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7 Signs That You Should Attend A Festival
Are You Overwhelmed By Monotony?
Do you need to get out of the routine but without spending a lot? Do you want to expand your circle of friends? Do you want to have a new love? If the answer to most of the questions has been “Yes”, you most likely have a high need for social life that you can get at a Festival.
In a festival, you elude reality for a long time, and you will perceive unequaled sensations. One of the highest Latino events held in Europe is the Tempo Latino Festival in France, which hosts 7 000 people a day for a weekend.
Now that you already know the number of people with whom you can interact at a festival, I present you the seven signs to be conscious of how to recognize if you should attend one:
- You find it difficult to establish social relationships, or you don’t have time to share with your friends.
- You need to save as much as you can. It is due to the uncertainty that prevails in these times of the fluctuating economy. (Some scientific studies certify that it is better to invest money in experiences than in material objects).
- If your memories are about your family and student trips.
- You want to have a different weekend outside the daily routine or new love.
- You are interested in shows and attractions that make you live an experience to the fullest and have a feeling of exceptional freedom.
- You long to meet people with the same musical style.
- You want to show your best, most comfortable, or crazy outfits.
BRIEF HISTORY
The first festivals have provenance in Egypt (4500 B.C), followed by Greece and Rome. Subsequently, the first festival as we know them today took place in Dublin (Ireland) in 1897 after the middle ages. In the twentieth century began its greatest apogee with the most famous and long-lived events of this kind: Isle of Wight in England (1968), Woodstock in the United States (1969), and Viña del Mar in Chile since 1960.
Since then, the number of followers has increased in these festivities of several days that favor social life and that gives them skills such as adaptability, sociability, generous and joyful thinking, in addition to the remembrance that happens to occupy a fundamental place in this list.
If you are interested in experiencing this lifestyle and exercising a new way of empathizing with people with the same musical style and interests, here are two recommendations for upcoming Latin festivals to be held in Spain this fall 2021.
FESTIVALS IN SPAIN
Guaguancó Festival World-Madrid
Ten years have marked the Guaguancó festival, which for the first time makes its stop in Madrid. This year it will have a lineup of high-level artists, workshops, events, Cuban music concerts, and activities.
The El Escorial resort campsite will be the place to celebrate this Afro-Caribbean weekend party.
El Escorial is a complex with large outdoor spaces for holding shows, concerts, and some workshops. Its covered spaces have more than 400 square meters, and all this under strict cleaning and disinfection protocols.
Date: Thursday, September 9th – Sunday, September 12th
Venue: Escorial Resort Natura. Carretera M-600, Km 3,5, 28280 El Escorial, Madrid, Spain
Barcelona Temptation Festival 2021
This festival in the fourth edition will immerse you in the Latin rhythms of Bachata, Kizomba, and Urbankiz for a week. More than 11 artists on stage, workshops, social dances in the pool area and gardens with excellent DJs as well as grandiose masterclasses will be the programming of the Barcelona Temptation Festival 2021 from September 14th to Monday 20th at the Evenia Olympic Park hotel located in Gerona (Spain).
Venue: Evenia Olympic Park hotel. Building Park Carrer Sra. Del Rossell, S / N, 17310 Lloret de Mar, Gerona, Spain
SalsaGoogle.com is International Salsa Magazine
Discover The Alternative To Dance Latin Music In Israel
Havana Music Club: An exclusive Cuban atmosphere in Tel Aviv
The number one Latin rhythm club in Israel, Havana Music Club, since August 2010 opens its doors every night. It serves as a different entertainment venue for loyal Salsa and Bachata lovers from this country located on the Asian continent.
This club has set a new standard in the Middle East that resembles the best Latin music clubs in Europe and North America specifically New York and Los Angeles but with a Cuban atmosphere. Additionally, it has an underground parking lot for approximately 250 vehicles and nearby side streets with free parking spaces.
Ten years and a resounding success led Havana Music Club to create Hula La in July 2019. This “Little Brother” is located next to the main headquarters and also meets the requirements of high quality in sound, lighting, and atmosphere with a space clean that houses hundreds of dancers in 1500 square meters of parquet, which allows you to fully enjoy the continuous music of the various DJs.
This club complex is located next to Ayalon Lanes at the Hashalom Interchange (Azrieli Towers), a 2-minute walk from Hashalom Train Station.
The next event that Havana Music Club will bring to the Latin scene in Israel in 2021 will be the Caramelo festival. This event will have workshops with a couple of top-level national and international artists in the Salsa and Bachata styles. In addition, you will enjoy three nights of crazy parties, as well as accommodation with three meals, and hot/cold drink bars at the Hotel Leonardo Club.
