II Carmen Amaya Festival

The festival, organised by Poble Espanyol’s El Tablao de Carmen, pays tribute to Carmen Amaya, who was born in 1913 in the Somorrostro neighbourhood and became one of the most internationally renowned flamenco dancers of the 20th century.

Carmen Amaya returns to the stage. As part of this edition, the Tablao de Carmen Amaya company will premiere a show that takes its inspiration from the Barcelona bailaora.

That is on the first night of the festival, on 28 October, at the Teatre Coliseum, where, directed by José Luís Ortiz Nuevo, four bailaores, two guitarists, a percussionist and three cantaores will present El ritmo de las olas [The Rhythm of the Waves].

The title refers to some remarks by Amaya, who once explained that her sense of dance came to her when she was very young, while listening to the sound of the sea waves.

The Carmen Amaya Festival aims to establish itself as a prestigious event on the flamenco scene, recovering its most important values: purity, essence and spontaneity.

Coliseum -> G.V. Corts Catalanes, 595 | Eixample

The 40th Feria de Abril de Catalunya

The 40th Feria de Abril de Catalunya (Catalan April Seville Fair) takes place at the Fòrum from 29 April to 8 May. On Friday 29, human castles from the Minyons de Terrassa and flamenco with the Cadiz-born singer-songwriter, José Anillo, will open and the traditional lighting will go on at 10pm.

The Feria de Abril, which ends on 8 May, will have 70 stands, distributed over a 105.000 square metre site. This year’s opening hours are as follows: from 6 pm to 4.15 am on 29 April; from 10 am to 2 am on week days and Sunday, 1 May; from 10 am to 4.15 am on Saturdays and Friday 6 May, and from 10 am to 10 pm Sunday 8 May.

TMB recommends visitors use the metro network for travelling to the fair (getting off at El Maresme – Fòrum station on Line 4). On 30 April and 7 May the metro will be operating throughout the night, and at specific times, where necessary, TMB plans to boost its citizen-advice service and line 4 services.
A shuttle-bus service has also been planned, connecting Plaza de Catalunya with the Fòrum.

De Cajón! Flamenco Festival in Barcelona

The “De Cajón!” festival hits Barcelona again, with a line-up to warm you to the rhythm of clapping palms. Offering a line-up that features not just household names from the Flamenco scene but also promising new talents, the Barcelona Flamenco Festival gets ready for its sixth year having consolidated its status as a regular feature with a distinctive personality.

Niña Pastori will officially open the festival with a special Christmas concert at the Palau de la Música, where you can treat yourself to a repertory of Flamenco Christmas carols specially adapted for the occasion and where the Cadiz-born cantaora or Flamenco singer will be accompanied by eight musicians and a dancer.

The Palau will also reverberate to Rosario Flores’s rumba power, Kiko Veneno’s Flamenco rock and, as a grand finale, the might of Estrella Morente.

The Auditori will be the setting for a truly special evening featuring Duquende, Parrita, Montse Cortés and various Chambao musicians to pay homage to José Ortega Heredia, aka Manzanita. Under the title of Con piel de manzana, the world of Flamenco will be paying tribute to one of most innovative figures in its history.

This year’s De cajón! is going in for local talent, with a line-up full of promising new talents from the Barcelona scene. Such is the case with Marujita, who will be presenting her second album, produced by Ricky Falkner, and the guitarist Juan Ramón Caro and the dancer Ana Morales, who will be performing at Luz de Gas.

The Mas i Mas Festival in August

For eight years the Mas i Mas Festival has been adding rhythm to the warmest days of the year. This edition’s festival, which kicks off on 29 July with a performance by the Malian diva Rokia Traoré, has programmed over 160 concerts to suit all tastes with world music, flamenco, classical and electronica.

Among all that will be going on, one concert stands out, the Plaça Reial tribute to the city’s most iconic jazz club, the Jamboree, which is 50 this year. Musicians like Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald and Ornette Coleman have been here, so jazz will be the star of this free concert on Monday 30 August, starting at 6 pm.

The Big Acoustic Band, the best national jazz outfit, and WTF All Stars, the musicians that liven up the WTF Jam Sessions every Monday at the club, will have the job of bringing the Jamboree out into the light in Plaça Reial.

Appearing at the Mas i Mas Festival besides Rokia Traoré will be Flavio Rodríguez, Lucrecia and Sole Giménez, accompanied by the saxophonist Perico Sambeat. This last recital will close the festival on 1 September at the Palau de la Música.

The inclusion of the Palau de la Música as a festival stage is one of the new features of the eighth Mas i Mas Festival. There the chamber music room will hold three latin and jazz concerts a day.

In all the festival will have seven stages around the city. La Pedrera once again provides the stage for classical music, with three concerts a day, while flamenco will be based at the Tarantos, with six sessions a day, and electronica at the Moog. The Auditori will open the festival and there will also be concerts at Luz de Gas and the Jamboree.

All those people who say nothing happens in Barcelona in August have got it all wrong!

April Fair at Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona

Last Friday 23rd April started the traditional ceremony to switch on the lights, it was the signal the start of the 39th “Feria de Abril de Catalunya“, an event which, once again, bring us the best of Andalusia’s culture to Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona. 

Sevillanas, a type of flamenco dancing, Andalusian food, music, in short, a fiesta with lots of fun is what you can expect to find at the April Fair, organised by the Federación de Entidades Culturales Andaluzas de Catalunya, until 2 May.

The Fair is split into two parts, one featuring 64 casetes, or marquees, belonging to various cultural associations and decorated with lanterns, and another with fairground attractions.

Each association organises different shows. Note there is free access and admission to all the casetes with a standard price for drinks.

Public transport is your best option for getting to the Fair, as it attracts big crowds of visitors. We recommend the Metro in particular. The nearest stop is the El Maresme-Fòrum station on Line 4.

From 23/04/2010 to 02/05/2010
El Parc del Fòrum -> Pl Fòrum, 1 – Sant Martí

De Cajón! Flamenco Festival of Barcelona

Between 11th February and 15th April Barcelona’s “De Cajón!” Flamenco Festival will be playing host to established artists like José Mercé, Rosario, Parrita and Pitingo, the alternative rock-flameno mix of Los Planetas and dance from the legendary Antonio Canales, as well as promoting young talent like the singers Alba Guerrero, Alba Carmona and María Toledo.

Alongside all these performances, “De Cajón!” is also organising a special concert, where young children can enjoy an introduction to the world of flamenco, as well as a new PRK-De Cajón! improvisation concert.

More info, visit the organizers website The Project

Sweater, British sound made in Barcelona.

Plan Magistral, their first album, recalls the best in Anglo-Saxon pop rock as well as the indie music scene. As they work on new songs, Víctor Garcia Barriocanal, the lead singer, and Rocky Otto, the keyboard player, tell us how they’ll be including new sounds, such as flamenco, jazz, blues and classical music, as the Barcelona band’s five members take their inspiration from a large and varied range of influences.

Having gone through a “traumatic experience” with a big label, Sweater’s members are keen defenders of self-management and opted for the do-it-yourself approach with their first album, which they produced themselves. It’s a formula they’re sure to follow in the future.

Impeccable sound and detailed, well-crafted lyrics make up the credentials of a group who attach as much importance to their music as they do to their words.

They started off singing in English, but now they sing in Spanish to be “true” to themselves and their audiences, and don’t rule out writing songs in Catalan. And that is because, they tell us, they do what and how they want.

Visit the Sweater website.