Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, April 2025

Aprile, dolce dormire.

This is what we’ve seen this unusually cold and rainy (by Canarian standards) April.

• 4 April: «La chica de Arlés» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó, Paseo Principe de Asturias, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Joven Orquesta de Gran Canaria conducted by Josep Gil played music by Mozart, Bizet, Joaquín Rodrigo, Richard Strauss and Andrea Venet. The full programme available here.
• 11 April: Sofar concert @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  With Anhelo, Hey Chabón and Barbara Calypso.

• 23 April: Jonay Mesa & Luis Sánchez @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4
  Jonay Mesa (guitar) and Luis Sánchez (piano) present their forthcoming album Mind Trip. Postponed from 9 April.

  

• 24 April: «Cuentos y leyendas» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  Finally! Twice postponed (24 January and then 6 February), this concert did not disappoint. La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria conducted by Juan Roda Sapiña. The programme included
  • James Curnow: To Fly Without Wings
  • Steven Reineke: Pilatus: Mountain of Dragons
  • Steven Reineke: The Witch and the Saint
  • Mitch Leigh: Man of La Mancha
  • Traditional, arr. Philip Sparke: Dafydd y Garreg Wen (David of the White Rock)
  • Otto M. Schwarz: Around the world in 80 Days
  • Encore: Gioachino Rossini: Galop from William Tell Overture

  

• 26 April: «Timples y otras pequeñas guitarras del mundo — 10º Aniversario» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  With Germán López, Althay Páez, Beselch Rodríguez and Yone Rodríguez (timple, cuatro, banjo, ronroco), Leandro Ojeda (double bass) and a guest singer.

  

Three exhibitions in Casa de Colón:

• 13 March — 27 April: «Diálogos de arte y moda: El guardarropa de concierto de Teresa Berganza en la Casa de Colón»
  30 gorgeous dresses from the wardrobe of the famous mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza, by designers such as Loris Azzaro, Balenciaga, Elio Berhanyer, Pierre Cardin, Christian Lacroix and Guy Laroche, juxtaposed with works from the collection of Cabildo de Gran Canaria.

  

• 26 March — 15 June: «El enigma Gina Berndtson»
  Works by Gina Berndtson (1909—2001).

  

• 23 April — 25 May: «De papel, tinta e imprenta. Fondo bibliográfico de la Casa de Colón. Siglos XVI al XVII»
  Some nice books from the Ballesteros Archive (now in the possession of Cabildo de Gran Canaria).

  

And two more:

• 27 February – 31 August: «Martín Chirino. Crónica del siglo» @ Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Calle de los Balcones, 9
  A great retrospective celebrating the centenary of Martín Chirino.

  

• 10 April — 16 May: «Dámaso, una corpografía» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  A set of uninspiring photos by Elia Verona of not particularly interesting body of Pepe Dámaso. The last word of the title (invariably misread as coprografía) does not help.

And that was it for April.

Cuerpos vivos & Guián

Two Central American documentaries by women directors, screened yesterday in Casa de Colón.

Cuerpos vivos

a film by Andrea Arauz

An experimental short dealing with gender violence in Honduras.

Guián

a film by Nicole Chi Amén

Nicole is a young Costa Rican of Chinese descent who doesn’t speak Chinese. Her granny Guián, born in China, never learned Spanish. So the two women were never able to communicate in the same language. After the death of Guián, Nicole embarks on a journey to her grandmother’s natal home... An intimate yet universal story. You know, it’s OK to belong neither here nor there.

The title of the film supposedly means “paternal grandmother”. But 奶奶 is pronounced nothing like “guián”: /nǎinai/ 🔊 in Mandarin, /naai naai/ 🔊 in Cantonese. Could it be because Nicole, as she says herself, used to confuse it with 外婆, /ngoi po/ in Cantonese, “maternal grandmother”? Still, does not sound exactly like Guián!