Date: Thursday, September 2nd – Saturday, September 4th
Venue: Leonardo Club Hotel. Kampen St, Eilat, Israel
PARTIES IN HAVANA MUSIC CLUB
Havana Music Club offers Latin parties with Salsa and Bachata instructions three days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) from 9:00 PM to late at night, and you can start from the basic level up to the professional level.
You will start with a small warm-up lesson to continue with the Latin rhythm class of the moment you prefer in any of its levels, and end with the great dance party in the Havana Music Club and Hula La. Likewise; you can also opt for classes for small groups.
Among the courses that will open soon are:
Salsa Lady Style: This course is aimed at Salsa dancers that have an intermediate level or higher. Women interested in developing body movement, gaining confidence in dancing, developing their style, and technique.
In the Salsa Lady Style course, you will work on proper posture, turns, leg and handwork, body movement, hip work, and upper body.
Chat for beginners: These Bachata classes are designed for all levels. The objective is to give you the bases so that you enter the world of “chat” and give you the tools to enjoy the dance that is conquering Israel.
Sabor de Cuba – Master’s Level: The course is taught by Lear Shoshani & Moti Sabag, one of the oldest and most prominent Afro-Cuban Salsa instructors in the country. In these lessons, they will teach the essentials of the music of this Caribbean island from its origins and emphasizing the Son, Rumba, and Afro-Cuban Mambo to dance more in tune with the music.
Salsa and Cha Instructor Training: Havana Music Club’s most prestigious course to attract future instructors from the Salsa and Bachata scene in this Middle Eastern country. This course includes general instruction, safety before a captive audience, dance basics, instructional experience, and various enrichment lessons in the field of rhythm, style, and musical history of these styles that mark the development of the night scene of this decade.
Maybe This Data Also Interests You
- There are 3 different rooms in the club: Central Room with capacity for 300 people seated or 850 people standing, Secondary room “Hula La”, and VIP Room with 90 square meters to accommodate from 20 to 50 guests.
- Smoking is prohibited within the club’s facilities.
- It is also strictly forbidden to bring any kind of drink. (Includes water)
- Havana Music Club offers live local bands’ performances.
- If you bought the ticket for a concert, I recommend you arrive at the opening of the doors to choose seats because the places are not separated.
- In general, the price online is cheaper than the one paid at the box office.
- Two other courses that will soon be offered are Mixed Style Lady Style and Salsa del Medio.
- Among the DJs that currently display their sets with the best mix of Latin music are DJ Charlie Pérez, DJ Nadav Shamgar (DJ NASH), DJ Moti, DJ Paco, and DJ Tzachi Bachar.
- According to the Israeli Ministry of Health guidelines, the number of people who spend time in the club should be limited. Attendees must present a vaccination or “in recovery” card plus an identification card.
SalsaGoogle.com is International Salsa Magazine
Flashback: Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill
The Architect Of Afro-Cuban Jazz
Arturo O’Farrill, better known as “Chico” O’Farrill was born on October 28, 1921, in Havana (Cuba) at the height of Son. He had a normal childhood like any son of a Jewish family raised to continue the family profession, Law.
In the 1930s Chico was admitted to the Riverside American Military School in Gainesville, Georgia. His father, an eminent Irish lawyer recognized in the Afro-Caribbean country, decided to intern him to continue his studies.
During his stay at that institution, O’Farrill discovered the great jazz orchestras that made life in that territory. Those bands were known by the name of Big Bands. He entered that musical environment and began his process of love and passion for the industry. He listened to recordings by Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey while learning to play the trumpet on his own. In almost immediate time Chico became the trumpet player for the school’s military band and large dance groups.
Years later, Arturo returned to Cuba. He studied the same profession as his father (Law) and at the same time with his studies, he developed his facet as a composer. He received composition and harmony classes from important island musical instructors such as Félix Guerrero.
His progress, determination, and development in music were unstoppable. He was a member of the Armando Romeu Bellamar Orchestra and the Isidro Pérez Orchestra at the time of Mambo and Son, rhythms that prevailed and enhanced Latin music for decades.
MUSICAL HISTORY
“The Architect of Afro-Cuban Jazz” worked for four years (1943 – 1947) in Montmartre, the Cuban cabaret with the greatest French style. In the same way, he belonged to the Bellamar Orchestra, directed by Armando Romeu with Luis and Pucho Escalante, and Mario Romeu, among many other members.
As a trumpeter, Arturo traveled to Mexico and Europe. He created Los Raqueteros del Swing band, being the director and member of the orchestra. Subsequently, he founded Los Beboppers (the first Cuban bop group) with continuous performances at the Hotel Saratoga. Here, Chico was once again at the helm as director of the band and musician with his related instrument, the trumpet.
