Free live music and stuff, March—April 2026

Some stuff that I saw in Valencia, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Vitoria.

• 15—19 March: Las Fallas de Valencia, various locations
  This year, compared to the first time I’ve been to the Fallas, I was able to see more and better, thanks to the weather. Even so, I spent most time away from the crowds in the centre, lost in the barrios of Benimaclet, Cabañal and Malvarrosa.

  

  More photos of Las Fallas @ Shutterstock.
• 31 March: «Grito de Mujer 2026» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  A part of the worldwide festival Grito de Mujer. With the participation of Proyecto Interculturalízate, a group of migrant women (with musical collaboration of the Thioune Brothers); writers M.ª del Pino Marrero Berbel, Rosario Ibrahim, Rubén Mettini, Pepa Molina, Carolina Landino, Bönaí Capote and Aghlahoum-Poeta saharaui-Tinduf; singers-songwriters Sara Brito, Daniel Cano, and Virginia Ruiz “La Niña de la Calle”. Presented by Ana Cendrero González.

  

• 8 April: «Somethin’ Stupid» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  If you want to hear Billie Jean, Don’t Worry, Be Happy, The Entertainer, La Fiesta, Let It Be, Meet the Flintstones, Tears in Heaven and yes, Somethin’ Stupid in one concert, look no further. A splendid performance of Yul Ballesteros (guitar) and Germán López (timple).

  

• 10 April: «Sinfonía de sinfonías» @ Plaza del Pilar Nuevo, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The final performance of the graduates of the Advanced Conducting Programme (the class of Dr. Ignacio García Vidal) based in the Canary Islands, with La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Unfortunately the show was interrupted by rain just when the second part started. This is what we heard:
  • Ludwig van Beethoven, Egmont: Overture — conducted by Óscar Manuel Sánchez Benítez
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship — conducted by Anna Kucherenko Parikova
  • Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade III. The Young Prince and the Young Princess — conducted by Javier López Peña
  The full programme of the concert as it was intended is available here.

  

• 18 April: «Puto amor» @ Centro Cívico Langraiz-Oka, Tres de Marzo Parkea, 1, Nanclares de la Oca / Langraiz Oka
  A monologue by Dora Gálvez.

  

• 25 April: A Contra Blues @ Plaza de la Provincia, Vitoria-Gasteiz
  A fantastic band featuring Jonathan Herrero (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Víctor López (drums), Héctor Martín Díaz (electric guitar), Matías Míguez (electric bass) and Alberto Noel Calvillo (electric guitar) was performing as part of the Fiestas de San Prudencio. I liked their originals but I was most impressed by the covers of Sinnerman and Triana’s En el lago.

  

And exhibitions, all in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria:

• 27 February — 27 March: «Hacer(se) Tierra. Arquitectura del arraigo» @ Centro Cultural CICCA, Alameda de Colón, 1
  Paintings from the collection of La Fundación La Caja de Canarias, including works by Miró Mainó, Alberto Manrique, José Comas Quesada, Pedro del Castillo Olivares and Juan Betancor.

  

• 5 March — 10 April: «Prohibido Escuchar» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  A project by Anarcos and Rosa P. Almeida, with invited artist Pedro Déniz.

  

• 19 March — 30 August: «ART AL QUADRAT. Memorias colectivas / Represiones cotidianas» @ CAAM — San Antonio Abad, Plaza San Antonio Abad
  Works by the Valencian arists Mónica and Gema del Rey Jordà, aka Art al Quadrat.

  

Bring on May.

Presence

by Led Zeppelin

50 years on, Presence remains the most underrated Zeppelin record. After the grandiosity of Physical Graffiti, it’s refreshing to hear the stripped-back band, perhaps at its heaviest. It’s a shame that in its day most of the album never made it to the stage. A performance of For Your Life from the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, with Jason Bonham on drums, gives a glimpse of how Presence could have sounded live. But the legacy lives on. Among not that many covers, Tea For One by Joe Bonamassa and Nobody’s Fault But Mine by Baldassarre’s Soul of Zeppelin stand out.