Live music and stuff in Santander and Las Palmas, December 2022

This is what I’ve seen in the last month of 2022:

• 1 December: Víctor Antón Group @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4, Santander
  A modern jazz quartet featuring Naíma Acuña (drums), Víctor Antón (guitar), Javier Moreno (double bass) and Juan Sebastián Vázquez (piano), presenting their brand new album Centennial Light. Watch the full concert here.

  

• 3 December: Live de Objetos y Cassettes @ Eureka Santander, Calle San Simón, 8
  Sarah Rasines used cassettes and mechanical objects in her live electronic music show. It lasted about 15 minutes, which was about as long as I was prepared to listen to it.

  

• 4 December: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón
  The base band of Nadir Ibarra (tenor sax), Rafa Santana (piano), Toño Gutiérrez (bass) and Marcial García (drums), plus students of the Conservatorio Ataulfo Argenta and the usual suspects Manuel Cavero (double bass), Adela San Miguel (drums), Rodri Irizábal (drums), Manuel San Emeterio (guitar), Pancho Arredondo (trumpet, vocals), Carlos Pizarro (guitar) and others.
• 7 December: The New World Band @ Rvbicón
  A different line-up compared to that of 25 May, featuring Sean Clapis (guitar), Darío Guibert (double bass), Daniel Juárez (tenor sax) and Marc Pinyol (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 11 December: La Mala Hierba @ Rvbicón
  With Gema Martínez (vocals) and Nico Rodríguez (guitar); this happened to be the last concert I saw in Rvbicón this year. Watch the full concert here.

  

Back to Las Palmas, I was lucky to attend all eight — well, seven and a half — concerts from the cycle «Jazz entre muros» at Museo Castillo de Mata (Calle Domingo Guerra del Río, 147):

• 21 December, 20:00: Javier Infante and Jose Alberto Medina
  Say no more.
• 21 December, 21:00: Pablo Queu
  Energetic jazz-funk band featuring Alberto Díaz (trombone), Emilio Diena (drums), Ruyman Franco (bass guitar), Claudio Marrero (tenor sax) and Pablo Quintana Guillén (guitar).



• 22 December, 20:00: Chano Gil Quartett
  Chano Gil (trumpet, flugelhorn), Yul Ballesteros (guitar), Paco Perera (double bass) and Javier Montero (drums).
• 22 December, 21:00: Trijazzic
  Luis Merino (guitar), Esther Suárez (vocals), Miriam Fleitas (vocals), José Carlos Cejudo (bass guitar) and Juan Pérez (drums).



• 29 December, 20:00: Alba Serrano and Cristóbal Montesdeoca
  Alba Serrano (vocals) and Cristóbal Montesdeoca (piano) performed songs from their new, mostly Lusophone, album Viagem.
• 29 December, 21:00: Alba Gil Aceytuno «Aguayro»
  It started to rain during the first song; luckily, the concert was not interrupted. With Alba Gil Aceytuno (sax, flute, keys, vocals), Alberto Díaz (trombone), José Carlos Cejudo (bass guitar), Luis Merino (guitar) and Juan Pérez (drums).



• 30 December, 20:00: Takeo Takahashi
  Would you believe it, by 19:45 it was full so I had to wait another half an hour till somebody left and they allowed me to enter. As a result, I only heard the last three songs. Kervin Barreto (trumpet, percussion), José Carlos Cejudo (bass guitar), Octavio Hernández (guitar), Santiago “Chago” Miranda (guitar) and Takeo Takahashi (drums, guitar), with a special guest Patricia Legardon (vocals).
• 30 December, 21:00: Bjazz «EnCanto de Mujer»
  With Sara Brito (flute), Samantha de León (double bass), Judith Martín González (trumpet), Amelia Gutiérrez (drums), Moneiba Hidalgo (vocals) and Sun-Young Park (piano), performing standards by Nina Simone, Consuelo Velázquez, Aretha Franklin and others.