In the 1950s he began his successes as an arranger, working briefly for various musical directors such as Gil Fuller, Noro Morales, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Benny Goodman.
Likewise, he composed his first masterpiece, Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite in five movements: Canción, Mambo, 6/8, Jazz, and Rumba Open. This masterpiece of composition was made and recorded for the imprint of the businessman Norman Granz, with the Machito Orchestra as the rhythmic base and accompanist.
The expert comments on Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite were numerous, but here are two of the most outstanding opinions:
Luc Delannoy: “It begins and ends with a hypnotic flute and conga duo that reflects the essence of Cuban treatment; the union of musical universes: the European (the flute) and the African (the conga). These two instruments are joined by the oboe, followed by the trumpets, saxophones, and the double bass “Tumbao”… After a return to swing and bebop in the fourth movement, Chico takes us back to the origins of Latin jazz with a melody of clear Arabic accents, before immersing himself in the universe of Afro-Cuban percussions.”
And Benny Carter commented on the Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite the following: “The reason for the coherence of the rhythmic parts and their relationships with the solos that have their own life and independence, Masterpiece of a genius.”
After the enormous success of this powerful piece of music, O’Farrill wrote Cuban Fantasy for Stan Kenton during his stay in New York (EE.UU). However, Kenton eventually changed the name of the piece and it was called the Cuban Episode.
In 1953 he moved from New York to the California state and founded his orchestra with renowned musicians such as Mario Bauzá, Doug Mettome, Jimmy Nottingham, Eddie Bert, Fred Zito, Lenny Hambro, Flip Phillips, and the saxophonist Eddie Wasserman. The orchestra used the Afro-Cuban rhythmic section of Machito, harp, and oboe.
Under this concept, he recorded for Norman Granz and performed in two emblematic venues of the American Jazz music scene: Birdland (New York) and Hat Ballroom located in Los Angeles, California. During this period he composed three new movements: “La Jungla”, “Contrast”, and “Rhumba Finale”, baptized as “Manteca Suite”. The latter recorded in 1954 with Jazzist Dizzy Gillespie and an orchestra with 21 talented musicians.
In 1956 he returned to Cuba in search of inspiration and immediately began to work for the best record companies such as Panart and RCA Víctor. In this record label, he made “Chico’s Cha-Cha-Cha”, adapting the Charanga rhythm to the Big band format. This album was released, once again, on compact disc by BMG during the last decade of the 20th century.
Two years later the restless O’Farrill traveled to Mexico due to the great platform that this country provided for Latin American musicians at the time. During that residency, he once again stood out with a special sound. He appears on television as music director for singer Andy Russell, and there his life takes a dizzying turn. He started the semi-retirement period but never stopped composing. By that time, he composed his next and one of his greatest works “Azteca Suite” for trumpeter Art Farmer. And he made history once again!
In the 60s and with the rise of rock, Chico returned to New York and made arrangements for such important figures as La Lupe (They Call Me La Lupe); Cal Tjader (Along with Comes Cal); Count Basie (High Voltage); Gato Barbieri (Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata); Ringo Starr (Night and Day) and dabbled in Rock music with David Bowie (I Know That It Will Happen and Looking for Lester) and finally was the director of the Venezuelan Aldemaro Romero’s Orchestra.
In this stage that lasted until the end of the 20th century and already in the 70s, the Big bands went from being an innovation to being displaced by other rhythms that were rapidly increasing in popularity. These genres used new techniques, styles, sounds, and harmonies. It led to the appearance of icons in Jazz and the disappearance of the exclusive Bing bands for ballroom dancing.
For this reason, Chico O’Farrill reinvents himself and begins to work in the lucrative field of music for audiovisual advertising.
In the mid-nineties, American Jazz producer and director Todd Barkan contacted the “Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect” to pay tribute to his career with a compilation of his musical hits. The name of the album was Pure Emotion and it got a nomination for Best Latin Jazz Performance at the 37th Grammy Awards.
O’Farrill toured Europe with his orchestra in 1996 and recorded his latest album entitled “Heart Of A Legend” with 14 tracks.
For this album, they had an orchestra of 18 musicians and a collaboration of international artists. The arrangements and musical direction of “Heart Of A Legend” were in charge of his son Arturo O’Farrill Jr. and who continues with his legacy.
On June 29, 2001, at 80 years old in New York City, Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill passed away.
Undoubtedly, Chico O’Farrill was always a visionary, and he was at the forefront for more than half a century of the musical genre today recognized worldwide as Latin Jazz.