Speaking of covers: I find the cover art (just like that of Wish You Were Here, also by Hipgnosis) uninspiring and having nothing to do with the the album’s music.

Bright Size Life

by Pat Metheny

Metheny’s debut LP, released 50 years ago today, remains one of my desert island jazz albums. Almost everything about it is, well, bright. Bob Moses on drums and pre-Weather Report Jaco Pastorius on bass shine throughout, and the man himself is not bad either. I said “almost”. I’m not a fan of “traditional” hollow-body jazz guitar sound which is too dull for my taste. IMHO a purely acoustic guitar or a solid-body electric guitar would make Bright Size Life even brighter. (Later, Metheny would develop the taste for guitar synthesiser which I also don’t care for; luckily, no such abomination here.)

If I had to choose my favourite tracks, I’d go with Midwestern Nights Dream, Ornette Coleman’s Round Trip/Broadway Blues and the title composition.

Come Taste the Band

by Deep Purple

Isn’t it curious how, 50 years later^*, the only Mark IV studio album still manages to divide Purple fans. Is it, or is not, DP? Why it shouldn’t be DP? Come Taste the Band could (or should) be called pioneering for being the first album in Purple discography not to feature Ritchie Blackmore. It’s not Machine Head, and thanks for that. It did not spawn any stadium hits à la Smoke on the Water — ditto.

I myself didn’t quite dig CTTB upon first hearing, some time in early ’80s. The fact that I heard the atrocious Last Concert in Japan first must have contributed to my initial prejudice towards Tommy Bolin. But why? Poor Tommy couldn’t even play on Last Concert in Japan, not with two hands anyway. Forget it. On CTTB, Bolin shines through and through. Re-listening it now, I realise how ahead of the time this record was.

The title is, of course, a portmanteau of the famous Cabaret lyrics. My favourite tracks are Gettin’ Tighter, This Time Around/Owed to ‘G’ and You Keep On Moving. The 35^th Anniversary Edition (why not 30^th or 36^th, I wonder?) does not provide much in terms of extra material. The second CD (2010 Kevin Shirley Remix) is a refreshing alternative worth listening to... before you go back to enjoy the “original” version, in this case, CD1 (i.e. 2010 Digital Remaster). If I owned a turntable, a space to house it, and £105 to spare, I’d go for the real thing, not least because of its gorgeous cover art.

*	Wikipedia says, in the same article, that the album was released on 10 October 1975 and on 7 November 1975. This cannot be right. According to the BPI database, Come Taste the Band was certified silver on 01.11.1975, six days before its release on 07.11.1975.

Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, May 2025

This is what we’ve seen:

• 8 May: «Celebrando Canarias» @ Plaza del Pilar Nuevo, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The first of three concerts featuring Germán López (timple) and La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria conducted by Juan Roda Sapiña. The full programme is available here.

  

• 14 May: Yul Ballesteros Trio «Alma» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4
  Yul Ballesteros (guitar), Tana Santana (double bass) and Akior García (drums).

  

• 17 May: La Noche Europea de los Museos @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  Gonzalo Macías (guitar) and Ana Gil (vocals, clarinet); Enri Ive (vocals) and Pablo Queu (guitar).
• 23 May: Carlos Alemán & Rayko León @ Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Calle de los Balcones, 9
  With Carlos Eliseo Alemán (flutes), Rayko León (piano), Fofi Lusson (double bass) and Osvaldo Hernández (drums).

  

• 24 May: «Del bolero al son» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  Flamencubeando is a band from Jaén who mix flamenco with son, bolero, tango and other Latin American genres, playing the standards such as Alfonsina y El Mar, Lágrimas negras, Nostalgias, Obsesión, Por una cabeza and, would you believe it, Ay Mi Gran Canaria in their own unique style. Featuring Curro Pérez (voice), Luís Delgado (guitar, bass guitar), Fernándo Delgado (piano) and Luis Delgado Jr. (percussion, flute, melodica).

