Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, October 2026

Some stuff that we saw this October.

• 1 October: «L’Effet Mère» @ Casa África, Calle Alfonso XIII, 5, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The opening show of the Masdanza 2026 festival. Created and performed by Carmel Loanga (dance, narration).

• 2 October: Anna Starobinets @ Centro Cívico Suárez Naranjo, Calle Pamochamoso, 38
  Anna Starobinets interviewed by Paco Sánchez. Presentation of El vado de los zorros, the Spanish translation of the novel «Лисьи броды», published by Editorial Impedimenta. A part of the literary cycle «Pella de Libros».

  

6 October: «Camille Saint-Saëns y sus coetáneos franceses. Una mirada a España» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1

Featuring Ana Marqués (soprano), Jennibel Hernández (soprano), Celia Jiménez (mezzo-soprano), Daniel Marrero (tenor), Julián Padilla (barítone) and Nauzet Mederos (piano); coordinated and presented by Dionisio Rodríguez. The programme included:
• Cécile Chaminade: La lisonjera (solo piano)
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Guitares et mandolines
• Charles Gounod: La siesta (duet)
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Si je l’osais
• Cécile Chaminade: L’été
• Pauline Viardot: Canción de la Infanta
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Panis Angelicus
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Sonnet. Souvenir de Las Palmas
• Pauline Viardot: Havanaise (duet)
• Enrique Granados: Danza nº 5. Andaluza (solo piano)
• Manuel de Falla: El paño moruno
• Charles Gounod: Bolero
• Pauline Viardot: Les filles de Cadix
• Émile Paladilhe: La Isleña
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Deseo de amor (Desir d’amour)
• Cécile Chaminade: Chanson espagnole
• Francis Poulenc: Toreador
• Camille Saint-Saëns: El desdichado (duet)

9 October: «Colón en Danza» @ Casa de Colón

The programme included:
• Mobile Load
  Iván Sier & Sandra Egido (Alicante)
• Lola y los lamentos
  Andrea Castro Fernández (A Coruña)
• Pies de gallina
  Ana F. Melero & Luna Sánchez (Sevilla); original music by Xerach Peñate
• Trïade
  Esther Latorre, Paula Serrano & Sybila Gutiérrez (Lugo)

13 October: Your Name @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León

Some nine years ago we watched this film in the cinema, dubbed to Spanish. Now we had a chance to see it in the original Japanese. Your Name opened the cycle «Japón se anima» organised by Filmoteca Canaria. And it is free!

20 October: Quiero comerme tu páncreas @ Teatro Guiniguada

This film continued the cycle «Japón se anima».

28 October: Ülker Tümer and Miguel Ángel Ortega Chavaldas @ Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Calle de los Balcones, 9

Ülker Tümer (cello) and Miguel Ángel Ortega Chavaldas (piano). The third concert from this year’s cycle CAAMclásico coordinated by Ángel Luis Quintana. The programme included:
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata for cello and piano No. 4 in C major, Op. 102, No. 1
  1. Andante — Allegro vivace
  2. Adagio — Tempo d’andante — Allegro vivace
• Igor Stravinsky: Suite italienne for cello and piano
• Clara Wieck Schumann: Drei Romanzen
  • Andante molto
  • Allegretto
  • Leidenschaftlich schnell
• César Franck: Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano (arranged for cello)
  1. Allegretto ben moderato
  2. Allegro
  3. Ben moderato: Recitativo-Fantasia
  4. Allegretto poco mosso

Two exhibitions:

• 8 October — 6 November: «Tránsito» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  Works by Laura Valverde Herrando. Apparently, the last event in CAP as it is closing down (or so I heard).

  

• 15 October 2026 — 7 February 2027: «Barreras de la visión» @ CAAM – San Antonio Abad, Plaza San Antonio Abad
  Photography by Tim Parchikov.

  

And that was it for October. Happy Halloween!

