmoteca Canaria screened the German-language version in VOSE.

Not exactly a horror movie but it is very atmospheric, stylish and even beautiful (as vampire films go). Bruno Ganz makes a pretty convincing Jonathan Harker, although after watching the final few minutes you might argue otherwise. Isabelle Adjani shines as Pre-Raphaelitesque Lucy — little wonder that even Count Dracula couldn’t resist. On the contrary, the count himself, played by Klaus Kinski, is little more than an (also stylish, but quite repulsive — complete opposite of Villarías’ Dracula, I say) homage to original Nosferatu. My favourite character, however, is still Renfield, here masterfully portrayed by Roland Topor.

Concerto for Group and Orchestra

by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold

I first got acquainted with this Jon Lord’s masterpiece (first performed 50 years ago today) in the early 1980s, already being familiar with the rest of the Deep Purple Mark II studio legacy. I had a 19 cm/s audio tape reel recorded from a very scratchy vinyl. There were several skips, most notably during the Ritchie Blackmore’s lenghty solo in the First Movement (Moderato — Allegro), but, as this solo is very repetitive, I didn’t miss much. More annoying for me was the fact that the Second Movement (Andante) was split between the two sides of the LP.

What still amazes me that the score of the Concerto was lost in 1970. How? Was there really just one copy? That Marco de Goeij was able to reconstruct it by listening to the original recording is even more amazing. The result, performed twenty years ago already, could have been great... if you hadn’t heard the original, that is. What was revolutionary in 1969 became a tribute in 1999. Still, worth watching, not least because of great guest musicians, such as Annie Whitehead.

Totem

by Cirque du Soleil

We (Tamara, Timur and I) went yesterday to Meloneras to see Cirque du Soleil on their penultimate day in Gran Canaria. Not just an improvement compared to Dralion five years ago (since retired) but simply an amazing show. Of course, it’s so much better to see circus in Grand Chapiteau rather than in a sports arena. One act (Contortion) was missing from the yesterday’s spectacle but I wouldn’t know it without reading the Wikipedia article. The Scientist’s act (“Appearance is based on Charles Darwin”, Wikipedia says), is a slightly annoying stereotype of what a scientific work entails (playing with colourful test tubes, for example). For me, the three best acts — both performance- and costume-wise — were:

1. Unicycles with Bowls
2. Crystal Ladies
3. Russian Bars

The band and the music were outstanding. What was not so great was overpriced merchandise, food and drink (of which we bought none) but, absurdly and disturbingly, no ice cream. Cirque du Soleil! If you are reading my post, I expect this to be fixed next time you are in Canarias.

Drácula

a film by George Melford

This classic opens the cycle El reflejo del vampiro screened by Filmoteca Canaria. I went to see it yesterday in Teatro Guiniguada without doing any research and expecting an English-language version in VOSE. It turned out to better than that.

The auditorium was lit by blood-red light. A lady wearing mostly black came on stage and gave an introduction to the movie. I wished she talked less, as I started to worry that by the time film finished I’ll have no time (o horror!) for my late-evening shopping in Mercadona. However it was illuminating to discover that we were about to watch an alternative version of the English-language film of the same title. Back in those “pre-dubbing” days, we were told, the Hollywood studios used to produce foreign-language versions of their films using the same sets but different casts. Or at least that was what Universal did, shooting Tod Browning’s Dracula by day and Melford’s Drácula by night, this latter on a significantly smaller budget. This set-up brought some unexpected advantages to the “Spanish” film. The Cordobese actor Carlos Villarías, who played Count Dracula, was the only member of the Spanish-language cast allowed to the set during filming of the English version. However, the “Spanish” crew (keep in mind that George Melford himself spoke no Spanish!) were able to see the “English” dailies and do a better job. The angles and camera movements are said to be more interesting than in English version, the costumes more daring and sexy. Although Villarías was told to copy Bela Lugosi (while Lugosi himself was said to admire work of Villarías), the other actors had no such limitations. The film premiered in mainland Spain in 1931 to great success; ditto in Canary Islands the following year.

Well, the introduction took about 24 minutes, then the movie started. Sure, now, in 2019, I can’t see it as a horror movie at all, more as a comedy. Apart from Villarías and fantastic Lupita Tovar (who passed away in 2016 at the tender young age of 106), I greatly enjoyed the acting of Spaniard Pablo Álvarez Rubio in the role of Renfield.