In the same Castillo de Mata one can see the exhibition «Ars Botanica, simbólica naturaleza», a tribute to David Bramwell (1942—2022), director of Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo between 1974 and 2012. The exhibition features works by Fernando Álamo, Juan Pedro Ayala, Kōno Bairei, Marisa Culatto, Marta Chirino, Pepe Dámaso, César Manrique, Néstor de la Torre, Nellie Roberts and various illustrators of 18^th and 19^th centuries. Until 18 March 2023.

Happy New Year, everybody.

Live music and stuff in Santander and Las Palmas, October 2022

It was an unusually warm month. I enjoyed it a lot.

Three exhibitions that I saw in Teatro CASYC (Calle Tantín, 25) on 1 of October:

• Fotografía de lo sublime. Las marinas de Gustave Le Gray (8 September — 1 October)
  A collection of 15 albumen silver prints by Gustave Le Gray taken between 1856 and 1857. (It was the last day of this exhibition, so I made an effort to go there after a lazy day on a beach.) Read more here.

  

• Dances With Wolves (7 September — 10 October)
  An audiovisual exhibition featuring 64 black-and-white photographs by Antonio Aragón Renuncio.

• Cuadernos de Bruselas II
  A set of beautiful nude drawings (2000) from the portfolio of Mª Antonia Sánchez Escalona.

  

A lot of music — more than I expected!

• 5 October: Nusondia @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4, Santander
  African music meets jazz-funk. Featuring Sabari Kurra (kora, vocals), Chema (keyboards) and Dani Martín (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 6 October: Maud the Moth @ Teatro CASYC, Calle Tantín, 25
  The Edinburgh-based composer, pianist and singer Amaya López-Carromero aka Maud the Moth opened her Spanish tour with this intimate concert, playing (mostly) the material from her last album Orphnē. A sumptuous and singular fusion of folk, electronica, classical music and prog-rock charmingly presented by a lady at the piano.

  

• 6—9 October: Sala del órgano @ El antiguo túnel de Tetuán
  An audiovisual show (lasting about five minutes) by Pablo Turanzas, at the Sardinero exit of the old Tetuan tunnel. A part of the festival Hágase la luz.

  

• 7 October: Tranki & Los Palos de Blues @ Plaza Pombo
  A local trio playing good old rock’n’roll; with collaboration dancing folk courtesy of Asociación Punto Swing Santander.
• 7—9 October: Sol de Otoño @ Calle del Sol
  I couldn’t attend all the activities but I went to see Deaf Dogs (Friday), Tomasito (Saturday) and Hendrik Röver & Los Míticos GT’s (that is, Goyo Chiquito & Toño López).

  

• 12 October: The Skin Tree Project @ Rvbicón
  A modern jazz trio featuring Sergio Rowles (electric guitar), Guillermo Suárez (double bass) and Mario Fuentes (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 14 October — 9 November: Tierra de sueños @ Plaza Porticada
  A colourful exhibition of photos by Cristina García Rodero showing the daily life of the residents of Anantapur, India.

  

A short holiday in Las Palmas...

• 17 October: El Mundo de Van Gogh @ INFECAR, Avenida de la Feria, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  I missed (or rather ignored) this immersive experience all summer in Santander (26 May — 31 August), but it followed us to Las Palmas. We decided to give it a shot and were not disappointed. There was no need to buy tickets online as that involved paying €1.50 “gastos de gestión” per person.

• 19 October: Mariana @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4
  This young singer-songwriter from Tenerife participated in the acoustic indie programme of Festival CERO, playing mostly the songs from her debut album A Partir del Final.

  

Back to Santander...

• 23 October: Phil Grijuela @ Rvbicón
  A proof, if any was needed, that Spanish is not the best language for blues and rock, effortlessly provided by Phil Grijuela (guitar, harmonica, voice) and some guests who, thankfully, did not sing.