In memory of the 20 years of his physical disappearance
Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill Forever!
SalsaGoogle.com is International Salsa Magazine
Mozart & Mambo
The Instrumental Music Album With The Major Projection Of 2021
After six years of Horn Discovery, Sarah Willis brings us in her third album the discovery of two worlds through a completely harmonic and natural fusion. Her album Mozart & Mambo combines solo pieces for Horn of classical music originating in Western Europe with the traditional rhythms of Cuba Island.
Sarah had this magnificent and unusual idea due to her multiple trips to Havana city to teach how to play this brass instrument.
“As a Horn player, I always wanted to record Mozart’s horn concerts … And when I met the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and its conductor José Antonio Méndez Padrón I had the idea of recording with them. I love the way they play Mozart. I love the way Pepe works with them… So, what better way than to mix some pieces of Mozart and Mambo? Then, we have pure Mozart. We also have some purely Cuban songs, but we also have a wonderful fusion of Mozart and Mambo. And, It is the title.
… The main concert on the album is the third concert for Mozart Horn, which is one of my favorites… It’s a catchy tune… I have an arranger in Australia called Joshua Davis, and I said, listen! I have this crazy idea.
– I want to turn this piece into a Mambo.
– He said, sure, no problem.
But he didn’t know much about Cuban percussion. So, I said:
– I have the ideal person to help us.
And I turned to a wonderful musician from Cuba, Yuniet Lombida, who plays the saxophone on the album and is one of the best saxophonists in Cuba”. Willis commented on a digital medium.
The splendid trio between the first woman in the brass section of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Havana Lyceum Orchestra under the baton of José Antonio Méndez Padrón (Pepe), and the consecrated saxophonist from Havana, Yuniet Lombida managed to create an exceptional experience among the Concerts for Mozart Horn and Caribbean intercalated rhythms: Mambo, Son, Salsa, and Bolero.
The album consists of 10 Tracks, which stand out: Rondo Alla Mambo and the two great Cuban classics Dos Gardenias and El Manisero with arrangements by Joshua Davis and Yuniet Lombida. Likewise, Rondo K. 371 and the first movement of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (titled Sarahnade Mambo) demonstrate the subtlety of classical music with the interventions of the Cuban tradition, extolled by the Havana Lyceum Orchestra. In the other hand, the trumpeter Harold Madrigal Frías displays his virtuosity in the album with the pieces: El Manisero, Dos Gardenias, and Qué Rico El Mambo.
For this month, you will be able to witness this extraordinary musical fusion live at the Rheingau, Kultursommer Nordhessen, Young Euro Classic festivals in Berlin City, and Elbphilharmonie in the town of Hamburg in Germany.
Much of the proceeds from the purchase of the Mozart & Mambo album are for the benefit of the Havana Lyceum Orchestra to provide them with modern and new musical instruments.
Who is Sarah Willis?
Based on the biography written by Sarah
“People often ask me for more details about my life and my career. No dates or names, but about the how and why. So, I share a little more of the most influential and inspiring events of my life playing the Horn.
… It is true that I decided to play the Horn in my first Trumpet lesson. Actually, my first teacher was the Trombone and I adored it and the Trumpet, so I practiced as much as I could… I was used to practicing. My parents were quite strict about it, something for which I am very grateful.
… School became quite a lonely place as my classmates didn’t understand my passion truly.
… I must say that being a member of various youth orchestras was one of the most important and enjoyable parts of my musical training. Here, I met other young people who did not find it strange to spend a lot of time just practicing and listening to classical music.
After 3 years at the London music school, I “discovered” Berlin. The city was incredibly vibrant and exciting, and the first time I heard the local Philharmonic live, I decided that I had to be as close to this orchestra as possible, so I moved there. My first job was with the State Opera under the direction of Daniel Barenboim in 1991, just after the fall of the Wall that ran through the capital, so it was a very exciting time to be in the city at that time.
In 2001, I won the position at the Berliner Philharmoniker, something I had dreamed of since I first heard them play.
I started playing an Alexander horn when I was 16 years old. It was very unusual in England! I fell in love with the sound of this speaker and would not play anything else.
… My day job takes up most of my time and mental space, but since I started doing interviews with soloists and conductors for the Digital Concert Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (BPh) and I became involved as a mentor and presenter of the BPh on YouTube since 2011, I have become very passionate about online music communication.
I started Horn Hangouts (musician talk show) in 2013 and have been presenting the Sarah’s Music TV show (conversations format with conductors, students, musicians, and dancers) for Deutsche Welle TV since 2014.
I love doing both with passion and I enjoy connecting with musicians from all over the world, reaching out to people who may not have easy access to live concerts or teachers”.