Dolor y gloria

a film by Pedro Almodóvar

Definitely more Almodóvarey than his previous offering, Julieta, this one seems to be more a work in progress than a finished film: some parts too long, some too short, a few loose ends or stories that could have been continued to everybody’s (or at least mine) satisfaction... The famous but declining film director Pedro Almodóvar Salvador Mallo (portrayed, naturally, by Antonio Banderas), for all his pains and even less glory, left me largely indifferent. The best moments are Mallo’s childhood flashbacks featuring his mum (Penélope Cruz, of course), with cameo appearance of Rosalía. And some of the finest dialogues since Volver.

— Si tú ves algo raro, me llamas.
— Aquí todo es raro.

Pure Almodóvar.

Live music in and around Valencia, August 2019

My two short and incredibly hot months in Valencia came to an end. Here’s the summary of the events of August.

• 10 August: NES @ Monestir de Sant Jeroni de Cotalba, Alfahuir
  Valencia-based blues-soul-world music fusion trio featuring Nesrine Belmokh (vocals, cello), Matthieu Saglio (cello) and David Gadea (percussion).
• 11 August: Jhonetsu — Passion @ Teatro Romano, Sagunto
  The Taiko drummers Yamato brought their fantastic new show to the scene Roman theatre of Sagunto.
• 17 August: Ximo Caffarena Quartet FolkenJazz @ El Perrellonet
  The XXIII Festival de Jazz de València continues in the charming fishing village El Perrellonet. Ximo Caffarena (saxophones, flute and vocals), Christian Molina (piano), Luis Llario (double bass) and Juanjo Garcerà (drums) play jazz versions of traditional Valencian songs.
• 21 August: Recital del Piano @ Espai Cultural, Albalat dels Sorells
  Charitable recital organised by Josep Carreras Foundation. Great choice of piano music and impeccable performances by two young pianists, Fernando Alarcón and Alejandro Espina, who look like brothers. Or at least they go to the same hairdresser.
  Fernando Alarcón
  • Johann Sebastian Bach, Prelude and Fugue No. 16 in G minor
  • Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31, No. 1
  • George Gershwin, Three Preludes
  Alejandro Espina
  • Bach, Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in F minor
  • Beethoven, Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2
  • Frédéric Chopin, Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31
• 24 August: Sergio Pereira & Thaïs Morell @ Pinedo
  More concerts of the XXIII Festival de Jazz de València next to the beach. Brazilian guitarist and composer Sergio Pereira was accompanied by Alberto Palau (piano), Ariel Ramírez (bass), Mariano Steimberg (drums) and Alexey León (saxphones, flute). The best part was provided by the fellow Brazilian singer-songwriter Thaïs Morell (although I could live without yet another cover of Aquarela do Brasil).

Au, València. Hola, Santander.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

a film by Jim Sharman

Strange but true: I never saw this cult classic before. That is, until last week, at Filmoteca d’estiu of Valencia. (The first film I watched there, earlier this month, was Life of Brian, back to the big screen for its 40^th anniversary.) Once seen (heard), RHPS cannot be unseen (unheard). All of a sudden, the many cultural references of or to it came flooding in. Quite a few people were singing along while waving their glowing mobile phones. An extra bit of entertainment came after the film. One girl, walking behind me, kept complaining loudly and repetitively to her friend about the movie being subtitled in Valencian. “My English is not perfect”, poor thing moaned, “everybody was laughing and I couldn’t laugh with them. So annoying.”

El despertar de las hormigas

a film by Antonella Sudassasi Furniss

The other day one of my students asked me what’s an English translation of the term micromachismo, and I said, there why don’t we just introduce the word in English as is? After all, this is how English has got “regular” machismo.

El despertar de las hormigas is the first and so far the only Costa Rican film I’ve seen. Mind you, there are not that many.

Isabel, beautifully portrayed by Daniella Valenciano, lives in the world of micromachismo. Her (mostly) harmless and quite useless husband, Alcides (Leynar Gómez), who loves her and his daughters (Isabella Moscoso and Avril Alpízar) but, under pressure of his family, insists on having a son. A few surrealist dreams aside, the story develops slowly; you’d be forgiven to think nothing will ever happen. Watch it.