Live music in Las Palmas, April 2023

This is what I’ve seen in April:

• 1 April: «Tarasca» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  A show by Compañía Pieles, featuring José Félix Álvarez, Laura Álvarez, Fátima Rodríguez (vocals), Juan Antonio Mora (double bass), Itahisa Darias (violin), Jeremías Martín (piano, accordion), Fernanda Alonso (flute), Ventor de la Guardia, Fede Beuster, Jonatan Rodríguez, Carlos Castañeda and Guillermo Molina (percussion).

• 12 April: Coro vocal & Grupo coral @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4
  The first of three concerts dedicated to the 50^th anniversary of Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. I didn’t know until now that Palacete, bought 50 years ago by the Auyntamiento, was the first home of the Conservatory until, 16 years later, it moved to the bigger building. Featuring voices of Cristina Batista, Kati Brzoska, Gaire Concepción Suárez, Ana Falcón Muñoz, Noemi González, Jennibel Hernández, Joel Hernández Díaz, Paula Herrera Hernández, Teresa de Los Ángeles Rodríguez Vázquez, Daniel Marrero González, Francesco Pisapia, Andrea Quintana and Herminia Sánchez Déniz, accompanied, in turns, by Cristina Díaz Álamo, Diego Rodríguez Ramírez and Ulrika Törnros (piano) and Mireia Santana (guitar). The complete programme of the evening is available here.

  

• 15 April: «Recordando a Nino Bravo» @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Serafín Zubiri and Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria conducted by Juan Roda, with special guest Cristina Ramos, paid a tribute to Nino Bravo, on occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the singer’s untimely death.
• 19 April: Grupos de cámara @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles
  The evening of classical chamber music. Featuring talents of Ysaren García, (violin), Ayose Alonso (violin), Celia Santana (cello), Inés Alén González (flute), Adriana Cabrera Almeida (clarinet), Clara Reyes (violin), David Martín (violin), Nuria Hernando (cello), Indara Saavedra (violin), Claudia Ramírez (cello), Marta de J. López Falcón (flute), Paqui Santana Pérez (flute), Fernando Barrio (bandurria), Eleazar Pérez (bandurria), Aarón Díaz (laúd), Marta García (guitar) and Sofía Pérez (guitar). The complete programme is available here.

  

• 22 April: Mayte Martín «Tatuajes» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  A new programme by the Catalan cantaora, accompanied by Nelsa Baró (piano), Guillermo Prats (double bass), and Vicens Soler (drums), covering standards such as Eu sei que vou te amar, La bien pagá, Ne me quitte pas and Procuro olvidarte.

• 26 April: Piano @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles
  The evening of piano music, with (in the order of appearance): Lidia Tabraue Santiago, Clara Quintana Jiménez, Darío Díaz-Flores Martín, Lía Zimmermann González, Valentina Cabrera Kalinina, Martina Gómez Vázquez, Aaron Grande Castilla, Valentina López Jáuregui, Ariadna Dipierri Romero, Irene Caballero Cerpa, Jorge Vega Saavedra, Noah Mesa Martínez, Luis Rodríguez González, Laura Salazar Sánchez, Orlando Cabrera Martín, Diego Rodríguez Ramírez, Yeling Li Ye, Miguel Raith Corimanya and Miguel Alonso Corimanya. The complete programme is available here.

  

• 27 April: Pedro Martínez @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León
  A masterclass of South American rhythms and guitar, with focus on samba, festejo, chacarera and polka paraguaya, this latter completely different from polka as we know it.

• 29 April: La Mare @ Espacio Cultural Jesús Arencibia, Avenida 8 de Marzo / Rotonda Cruz del Ovejero
  With La Mare (vocals, Spanish guitar, pandero cuadrado), Pablo López (bass, vocals) and Xerach Peñate (drums, vocals). This is the first time we’ve been to the brand new (opened this February) Centro de Actividades Culturales y Comunitarias Jesús Arencibia in Tamaraceite. The verdict: nice concert venue, with really comfy chairs; accessible by public transport (city and Global buses); not particularly well-advertised so the auditorium was not exactly full. I wouldn’t know about this concert if not for a note on Xerach’s Facebook page.