  

• 27 October: Solana @ Rvbicón
  A world music fusion band featuring Tamsin Elliott (accordion, flutes, voice), Rowan Elliott (violin, viola, cajón), Elio Araúz de Marcos (drums, percussion, voice), Jp Wolfgang (guitars) and Henry Edmonds (double bass, electric bass).

  

• 29 October: Context @ Café de Las Artes Teatro, Calle García Morato, 4
  A creation by Alessandro Carboni performed by Sara Capanna. I found its 30 minutes excruciatingly long and at the same time not providing enough value for its €11.

• 29 October: Crash Normal @ Cafe/Bar Bolero, Calle San Celedonio, 35
  Later the same evening: the Paris-based musician mixing the Greek rebetiko rhythms with psychedelic rock and electronica sounds in his new project Hypno Rebetiko, plus a mind-blowing version of Tomorrow Never Knows. To quote his BandCamp page,

  I’m here to celebrate the music of the outlaws, the pot smokers, the jailbirds and the gamblers but also those who would be able to spend 15 years in prison just for the love of someone.

  Free entrance and very agreeable ambience.

  

• 30 October: MAR (Micrófono Abierto Rvbicón) @ Rvbicón
  Many familiar faces, nothing extraordinary. I was half-expecting something in a Halloween-ish mood but no such luck, apart from a face-painted couple next to me.

  

Goodbye, October.

Live music and stuff in Santander, August 2022

August flew by too fast! Here are the events I attended:

• 3 August: Yumi Ito @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4, Santander
  Yumi Ito (vocals, piano), Kuba Dworak (double bass) and Iago Fernández (drums), presenting their new album Stardust Crystals.

  

• 4 August: Mariola Membrives @ Centro Botín, Muelle de Albareda, Paseo de Pereda
  Mariola Membrives (vocals) and Javier Pedreira (electric guitar).

• 7 August: QARA @ Rvbicón
  In this one-man show, QARA was presenting his debut album, Planet Mattress.

  

• 7—28 August: Profundidad @ Ermita de San Ibón, Somo
  The exhibition of paintings by Pedro Calderón in a unique setting.
• 10 August: Jaime Velasco Band Canciones, poemas y otros viajes @ Rvbicón
  Jaime Velasco (guitar, vocals), María Villanueva (guitar, vocals), Nacho Miralles (drums, percussion) and Carlos Gutiérrez (bass guitar). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 19 August: Marinah @ Festival de las Naciones, Sardinero

  

• 21 August: Pájaros de niebla: cantando a José Hierro @ Rvbicón
  Álvaro Fombellida (guitar, vocals). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 29 August: Los Malinches @ Rock Beer The New, Calle Peñas Redondas, 15
  A potent mix of garage, psychedelia and Latin rock.

  

• 31 August: Organ Grinder Trío @ Rvbicón
  With Nico Andino (trumpet), Pier Bruera (drums) and David Cid (organ). A great show and a perfect way to conclude the last day of summer. Watch the full concert here.

Goodbye, summer.

Live music in Cantabria, July 2022

The concerts on Plaza Porticada were part of Felisa 2022 (Feria del Libro de Santander y Cantabria, 1—10 July) and La Semana Grande de Santander (22—31 July); those in the church of Santa María de los Ángeles in San Vicente de la Barquera were part of the Festival Cantabria Infinita.