  

• 31 May: Ernesto Rossger Trio @ Re-Read, Calle Bernardo de la Torre, 33
  One of these events that are not advertised anywhere. We only learned about it because we were visiting this second-hand book shop almost daily. So, on occasion of the eighth anniversary of the Re-Read Las Palmas, we were treated to almost 90 minutes of jazz/blues/funk/bossa nova fusion, plus beer and snacks. With Ernesto Rossger (electric guitar), Carlos Ayala (electric bass), Alejandro Ramos (drums) and a special guest Louis Moreno (vocals).

  

An exhibition of historical photography in interesting location:

• 23 May — 1 June: «Presencia Española en el Sáhara» @ Palacio Militar de San Telmo, Calle Triana, 109
  On occasion, I guess, of the 50^th anniversary of the end of Spanish presence in Western Sahara. Photography by José Luis de Pablos.

And that was it for May.

American Pop

a film by Ralph Bakshi

Finally, a Bakshi film that I actually liked. A soundtrack for the (best part of) 20^th century, something for kids of today to watch. Don’t let the title put you off (yes, it makes me cringe too): “pop” here is short for popular music, moving from ragtime to punk with jazz, swing, soul and rock in between. Not pop music. I still don’t get why American artists insist on naming their creations “American something”.

It’s also pretty uneven. The story kind of disintegrates towards the end — as the quality of music goes down. Yet there are some truly beautiful or otherwise funny bits that made my night.

Coonskin

a film by Ralph Bakshi

Ralph Bakshi’s third feature looks like a combination of Fritz the Cat (animals) and Heavy Traffic (humans and live action). Finally, some sort of coherent plot, which makes the film actually watchable without constant thinking of when it’s gonna end. There is marginally less violence than in his two previous efforts and practically no sex — I wish this was the other way round. For me, Coonskin was the least offensive one of the three Bakshi’s films I’ve seen so far. Or maybe I’m developing tolerance to this stuff.

Heavy Traffic

a film by Ralph Bakshi

The same checklist here as in Bakshi’s debut feature, plus some clumsy live action and pinball. Heavy Traffic mostly consists of zoomorphic humanoids, not too different from anthropomorphic beasts of Fritz the Cat but uglier. The only attractive character is Carole (Beverly Hope Atkinson). What did she find in Michael the pinball-not-exacty-wizard (Fritz 2.0? Future Bakshi?) is anyone’s guess. The soundtrack is really good, would be even better without Scarborough Fair.

Fritz the Cat

a film by Ralph Bakshi

Sex, drugs, rock’n’roll, profanity, graphic violence, politically incorrect jokes — in other words, “something to offend just about everyone”. I must say Fritz the Cat didn’t offend me that much. Perhaps it haven’t aged that well then. The thing is, at 78 munutes, the film is way too long for the message, if there was any. I don’t mind sex between anthropomorphic barnyard animals, I’d appreciate (proportionally) more rock’n’roll, and I really could live with less violence. Cut it to 20 minutes, I say, and we’ll talk. Of course, Billie Holiday and Bo Diddley are great. Some of them jokes still work —

We interrupt the Israeli–Arab war for this special announcement. The President, after conferring with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, has agreed to send more arms to Israel, based on the return of New York City and Los Angeles to the United States.

— and some of them don’t. “Radical left”, what radical left? By now, there’s no left left in the US.

Even bigger problem for me is that I didn’t find the protagonist lovable, or charismatic, or interesting in any way. The only character I sympathised with was Harriet the horse, maybe because she reminded me of the donkey from The Bremen Town Musicians.

Fritz the Cat opens the cycle Ralph Bakshi: Urban Noir organised by Filmoteca Canaria and Tenerife Noir.

Free live music and stuff in Santander and Las Palmas, December 2024

These are things that I’ve seen in the last month of 2024.

• 1 December: Namina @ El Almacén de Little Bobby, Calle del Sol, 20, Santander
  Natàlia Miró do Nascimento (vocals, guitar) and Pep Gol (trumpet, melodica, seashell, percussion) presented an eclectic programme of both originals, mostly from Namina’s latest album La nuit, and covers of songs like I’m Your Man by Leonard Cohen, Chove Chuva by Jorge Ben, Sympathique by Pink Martini and Chocolate Jesus by Tom Waits.