  

And that was it for April.

Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, March 2023

This month began on a cold side...

• 8 March: «Ellas. Mujeres que cantan a mujeres» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The trio of Magdalena Padilla (vocals), Andrea Baez (piano, guitar) and Gema Barragán (bass guitar, violin). The highlights included Andante, Andante, Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend and Rozalén’s anthem La Puerta Violeta.

  

• 11 March: «Bahía» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  The amazing Cuban cellist, composer and singer Ana Carla Maza presented her new album Bahía. With Marc Ayza (drums), Luis Guerra (Percussion) and Norman Peplow (piano).

• 15 March: Quinteto DViento @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles
  From Baroque music to ragtime, with Marta Bautista (double bass), Carolina Marrero (flute), Gladys Pérez Molina (flute), Paulina Niemczycka (flute) and Abraham Ramos Sanchez (guitar).

  

• 16 March: Maureen Choi @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León
  A masterclass of jazz violin, organised by Mousikê La Laguna.

• 22 March: Bjazz @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles
  Now as a quartet featuring Samantha de León (double bass), Silvia Jiménez Hernández (trumpet, vocals), Amelia Gutiérrez (drums) and Sun-Young Park (piano).

  

• 25 March: Happy Piano Day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, various locations (11:30—22:00)
  The fifth edition of Happy Piano Day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria had about 40 sessions in 10 locations around the city, plus a “mobile point” in a form of city bus (line 17, Auditorio—Teatro). Timur and I went to Parque San Telmo, mostly to see Jose Alberto Medina and Javier Infante. Also, we caught the last bits of performance of Mingo Roque and Luis Moreno; then I stayed after 5 pm to listen to Samuel Labrador.
• 25 March: «Una noche entre boleros» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  Later the same day, I went to Parque Doramas to see this show featuring Mara Pérez, Ángeles Pérez and Dunia Pérez (vocals) and Argelia Quesada (narration), accompanied by Misael Pérez (double bass), Daniel Gil (trumpet), Cristian Hernández (piano), Jorge Soroa (percussion) and Ricardo Yagüe (guitar).

• 27 March: Takeo Takahashi Quartet «Jazz para Hokusai» @ Paraninfo de La Universidad de Las Palmas, Calle Juan de Quesada, 30
  This was the sakuranbo on top of the opening day of the International Week of Japan. The quartet played three compositions inspired by works of Katsushika Hokusai: Sparrows and Wisteria, Ejiri in Suruga Province and Feminine Wave. Featuring Cristóbal Montesdeoca (piano), Tana Santana (double bass), Takeo Takahashi (drums) and Jose Vera Bello (sax, flute).

  

• 29 March: Beatriz Alonso Trio @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles
  The last concert of the cycle «Marzo con M de mujer», with Beatriz Alonso (vocals), Javier Cerpa (guitar) and Carlos Meneses (double bass).

  

• 31 March: Festival de Artes Marciales & Ceremonia de Té @ Campus del Obelisco, Calle de Pérez del Toro, 1
  Closing the International Week of Japan, there was a demonstration of martial arts: judo (Antonio Pérez), karate (Sergio Sanjuán), jujitsu (Martín Suárez), aikido (Víctor Pulido), shorinji kempo (Paco Brito) and ninjitsu (Ricardo Atik), followed by a tea ceremony (María J. Quintana).

...and now it’s almost a heatwave. I hope it won’t get much hotter in April.

Free live music in Las Palmas, June 2021

Every June, our city celebrates the anniversary of its foundation in 1478. The programme of Fiestas fundacionales this year was very impressive and we were lucky to attend many cultural events. Unfortunately, there were no fireworks in Las Canteras on San Juan Night; that’ll have to wait till 2022.