Nota de la directora

Nada podría ser más peligroso y delicado que un hormiguero.
Roberto Calasso, 1998

Vengo de una familia de mujeres fuertes, centros de familia, por un lado mi abuela paterna, jefa de hogar crió a sus siete hijos sola, mi abuela materna con once hijos, mi madre por su cuenta con cinco. Todos mis recuerdos sobre el amor giran alrededor de situaciones o conversaciones con mi mamá, mis hermanas, mis tías, mis abuelas. De ellas aprendí a amar. Ellas sin saberlo me enseñaron que el amor debía ser incondicional, complaciente, me enseñaron a estar a disposición de los demás, a amar de forma “maternal”.

Pocas veces entendemos el machismo desde el amor. Y pocas veces lo asociamos al lado más femenino que creemos tener. El amor materno muchas veces es machista, y estos patrones que aprendemos sin darnos cuenta los repetimos en las distintas esferas de nuestras vidas. Aprender a amar es un acto político.

Con El Despertar de las Hormigas quise reflexionar sobre esas pequeñas acciones que día a día nos van enseñando a complacer, servir, atender, estar casadas, ser madres, ser para los demás; enseñanzas y exigencias heredadas que no surgen de la mala intención, sino de la costumbre.

Quería contar una historia que retratara ese amor maternal idealizado y machista que nos hace desvelarnos por los demás y nos lleva a olvidarnos de nosotras mismas. Isabel es una mujer sencilla, nunca se cuestionó qué quería. Toda su feminidad, sexualidad y realización personal han pasado por las exigencias ajenas que, sin pensarlo mucho, asumió como propias. La vida la encontró a sus 30 años, casada con dos hijas, con un marido de una familia grande que le plantea muy claramente lo que esperan de ella. Isabel comienza a dudar. Y de esa duda surge una gran y silenciosa revolución.

En plena tercera ola del feminismo, en un contexto de gran movilización, donde mujeres de todo el mundo gritan al unísono #NiUnaMenos y #MeToo, con El Despertar de las Hormigas busco explorar aquellas violencias no dichas, las que se silencian, las que se guardan en casa. El abuso y micromachismos se enseñan a puerta cerrada a través de las pequeñas cosas, tenemos la responsabilidad de romper el silencio, abandonar la costumbre y reeducar en el amor a nuestros hijos e hijas. Esta es la verdadera revolución. La película representa para mí los miedos e inseguridades de descubrirse como mujer en un mundo cambiante, que a ratos te da atisbos permisivos, te deja creer que podés decidir, pero que constantemente te tienta con la costumbre. Seguimos siendo infinitamente conservadores. Isabel — así como yo — entiende que tiene que dejar de simplemente ser y decidir quién quiere ser.

Me encantaría que conozcan a Isabel y la acompañen en su viaje de descubrimiento y replanteamiento de su identidad, en su proceso profundo de resistencia social y hermosa transformación.

La historia de Isabel de El Despertar de las Hormigas está inmersa en un proyecto transmedia que explora qué es ser mujer y reflexiona sobre la sexualidad en las diferentes etapas de la vida: niñez, juventud y adultez. El proyecto es interdisciplinar y colaborativo, e invita a artistas de todo el mundo a crear un mosaico colectivo de experiencias honestas sobre feminidad y sexualidad para desmitificar el tema y provocar una ruptura con la violencia inherente a los roles tradicionales de género.

En Costa Rica hasta hace poco no habían programas de educación sexual, y desde que se empezaron a implementar los programas del Ministerio de Educación Pública en las aulas de las escuelas y colegios públicos del país, ha surgido un grupo de padres que bajo el lema “a mis hijos los educo yo” perpetúan de forma muy desafortunada los mitos alrededor de la sexualidad. Es claro que la falta de discusión sobre el tema resulta en altas tasas de embarazo adolescente, abortos ilegales, violencia sexual, así como frustración e insatisfacción. Este panorama se repite en muchos otros países latinoamericanos. Aprender sobre sexualidad sana, donde la mujer pueda ejercer el derecho a decidir sobre su propio cuerpo y aprendamos la responsabilidad que tenemos las mujeres con nuestro placer y satisfacción, también es un acto político.

Celle que vous croyez

a film by Safy Nebbou

If the hero of Yesterday just happened to wake up in an alternate reality, the protagonists of this film create their own reality, or realities — alas, not as imaginative as one would hope.

I loved the interplay between Juliette Binoche and Nicole Garcia in this otherwise unconvincing social network romance. For one, who needs a phone number now when you can make a voice or a video call with Facebook Messenger?