  

• 1 December: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4
  Later the same evening, I was able to enjoy one hour and a half of a jam. Featuring the base band of Beltrán del Álamo (bass), Adrián Buenaga (tenor sax), Carlos Pizarro (guitar) and Raúl Quintana (drums), plus guests.
• 8 December: Diego Jascalevich @ Rvbicón
  An evening of folk and folk-inspired music by a virtuoso charango player, composer and singer.

  

• 12 December 2024 — 31 January 2025: «Una tirada de dados» @ Centro de Arte Naves de Gamazo, Avenida de Severiano Ballesteros, 3
  Works by Chema Madoz.

  

Back in Las Palmas, more exhibitions:

• 21 November 2024 — 3 January 2025: «Hilando Memorias» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Works by Gema Sánchez Yánez; guided tour on 23 December.

  

• 12 December 2024 — 31 January 2025: «Nautas» @ Centro Cultural CICCA, Alameda de Colon, 1
  Works by Miguel Panadero.

  

And that was it for December. Happy New Year!

Free live music and stuff in Santander, November 2024

These are a few things that I’ve seen in November:

• 3 November: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4, Santander
  The base band of Cristina Ceballos (vocals), Manuel Cavero (double bass), Rafa Santana (piano) and Dani Trueba (drums), plus usual and unusual suspects guests.
• 16 November: Gospel Revolution @ Auditorium Salesianos Santander, Paseo del General Dávila, 73
  In spite of the name, there was very little “gospel” in it — praise the Lord for that, I wouldn’t endure an hour and a half of the stuff. Apart from a couple of truly cringeworthy numbers, the rest was a pleasant enough, if not spectacular, rendition of jazz, soul and disco standards like Hit the Road Jack, I Say a Little Prayer, Moanin’ and We Are Family. Featuring Pachi Aguilar, Loli Andreu, Cris Arnejo, Judith Caballo, Patu Campos, Oriana Carreño, Cris Lobato, Pedro Montero, Pilar Revuelta and Álvaro del Val.

Some exhibitions:

• 21 November — 3 December: «Hippie Memory» @ Galería Este, Mercado Municipal del Este, Calle Hernán Cortés, 4
  Jewellery by art.bylennie (Elena Galindo) and Pedro Calderón; concert of Isaías Rojo (21 November).

  

• 22 November 2024 — 9 February 2025: «Escenas para el séptimo ángel» @ El Palacete del Embarcadero, Muelle de Calderón
  Works by Xesús Vázquez.

  

• From 4 September: «La Dama Roja» @ Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria, Calle de Hernán Cortés, 4
  The exhibition dedicated to the Red Lady of El Mirón, an Upper Paleolithic woman buried some 19,000 years ago. This is the first time I went to the Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria and absolutely loved it. Free entrance on Sundays from 17:00 to 20:00.

  

And that was it for November.

Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, August 2024

These are a few things that we’ve seen in August. Sketches by Tamara.

• 10 August: LPA Groove Summer @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  • Nala Rami, a band led by Alan Imar Rodríguez Mitchell (vocals, sax, flute), accompanied by Carlos Artiles (bass), Kilian Barrera (drums), Marta Herrera “Holly” Hollingsworth (vocals), Luis Sánchez Guerra (keyboards) and Leonardo Segovia (guitar).
  • A new incarnation of D’Local Groove with Miqui Delgado (piano, keys), José Carlos Cejudo (bass), César Martel (trumpet), Luis Merino (guitar), Javier Montero (drums), Miguel Ramírez (sax, rap) and Alba Serrano (vocals).
  • Eddie Roberts & The Lucky Strokes featuring Ashley Galbraith (bass), Taylor Galbraith (drums), Shelby Kemp (guitar, lead vocals), Eddie Roberts (guitar, vocals) and Chris Spies (keyboards).

  

• 22 August: «Iberia» @ Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Calle de los Balcones, 9
  Sergio Sánchez presented “electroacoustic concert with experimental sounds from social environments” of Iberian Peninsula. In my book, standing behind his laptop, even if pressing occasionally some keys, does not count as a concert, but well. There was no other visual support, so I was bored beyond belief. This performance was closing the cycle CAAMSonora of which I was blissfully unaware until now.