• 5 June: Rocío Pozo Compañía Flamenca: «#Lorca. Federico García» @ Plaza de Santa Ana, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Spectacular dance, excellent guitarist, quite satisfactory singing and incredibly annoying MC — I wish she stayed home and let the dancers and musicians do their thing.

• 12 June: Las Migas @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  The last concert of Musicando this spring season — and it couldn’t have been better! Alicia Grillo (guitar), Carolina Fernández ‘La Chispa’ (lead vocals, dance), Roser Loscos (violin) and Marta Robles (guitar), with Oriol Riart (double bass) and a surprise guest appearance of “our own” Hirahi Afonso (timple).

• 17 June: Rycardo Moreno @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León
  The last Mousikê masterclass till Autumn. It’s been ages since I held a guitar in my hands so maybe not immediately useful but I found Rycardo’s classification of guitar chords according to emotion (e.g. “feliz como un niño” or “triste, pero no tan terrible”) rather poetic.

• 17 June: Miriam Fleitas & D’Local Groove @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  The funky side of La Local Jazz Band: Miriam Fleitas (vocals) with Miqui Delgado (piano), Samantha de León (electric bass), Luis Merino (guitar), Ernesto Montenegro (trumpet), Miguel Ramírez (sax) and Suso Vega (drums).

• 19 June: Freedonia @ Parque Santa Catalina
  The line-up has changed dramatically since I saw them last time — three years ago already! Still, it was a pleasure to see Freedonia (a)live and kicking with Deborah Ayo (vocals), Israel Checa (drums), Álvaro Galera (guitar), Toni García (trumpet), Jorge Moreno (trombone), Dani Niño (tenor sax), Chavi Ontoria (keyboards), Fran Panadero (bass) and David Pérez (baritone sax).

  

• 20 June: Djazia Satour @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  Fantastic show of Djazia Satour (vocals, guitar) with Benoit Richou (guitar, vocals), Rémi D’Aversa (drums, keyboards, vocals) and Quentin Langlois Andréoulis (banjo, violin, percussion).

• 22 June: The Bootleg Beatles @ Parque Santa Catalina
  What an evening! Two hours of unadulterated Beatles fun, from It Won’t Be Long to Let It Be, courtesy of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band consisting of, naturally, John (Tyson Kelly), Paul (Steve White), George (Stephen Hill) and Ringo (Gordon Elsmore), plus Mr. Tambourine-and-keyboard Man (Max Langley).

• 24 June: Sofiel del Pino and Pablo Milanés @ Parque Santa Catalina
  Pablo Milanés is kind of an institution in the Hispanic world; I was not about to miss his performance in Las Palmas. Accompanied by Cary Rosa Varona (cello) and Miguelito Núñez (piano) and only occasionally playing guitar, he revisited his vast repertoire, including Años, Días de Gloria and Yolanda. The supporting act, featuring Sofiel del Pino (vocals, guitar), Totó Noriega (percussion, vocals) and Yuniel Rascón Falcón (guitar, tres), was as great as expected and provided me with a glimpse of «Ya nadie toca como Matamoros», the only Musicando show that I couldn’t attend in April.

  

• 26 June: Sergio Alonso Quintet: «Tributo a Dave Brubeck» @ Edificio Miller, Parque Santa Catalina
  Sergio A. Alonso (piano), Neftalí Robaina (sax), Javier Montero (drums), Carlos Meneses (double bass) and Santiago “Chago” Miranda (guitar). The programme included such Brubeck classics as Blue Rondo à la Turk, Bluette, Bossa Nova U.S.A., In Your Own Sweet Way, It’s a Raggy Waltz, Kathy’s Waltz, Unsquare Dance and, of course, Paul Desmond’s Take Five.

  

Starting 26^th June, the face mask is not obligatory outdoors any longer, provided the safety distance, etc. etc. Looking forward to open-air concerts next month!