Theatre and live music in and around Valencia, July 2019

A lot is going on in Valencia and suburbs — I wish I had more time to go around!

• 5 July: Barana Teatre @ Parc de l’hort del Comte d’Albalat, Albalat dels Sorells, Valencia
  A local mime trio presenting Mut! (“Mute!”). My favourite sketches featured rude flight assistants distributing newspapers and a chainsaw guy unsuccessfully trying to scare (also local) children running around the lawn.
• 6 July: Sés, Tesa, Amparanoia, Miss Bolivia & Tremenda Jauría @ Jardines de Viveros
  I went to this concert mainly to see Amparanoia. It turned out to be a seven-plus-hours-long celebration of feminist bands which I thoroughly enjoyed, although I wish it were less dominated by rap. Galician folk/rock/blues singer Sés (María Xosé Silvar) was a real discovery.
• 7 July: Abbas Cantadas @ Espai Cultural, Albalat dels Sorells
  Originally planned to be staged in the patio of the Castle of Albalat, it was moved to Espai Cultural because of the torrential rain. And a good thing too, for I was able to see the most of it after the movie (something I wouldn’t be able to do if the show started as scheduled). The Valencian a cappella group Octàmbuli presented the songs of ABBA as I (and probably you) never heard before. Featuring María Tamarit (soprano), Araceli Batalla (soprano), Sara Lliso (contralto), Aida Correia (contralto), Sergi Bosch (tenor), Javi Piquer (tenor), Miguel Ángel Ariza (baritone) and Agus Casanova (bass).

• 19 July: Borriana Big Band @ Parc de l’hort del Comte d’Albalat
  A big band led by saxophonist Juanjo Carratalà featuring young Cuban singer Dayana Emma (singing effortlessly in Valencian). A group of elderly ladies behind me provided additional entertainment in form of non-stop chatter and comments such as “¡Muy bien!”, “¡Otra valenciana!”, “¡por Dios!” and so on. I took it that they approved of the music.
• 27 July: Carolina Araoz @ Nazaret, Valencia
  The XXIII Festival de Jazz de València, of which I saw surprisingly little this year, for the first time arrived to the neighbourhood of Nazaret (Natzaret in Valencian). According to Wikipedia, the name of this barrio has nothing to do with the Palestinian city of Nazareth but is a corruption of a Valencian word llatzeret (lazaret), i.e. hospital for contagious patients. Such hospital indeed existed here since 1720, although by now no physical trace of it has left. In any case, this concert was an historical event. The Peruvian musician Carolina Araoz (saxophones and vocals) was accompanied by Ivan Cebrian (guitar), Aliya Cycon (backing vocals, oud), Patrick Duke Graney (percussion), Sergio Martínez (percussion), Eve Matin (backing vocals, harp), Ricardo Osorno (double bass) and Albert Sanz (keyboards).

Looking forward to more live music in August...

Song from No Man’s Land

by Better Than TV

An eagerly expected (by me) follow-up to Late — or a complete reboot? Apart from Sergio Contrino who, once again, kindly sent me a physical copy of the album, the line-up of this reincarnation of Better Than TV is totally different from that of their 2015 discographic debut. The continuity, if there was need for one, is provided by Standing with Sally (now with lyrics; cf. its Late version) and Samba per mi as well as by enigmatic black-and-white photos of jumping children. Also, like its predecessor, Song from No Man’s Land steer clears from avant-garde without being anywhere mainstream. Cassie Gorman’s vocal takes some getting used to — I’m still in the process. Sergio’s own (uncredited) voice on Bus Stop Blu sounds very much like it did when he played this song during our jam sessions some 15+ years ago, slightly out of tune. Then again, it’s his tune. My favourites are a delightful swing tune Da lontano and a darkish jazz-waltz L’attesa è lunga, both as atypical as possible (assuming there is such a thing as “typical” BTTV).