  

• 22 August: Jesús Garriga @ Museo Castillo de Mata, Calle Domingo Guerra del Río, 147
  I couldn’t listen to «Iberia» for longer than 15 minutes and left for another concert (the real one) from the cycle «12 Noches de autor».

  

• 23 August: Notas de Verano en Colón: Ana Falcón & Alba Rodríguez @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  A double bill of two young Canarian cantautoras.

  

And exhibitions, all of them seen in CAAM before «Iberia»:

• 20 June — 1 September: «Toda utopía pasa por la barriga»
  Works by Carlos Garaicoa (Havana, Cuba, 1967).

• 4 July — 6 October: «Legado»
  Works by Juan Hidalgo Codorniú (1927—2018).

  

• 18 July — 29 September: «Artistas en residencia»
  Works by Adriana Frutos and Gregorio Viera.

Looking forward to September already.

Live music and stuff in Las Palmas, July 2024

This is what we’ve seen in July. Sketches and photos by Tamara.

• 3 July: «Ecos de Canarias y Piazzolla» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Trío Gabriel Rodó featuring Ana Marrero (piano), Liliana Mesa Montané (violin) and Berenice Musa (soprano).

  

• 5 July: Sofar concert @ Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Calle de los Balcones, 9
  This is the very first time I went to a Sofar event and loved it, even at the cost of missing the last part of Spain—Germany football game. Featuring Kimera, Shango Dely and Nala Rami; each band played for about 30 minutes.

• 6 July: «Iron Modvm» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  A show by the Barcelona-based company Iron Skulls, plus some guest breakdance battles.

  

• 7 July: «De la ópera al jazz» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó
  The concert by La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Conductor: Pedro Vicente Alama. Soloist: Aitor Llimerá Galduf (oboe). Called “from opera to jazz”, it’s probably better described by “from Bach to Gershwin”.

  

• 10 July: «Orpheus» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó
  A live cinema event where Insectotròpics (Barcelona) reinterpret the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice by reviewing the concepts of love, life and death via the virual reality glasses. With guest (on-screen) appearance of Mr. B., Mr. G., Mr. M. and Mr. Z.

  

• 11 July: «Los Pfeiffer» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó
  A show by La Troupe Malabó (Castellón) featuring Laura Agustí (violin, soprano), Quique Montoya (clown), Mae Puchalt (violin), Sonia Tabares (viola) and Alberto Zente (cello).

  

• 12 July: «R.E.M.» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó
  A show by La Trócola Circ (Alicante).

  

• 13 July: «Invitación a la danza» @ Terminal de Contenedores del Muelle de La Luz (Grupo Boluda)
  Music by Tchaikovsky (Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake), Prokofiev (Romeo and Juliet), Johann Strauss (Voices of Spring, Czardas), plus encores: Aquarela do Brasil and Cancan, performed by La Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. Conductor: Karel Mark Chichon. Dancers: Sae Maeda and Harris Bell, The Royal Ballet.

  

• 19 July: «Ovvio» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  I saw this show by Kolektiv Lapso Cirk some five years ago in Santander and thoroughly enjoyed it. But I can’t be in two places at the same time. So Tamara and Timur went to see Ovvio and I went to see Rubén Rodríguez.



• 19 July: Notas de Verano en Colón: Rubén Rodríguez @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  A concert of the Canarian singer-songwriter Rubén Rodríguez (guitar, vocals) accompanied by Abraham Ramos (timple).

  

• 19 July: «Echassiers du Togo» @ Parque Doramas
  A fantastic performance by the Togolese stilt-walkers collective Afuma.

  

• 19 July: Sylphes @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  An incredibly beautiful aerial ballet from Italy provided a fitting closure of this year’a TEMUDAS Fest.

  

Three double bills from 33^rd Canary Islands Jazz Festival:

• 25 July: Perinké Big Band & Adédèji @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Perinké Big Band led by Ximo Martínez presented their show Fiebre de Mambo feauring vocals of Marieme Herrera and Sofiel del Pino.