• 2 July: «Jam Sesion: Cuaderno de Cantabria» @ Plaza Porticada, Santander
  Homage to José Hierro. With Càrabé (narration), Manuel Cavero (double bass), Lidia Gil (narration, vocals), Javi Lost (guitar, vocals), Javier San Miguel (sax), Adela San Miguel (drums) and Rafa Santana (piano).
• 4 July: «Vida. Homenaje a José Hierro» @ Plaza Porticada
  Inés Fonseca (vocal, guitar) and Carmela (bass guitar).
• 5 July: La Mala Hierba @ Plaza Porticada
  Gema Martínez (vocals) and Nico Rodríguez (guitar).
• 6 July: «Astro Azul» @ Plaza Porticada
  It was a difficult choice that evening: Versonautas at Plaza Porticada vs Juan de Diego Quartet in Rvbicón, with both events starting at 21:30. In the end I went to see the former, a show by a Valencia-based duo of Ana Sanahuja (voice, keyboards, effects) and Roqui Albero (voice, trumpet, flugelhorn, effects).
• 6 July: Juan de Diego Quartet @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4
  To my surprise, when I eventually arrived to Rvbicón, the show was still going on. They let me in for free so I was able to hear the last three songs and chat with the musicians afterwards. Win-win! Here you can watch the full concert featuring Juan de Diego (trumpet), Toni Saigi (piano), Pere Loewe (double bass) and Ramon Prats (drums).

  

• 8 July: Chebú & Co. «De Alejandra a Bluma» @ Plaza Porticada
  Homage to Alejandra Pizarnik (1936—1972) by Chebú (Zhenya Popova and Nahúm Cobo), Cuarteto Adagio and Miguel Ángel Sánchez.
• 9 July: Freedonia «Conciencia» @ Plaza Porticada
  Deborah Ayo (vocals), Ángel Pastor (guitar, harmónica), Fran Panadero (bass), Israel Checa (drums), Juan Carlos “Chavi” Ontoria (keyboards), David Pérez (baritone sax), Toni García (trumpet), Dani Niño (tenor sax) and Jorge Moreno (trombone).
• 13 July: Latorre-Carlés Quartet @ Rvbicón
  Rubén Carlés (double bass), César Latorre (piano), Hilario Rodeiro (drums) and Natalio Sued (tenor sax). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 20 July: Carla Sevilla Quintet @ Rvbicón
  On this occasion reduced to a quartet featuring Carla Sevilla (vocals), Marcos Salcines (piano), Juanma Urriza Razquin “Boli” (drums) and Jon Dorregarai (bass), with the special guest Adrián Buenaga (sax). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 22 July: Desert Rose @ La Plaza de Liencres, Liencres
  Covers of Sade, Sting and Toto by the band from Getxo featuring Laura Villacorta (vocals), Lorea Mendizábal (vocals, flute), Rafa Zuloaga (bass), Diego Lasheras (keyboards), Rafa Aspiunza (guitar), Andrés Tejo (guitar) and Nikola Goñi (drums).

  

• 27 July: Terraza-Fumero-Arnedo Trio @ Rvbicón
  Ignasi Terraza (piano), Horacio Fumero (double bass) and Guillem Arnedo (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 29 July: Yves Lambert Trio @ Iglesia de Santa María de los Ángeles, San Vicente de la Barquera
  This was the first ever concert of the Festival Cantabria Infinita that I’ve seen — alas, not from the beginning. Amazing music from Yves Lambert (vocals, accordeon, harmonica), Tommy Gauthier (violin) and Olivier Rondeau (guitar).

  

• 30 July: Big Band del Conservatorio Ataúlfo Argenta @ Plaza Porticada, Santander
  A big band composed of both students, alumni and teachers of the Conservatorio Ataúlfo Argenta. Under the direction of Toño Gutierrez Llata and featuring, among others, Pedro Ruiz Ibáñez (sax), Eduardo Diz (trombone), Rafael Santana (piano), Manuel Cavero (electric bass) and Cristina Ceballos (vocals), covering standards such as A Night in Tunisia, Autumn Leaves, Chameleon, Respect, The Pink Panther Theme and (twice!) Tequila.
• 30 July: Calum Stewart Quartet @ Iglesia de Santa María de los Ángeles, San Vicente de la Barquera
  Calum Stewart (uilleann pipes, wooden flute), Yann Le Bozec (double bass), Sylvain Quéré (cittern) and Mathilde Rio (step dance).