Song from No Man’s Land Before I Go Gerico Standing with Sally Da lontano Latin Song Norway Für Louis Hey Joe Samba per mi Bus Stop Blu L’attesa è lunga

All tracks written by Sergio Contrino Lyrics of (3) written with Ellie Warr Latin Song text by Ovid (Tristia, 1.3) better than TV Alastair Appleton: sax Ben Comeau: piano (4, 5, 6, 7) Cassie Gorman: voice Daniel Duffy: guitar Gabriel Bliard: trumpet Joe Davighi: drums Louis Day: trumpet (4, 6, 7) Luke Congdon: piano Rowan Haslam: voice (1, 8) and cello Sergio Contrino: bass Simon Fothergill: trombone Recorded by John Ward and Jes Kerr on September 14th, 2016 and April 30th, 2017 at Anglian Ruskin University, Cambridge Mastered at Metropolis Studios by Andy ‘Hippy’ Baldwin Mixdown Engineer: John Ward Produced by John Ward and Sergio Contrino

Varda por Agnès

a film by Agnès Varda

Another discovery thanks to Cines Babel. I had no slightest clue who Agnès Varda was and what she’s done for la Nouvelle Vague and cinema in general.

If the mission of this documentary was to make me wish to watch all her films, then it was accomplished. Of course, I need to see Cléo de 5 à 7 and Sans toit ni loi, but especially Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma, her box office flop featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jane Birkin, Sandrine Bonnaire, Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Gina Lollobrigida and Marcello Mastroianni among others — did anyone ever made a film with all these guys?!

Yesterday

a film by Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis

Imagine a parallel universe where The Beatles, Oasis and Coke do not exist but, paradoxically, The Stones, Coldplay and Pepsi do. And why not. Stranger things happen in my own universe. For example, last Friday Tamara mentioned that Riga had been brought to a standstill by Ed Sheeran’s concert. Ed who? The name rang a distant bell. Edward Christopher Sheeran, MBE, that’s who, says Wikipedia. Whatever he did to earn his MBE passed unnoticed by me so far. There’s a ketchup known as “Heinz Edchup”, I learned. Well, I never.

Just five days later, that is, yesterday, I went to see Yesterday in Cines Babel. And there he was, Ed flippin’ Sheeran, quite deliberately making a complete ass of himself playing himself. Not so bad, I have to admit, but the movie would have been great even without him. (Richard Curtis said that his first choice for this role was that of Coldplay’s Chris Martin.) Himesh Patel shines in his debut role, as do most of the cast. Now, who wrote that soundtrack? It’s fantastic.

La biblioteca de los libros rechazados

a film by Rémi Bezançon

When I read on the poster “from the director of The First Day of the Rest of Your Life”, I knew I wanted to see it. The original version was shown in Cines Babel. Unfortunately, my work schedule was incompatible with its screening times, so I watched the film in Spanish. Which is a shame, because the chemistry between the protagonists, if there was any, is totally lost in the dub.

I liked the story although the mystery, in my opinion, could have had a more surprising solution. And by the way, the Spanish title is way better than Le mystère Henri Pick — I probably would pay no attention to the latter. Isn’t it ironic (once again).

Free live music in Las Palmas, June 2019

Some amazing musical events took place in June — many at the same time, so I was able to see but a fraction.

• 1 June: Islazz @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Yul Ballesteros & Friends, a true Canarian jazz “supergroup” closed this Musicando season presenting Islazz, a cycle of eight compositions dedicated to the islands of our archipelago: Fuerteventura, El Hierro, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Graciosa, La Palma, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Featuring Juan Bosco Arencibia (trombone), Yul Ballesteros (guitar), Jose Carlos Cubas (percussion), Sebastián Gil Armas (trumpet), José Alberto Medina (piano), Gustavo Navarro (theorbo), Gladys Pérez Molina (flute), Yone Rodríguez Monzón (timple), Tana Santana (bass), Suso Vega (drums) and Jose Angel Vera (saxophone).