  

  Adédèji is an Afro-beat band from Nigeria featuring Adédèjì Adetayo (guitars, lead vocals), Ebun Arowosegbe (vocals), Mary Sobowale (vocals, violin), Abiodun ‘Wura’ Oke (percussion), Oluwasegun Adebuyi (bass), Ralph Lasisi (tenor sax), Victor Ademofe (trumpet), Samuel Obinna (drums) and Samuel Olawale (keyboards). I should have stayed longer for that one!
• 26 July: Theo Croker & Ana Popovic @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Theo Croker (trumpet) accompanied by Idris Frederik (piano, keyboards), Miguel Marcel Russell (drums) and Eric Wheeler (double bass); Ana Popovic (guitar, vocals) with Claudio Giovagnoli (sax), Davide Ghidoni (trumpet), Corey LaDell Burns (bass), Michele Papadia (keyboards) and Jeremy Thomas (drums, vocals).
• 27 July: Jonathan Kreisberg Quartet & Polo Ortí New Project @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Jonathan Kreisberg (electric guitar), Marko Churnchetz (piano), Luca Alemanno (double bass) and Colin Stranahan (drums); Polo Ortí (piano, keyboards), Chipi Chacón (trumpet), Samuel Kèri (electric bass) and Naíma Acuña (drums).

And an exhibition:

• 25 July — 16 August: «Exposición Gran Canaria de Series de Obra Gráfica 2023» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  ...where you can see some engravings by Tamara.

  

All the events listed here were free of charge apart from «Invitación a la danza» which cost €15 a ticket.

Live music and stuff in Las Palmas, July 2023

Whoever decided to organise the 32^nd International Canarian Jazz Festival (30 June — 23 July 2023) and 27^th TEMUDAS Fest (6—22 July 2023) at the same time, clearly didn’t think of people like me. Oh well. I tried to catch what I could.

• 6 July: Both Sides of Joni Mitchell and Rey & Syl @ Paraninfo de La Universidad de Las Palmas, Calle Juan de Quesada, 30, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  This double bill started with a jazzy tribute to Joni Mitchell by Alexis Cole (vocals) and Monika Herzig (piano) with Peter Kienle (guitar/bass), Peter Lehel (saxophone) and Cecilia Sanchietti (drums). I found the second part more engaging: a fantastic band featuring Dorrey Lin Lyles (vocals), Sylwester Ostrowski (tenor sax), Jakub Mizeracki (guitar), Michał Szkil (piano), Adam Tadel (double bass), Owen Hart Jr. (drums), Lucas Balbo (percussion), Mariana Martinez (dance) and Slawek Ostrowski (vocals).

  

• 7 July, 21:00: «Latas» @ Plaza Stagno
  Three people and lots of cans: a show by D’Click from Zaragoza (see the gallery).

  

• 7 July, 22:00: «Pedaleando hacia el cielo» @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Bikes, circus and opera: a truly amazing performance by the Belgian company Theater Tol which “tells a love story about being together in dark days” (see the gallery).

  

• 13 July: «Juan de Miranda (1723—1805), un relato de ida y vuelta. Músicas para un genio canario» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  El Afecto Ilustrado immersed us in the music of the times of the Spanish Baroque painter Juan de Miranda (1723—1805), who happened to be born on this day 300 years ago in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Featuring Lucía Caihuela (mezzo-soprano), Adrián Linares (violin), Marta Ramírez (violin), Diego Pérez (cello), Carlos Oramas (theorbo, baroque guitar), Juan Carlos de Mulder (theorbo) and Raquel García (organo). The programme of the concert included:

  Antonio Martín y Coll: Xácaras, de Flores de Música José de Torres: Bosques Umbrosos (cantada) Joaquín García: ¡Ay, qué prodigio! (cantada al Santísimo Sacramento) Josep and Joan Baptista Pla: Trio sonata en re menor Joaquín García: ¡Ah, del rebaño! (tonada de Corpus) Francisco José de Castro: Sonata prima, de Trattenimenti Armonici da Camera, op. 1 José de Torres: Afectos amantes (cantada) Francesco Corselli: Si aquel monarca de Israel (cantada)

  

• 14 July: Le G. Bistaki, «Baïna[na]» @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  You won’t believe what four men with shovels can do (see the gallery).