  

• 31 July: Highlanders & Banda Municipal de Santander @ Plaza Porticada
  Eduardo Andérez (guitars) and Borja Feal (flutes, bagpipes) accompanied by Banda Municipal de Santander conducted by Vicent Pelechano.

Goodbye, July.

Live music and stuff in Santander, June 2022

A lot is going on in Santander; it’s a shame I couldn’t see all that I wanted. Oh well.

• 10 May — 10 July: «Atrás toda» @ El Palacete del Embarcadero, Muelle de Calderón, Santander
  A collection of historical photographs of Santander by José Antonio Torcida (1859—1900). The catalogue of the exhibition is available here.

  

• 3 June @ Eureka Santander, Calle San Simón, 8
  This was a solidarity event with Alega Cantabria (Asociación de Lesbianas, Gais, Bisexuales, Trans e Intersexuales de Cantabria) in the light of the vandalism that had taken place at the Association’s seat in Eureka. The music on offer was nothing to write home about (sounded like one highly repetitive song in a loop), but the main reason for me to go there was to meet old friends. The wine and (free!) tortillas were good too.

  

• 3—5 June: Callejeando Food Fest @ La Plaza de Alfonso XIII
  It was a three-day event but I learned about it rather late. I passed by on Sunday. The highlights included food trucks, a free Swing class and music by 14 Cuerdas.
• 5 June: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4
  The base band of Javier San Miguel (sax), Antonio Gamaza (piano), Manuel Cavero (double bass) and Roberto Gamaza (drums) with the guests Manuel San Emeterio (guitar), Adela San Miguel (drums) and Rafa Santana (piano).
• 8 June: ARBEBOCA Quartet @ Rvbicón
  Moving modern jazz from Gorka Benítez (tenor sax, flute), Albert Bover (piano), Giuseppe Campisi (double bass) and Rakel Arbeloa (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 15 June: Highlanders @ Rvbicón
  Celtic folk from Eduardo Andérez (guitars), Borja Feal (flutes, bagpipes), Chus Gancedo (drums) and Carlos Gutiérrez (bass).

  

• 18 June: Mehnai & Mario @ Biblioteca Central de Cantabria, Calle Ruiz de Alda, 19
  An evening of Anglophone rock and pop standards by Carmen Bartolome (aka Mehnai) and Mario de Inocencio.

• 22 June: Tom Kessler Trio @ Rvbicón
  Tom Kessler (guitar), Eric Surmenian (double bass) and Pier Bruera (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 25 June: Fiesta de cumpleaños @ Centro Botín, Muelle de Albareda, Paseo de Pereda
  To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Botín Centre organised a number of activities culminating in the Birthday Party, with performances by Ain TheMachine and DIVA. I liked the first show: Ain TheMachine was using the live voices of the audience and the ambient noises recorded at the Botín Centre to create his compositions. There was a magical moment it the end of the show when we all lit the sparklers (kindly provided by the organisers).
  Also, for a week from 20 to 26 June, there was free access to the exhibitions:
  • Portraits: Essence and Expression, a permanent exhibition featuring works by Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon, Juan Gris, Joaquín Sorolla, Daniel Vázquez Díaz, Isidre Nonell, José Gutiérrez Solana and Pancho Cossío;
  • Ellen Gallagher with Edgar Cleijne: A law... a blueprint... a scale (14 April — 11 September);
  • The first retrospective of drawings by Juan Muñoz (25 June — 16 October).
  I used that opportunity and am jolly glad that I did; otherwise it would be an unforgivable waste of eight euros.

  

• 26 June: MAR (Micrófono Abierto Rvbicón) @ Rvbicón
• 29 June: Saiz-Surmenian-Urretagoiena Trio @ Rvbicón
  Juan Saiz (flute, sax), Eric Surmenian (double bass) and Mikel Urretagoiena (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

And that was it for June.