• 4 June: Exsurge Domine @ Casa de Colón, calle Colón, 1
  A part of the cycle Música antigua en el patio, this recital by the Valencian musician Vicent Bru i Soler was dedicated to the composers of the times of Martin Luther and the Counter-Reformation such as Antonio de Cabezón, Arnolt Schlick, Conrad Paumann, Hans Buchner, Hans Kotter, Francisco Correa de Arauxo y Pablo Bruna. Vicent played a beautiful harpsichord, a replica of the 16^th century instrument.
• 6 June: Seamus Blake @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The last masterclass organised by Mousikê La Laguna before the summer break.
• 7 June: Nancy Fabiola canta a Canarias @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Every year, to celebrate the foundation of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (the official date is 24 June of 1478), our city celebrates Fiestas fundacionales. This year, they started with the opening speeches by Dania Dévora (I am sure she is a good producer but man it was boring) and then by our mayor, Augusto Hidalgo (shorter and better). The concert, when it finally started, was quite good. Nancy Fabiola Herrera (mezzo-soprano) was accompanied by Orquesta Sinfónica de Las Palmas conducted by Rafael Sánchez-Araña and guest artists Berna Perles (soprano), Enrique Ferrer (tenor), Silvia Gómez Tuñón (soprano), María del Mar Moreno (baile), José María Curbelo (piano) and Leonel Gasso (bandoneon).
• 8 June: Música en el corazón de Vegueta @ various locations (in Vegueta)
  I just learned that this is the fourth year that patios of Vegueta hosting a number of musical events. As for us, we just discovered it this year. Altogether, there were ten patios and two plazas, but we had time to visit just three. Nayaband were playing in the patio of Fundación Juan Negrín (c/Reyes Católicos, 30); Francisco Navarro (marimba and drums) at Ilustre Colegio de Abogados (Plaza de San Agustín) — jolly good building they've got there, the lawyers I mean — and Abraham Ramos (timple) at Casa de la Iglesia (c/Doctor Chil, 17).
• 9 June: Eme Alfonso @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  A brilliant Cuban singer-songwriter accompanied by Kiki Ferrer (drums), Santiago Greco (bass), Israel Sandoval (guitar) and Alejandro Vargas (piano).

• 15 June: Robert Jon & The Wreck and Morgane Ji @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  A double bill of two very different but equally impressive bands. Blues-rockers from Orange County, California, Robert Jon & The Wreck are Robert Jon Burrison (lead vocal, guitar), Andrew Espantman (drums), Henry James (lead guitar, vocals), Steve Maggiora (keyboards, vocals) and Warren Murrel (bass, vocals). The band’s former guitarist, Kristopher Butcher, defined their sound as “Southern cosmic rock’n’soul”, and I think it still holds true.
  Morgane Ji (lead vocals, banjo) with E.r.k. (guitar, keyboards, samples), Olivier Carole (bass, vocals) and Mogan Cornebert (drums), currently on their Woman Soldier tour, play catchy rock/electronica/world music fusion that makes everybody dance.

• 22 June: Lila Downs @ Plaza de la Música, Avenida Roberto Clemente Benijófar (next to Auditorio Alfredo Kraus)
  What a treat! It’s been more than ten years since I saw Lila Downs playing in London — and she is still as young as I remember her. She was accompanied by Nikki Campbell (percussion, quijada), Josh Deutsch (trumpet), Rafa Gómez (guitar), Luis Guzmán (bass), Sinuhe Padilla Isunza (jarana, quijada), George Saenz (trombone, accordion) and Yayo Serka (drums). With repertoire spanning her career, or at least from La Sandunga to her latest offering, Al Chile, Lila and the band were a pinnacle of already fantastic Fiestas fundacionales programme. I didn’t know until now that we have so many Mexicans in Gran Canaria.

Lila Downs’ concert was the last music event I went to in Las Palmas before heading to the Peninsula. It was so good that I didn’t even want to go to any other concert until my departure. Hasta luego, Gran Canaria!

Perplejo

a play by Marius von Mayenburg
directed by Alejandro Tortajada

I went to see Perplejo (Perplex), a delightful absurdist comedy by von Mayenburg interpreted by amateur actors at Espai Cultural of Albalat dels Sorells. Just like the short film screening, it was a cosy, almost a family event. The director sat in the penultimate row of the stalls (I was in the ultimate) and from time to time helped the actors who kept forgetting their lines. The ending, I should admit, was a bit anticlimactic: I was expecting something really crazy.

Featuring Daniel Catalán, Pilar Trenco, Felicidad Muñoz, Manuel Fernández, Fina Cortina, Llorenç Albarracín, Dolores Trenco, Carmen Cortina, Julia Navarro and Sara Moreno.

Two short films

Yesterday, I went to Castillo de Albalat dels Sorells, which currently hosts the Town Council, to see two short films dedicated to LGBT pride. A man in a white shirt approached me and introduced himself. “I am a mayor”, he said. “Welcome.” Obviously, in all the gathering I was the only new face for him.