  

• 15 July: «Grandes finales» @ Terminal de Contenedores del Muelle de La Luz (Grupo Boluda)
  The free buses from La Muelle took us to the container terminal. In our bus, we were entertained by a gospel choir; not sure if there were enough choirs for each bus. The main course: Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria conducted by Karel Mark Chichon. The programme included, well, mostly finales: those of Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies by Tchaikovsky, Puccini’s La bohème, Enigma Variations by Elgar, and Baba Yaga/The Great Gates of Kiev from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Plus encores (IMHO, the best part): The Sailor’s Hornpipe, the coda of Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours and Radetzky-Marsch by Johann Strauss Sr. (see the gallery).

  

• 18 July: «Un paseo por la Europa de los siglos XVII y XVIII: Entre Chaconas y Pasacalles» @ Casa de Colón
  Another concert of the cycle Música Antigua en el Patio, this time of 17^th- and 18^th-century harpsichord music performed by Patricia Robaina. The programme included:

  Louis Marchand: Suite en Re menor Prélude Chaconne Jean-Baptiste Forqueray: Suite en Do menor La montigni Henry Purcell: Ground en Do menor Bernardo Storace: Ciaccona en Do Mayor Jean-Baptiste Forqueray: Suite en Sol Mayor La Buisson Chaconne Jean-Henri d’Anglebert: Chaconne de Phaëton Henry Purcell: Ground en Mi menor Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer: Uranie Toccata Georg Muffat: Passacaglia en Sol menor from Apparatus musico-organisticus (1690)

  

• 21 July: Carmen Souza and Caramelo de Cuba @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Six years after we went to see her trio in the Auditorio, a welcome re-encounter with Carmen Souza (vocals, guitar, paino), this time as a quartet with Deschanel Gordon (piano), Elias Kacomanolis (drums) and Theo Pascal (electric bass). Caramelo de Cuba seemed to be an interesting project but I didn’t stay beyond the first song.
• 22 July: Puertas al Sur 5tet and Ayom @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Puertas al Sur 5tet mixes the traditional Afro-Latin rhythms rhythms such as bomba, cumbia, festejo and plena with modern jazz and electronica. I’d say too much electronica and loops for a quintet/sextet featuring Beatriz Alonso (voice, keys), Ariel Bringuez (sax, keys, percussion), Kumar Sublevao-Beat (MC, percussion), Luis Suarez (percussion, loops, samplers) and Miguel Manescau (guitar, bass guitar), plus a special guest Octavio Hernández (guitar). And yes, they better loose that rap. I enjoyed Ayom much more: not as much jazz as a catchy amalgam of Lusophone African and Atlantic with Mediterranean music styles. Featuring Jabu Morales (voice and percussion), Alberto Becucci (accordion), Timoteo Grignani and Walter Martins (percussion), Ricardo Quinteria (guitar) and Francesco Valente (bass).
• 23 July: Música en la Francia del siglo XVIII @ Gabinete Literario, Plaza de Cairasco, 1
  This free concert was given by the teachers of the forthcoming International Course of Early Music (I Curso Internacional de Música Antigua en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 24—27 July). I learned about this event thanks to Patricia Robaina. Performers: Paula Pérez (violin), Mariana Pimenta (soprano), Patricia Robaina (harpsichord) and Pablo Sosa (flute). The programme included Cantata Medée by Louis-Nicolas Clérambault; Le deuxième récréation de la musique by Jean-Marie Leclair; and Cantata Le sommeil d’Ulisse by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre.

  

And two photography exhibitions:

• 15 June — 28 July: «La Isla/El Agua» @ Centro Cultural CICCA, Alameda de Colón, 1
  An exhibition of water-related works by Canarian photographer Tato Gonçalves.

  

• 29 June — 28 July: «San Juan Night Tour» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  As the name suggests, the images of barrio San Juan by night, by Lidia Esther Díaz Gil.

  

Apart from «Grandes finales», all the events/exhibitions were free of charge.