Before the screening, the mayor (named Nicolau) greeted everybody in Valencian and councillor of Ayuntamiento de Albalat Javi González read the LGBT+ manifest. The projection was followed by tertulia (here’s my chance to use the word I learned this month) led by Luisa Notario, city councillor of Ayuntamiento de Valencia, and Eley Grey, a teacher and writer. As the discussion was in a mix of Spanish and Valencian, I understood about 70% of it. After that, we were offered ice-cold horchata with fartons. Nice.

Eran otros tiempos (2018)

a film by Alejandro Talaverón

Director’s granny talks about her secret love.

Vestido nuevo (2007)

a film by Sergi Pérez

A boy likes to dress up for carnival. So what?

Tell It to the Bees

a film by Annabel Jankel

I discovered this film yesterday, and quite by chance. The original intention to check out Toy Story 4 and Dumbo (yes, the double bill) in cine de verano, after spending some time in an enormous queue there, was replaced by plan B, viz. to watch a movie in VOSE in the queue-less and highly commendable Cines Babel. And what a great decision it turned out to be.

The title was misleadingly translated to Spanish as El secreto de las abejas — no, the film is not about bees’ own secrets. There are human secrets, of course. As it happens, too many secrets for a small Scottish town in the 1950s. I hope things changed by now there. But you never know.

The plot is very much believable (apart from one scene closer to the end involving, quite predictably, a lot of bees); the acting is superb, beyond the main triangle of Jean (Anna Paquin), Lydia (Holliday Grainger) and Charlie (Gregor Selkirk); and the end is not exactly happy but not unhappy either. I loved it.

Eight Polish animation shorts

I went to Teatro Guiniguada yesterday to see a programme of Polish animation shorts, the second event of the Polish animation retrospective organised by Animayo, Instituto Polaco de Cultura and Filmoteca Canaria.

1. Slodkie rytmy (Sweet Rhythms) by Kazimierz Urbanski (1965)
2. Solo na ugorze (Solo in a fallow field) by Jerzy Kalina (1982)
3. Cserwone i czarne (Red and Black) by Witold Giersz (1964)
4. Syn (Son) by Ryszard Czekala (1970)
5. Ziegenort by Tomasz Popakul (2013)
6. Sztuka spadania (Fallen Art) by Tomasz Baginski (2004)
7. Dokument (A Documentary) by Marcin Podolec (2015)
8. Tajemnica Góry Malakka (The mystery of Malakka Mountain) by Jakub Wroński (2012)

Unfortunately, I missed the first event of the cycle last week. With all respect, the yesterday’s programme was dominated by depressing and/or disturbing films, with notable exception of Cserwone i czarne and Tajemnica Góry Malakka. In the latter, the Boteroesque six-year-old called Junior embarks on a journey to China to solve the mystery of his father’s disappearance. Marvellous.

The Navidad Incident: The Downfall of Matías Guili

by Natsuki Ikezawa
translated by Alfred Birnbaum

I never heard about Ikezawa before. I took this book from the library purely on the strength of its translator’s name. Could it be as good as anything by Murakami, I wondered.

I was not disappointed, although there’s no need to compare the two authors. The story is captivating and I even developed some sort of feelings towards its protagonist, President Matías Guili (undoubtedly, a criminal, but then all dictators are) and his long-time “secret partner” Angelina but, strangely, more yet towards his perpetually merry (hench)men, Ketch and Joel. The history of the fictitious Navidad Archipelago reminded me of that of equally fictitious San Lorenzo from Cat’s Cradle (“When England claimed San Lorenzo in 1706, no Dutchmen complained. When Spain reclaimed San Lorenzo in 1720, no Englishmen complained” and so on). The acute accent over the third a in “Baltasár” is never explained.

On the island of Gaspar, passengers are forbidden from drying their laundry on bus windows. During the Japanese occupation, when bus service was introduced between Baltasár City (then Shokyo, the “Showa Capital”) and the village of Diego (Dego), a rumor spread among the womenfolk that laundry hung on bus windows dried more quickly, so buses came to be used more as clothes driers than as transportation. The sight of brightly colored clothing fluttering from every window, however, conflicted with the aims of a modern conveyance, so the gravely concerned bus staff adopted a strict ban on “boarding the bus with wet clothing”. The phrasing “with wet clothing” failed, however, to specify whether the people were carrying or wearing the clothes. And in a land of sudden tropical showers, what use are buses that refuse service to someone who happened to get caught in a downpour? Thereafter, the rule was amended to read: “Passengers are forbidden from boarding the bus with wet clothing, except for what they themselves have on”. Discussions were held between the women and the transport company; the drivers maintained there was no plausible reason why laundry draped out of bus windows should dry any faster than elsewhere, and the housewives claimed from personal experience that it most certainly did.

Free live music and other cultural events in Las Palmas, May 2019

Another month, another great choice of live music and more.

• 1 May: Canarias FeelGood! by Arehucas @ Plaza del Pilar, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Sponsored by Arehucas (yes, the rum distillery), this one-day festival presented seven bands from seven Canary islands. I saw the last song Abel Cordovez & Benahoare Reggae Band (naturally, reggae, from La Palma), the complete performances of Barrabass Sound System (also reggae and dub from Lanzarote) and Guineo Colectivo (Afro-beat from Fuerteventura) and the first two songs by El Monstruo de Funkenstein (as you can imagine, funk, from La Gomera).
  

• 2 May: Aubrey Logan @ Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, Avda. Príncipe de Asturias
  Before playing two dates with Perinké Big Band, Aubrey Logan (of Postmodern Jukebox fame) gave an illuminating masterclass of jazz vocal and jazz improvisation.
• 4 May: Rocío Márquez @ Parque Doramas
  The cantaora from Huelva was accompanied by Canito (guitar) and Agustín Diassera (percussion).

• 16 May: Jonay González Mesa @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León
  I heard Jonay G. Mesa some three years ago as one-half of Touché! and last month with Althay Páez. I have to say that his masterclass, like the one by Javier Sánchez in January, was heavy on content — scales, harmony, rhythm — and light on interaction. There was very little of the latter. I loved the way Jonay plays samba/bossa nova and the fact he does not use any pedals or effects. In the end of the class, Jonay was joined on stage by his bandmates Ruiman Martin Leon (double bass) and Amilcar Mendoza Pros (drums) for a beautiful rendition of Someday My Prince Will Come.

• 18 May: Noche Europea de los Museos @ Museo Castillo de Mata, Calle Domingo Guerra del Río, 147
  We’ve never been to Castillo de Mata before, and this year the European Night of Museums provided an opportunity. It was a free event but we had to get the tickets in advance (two tickets per person only). Altogether, there was eight one-hour long shows/installations/whatever you call it, four on Friday (21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00) and four on Saturday, with up to 150 people attending the show. The programme included:
  • La compañía Pieles: Barco y Acequia
  • Ana Alcaide with Bill Cooley and Rainer Seiferth: Luna Sefardita
  • Arte corporal: Los esclavos en la Isla del Azúcar
  • Ludovica Rambelli Teatro: 23 Tableaux Vivants of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
  • Jeringonza & Ballet del Atlante: Danzas del Canario y de las Hachas
• 19 May: Moonlight Benjamin @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  Last month I was wondering how better to call “the venue” in the Parque Doramas where I almost religiously go every week or so. Well, now it’s officially called Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, after the celebrated Canarian musician José Antonio Ramos (1969—2008). The Haitian-French singer (and Voodoo priestess) Moonlight Benjamin was the first to play in the newly christened auditorium. She presented her fascinating “voodoo-blues-rock” fusion in a company of Matthieu Vial-Collet (guitar), Yohann Marra (guitars), Quentin Rochas (bass) and Bertrand Noel (drums).

  

  More photos of Moonlight Benjamin @ Shutterstock

• 29 May: Cristina Ramos @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Timur and I went to Vegueta to hear this by now world-famous Canarian singer and were not disappointed. It was almost like a night at the opera... with Bad Romance, Highway to Hell, I Will Always Love You, Love of My Life, Sabor a Mí, The Show Must Go On, Waterloo, and, pun intended or not, both It’s Raining Men and Hallelujah in quick succession.
• 31 May: La Noche de Cuba @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  Originally scheduled for 11 May, this concert was postponed until yesterday. Absolutely fabulous night of son, guaracha, salsa, mozambique and timba performed by vocalists Diamela del Pozo, Edulman Aragon Gonzalez and Sofiel del Pino and the band of Totó Noriega (congas, vocals) featuring Yoriell Carmona (tres cubano), Osvaldo Hernández (timbales), Fofi Lusson (bass), Armiche Jonay Moreno Suárez (percussion), Josue Santana (piano), Arístides Sosa Benítez (trumpet) and Fran Suárez (saxophones).

And so, May is over.