| From Chambao to The Proclaimers – March 2008 |
Murcia Makes the Grade in Attracting Big Names to the Region
By Tom Tansey
(Article Sponsored by Spanish for Beginners)
A number of our readers have asked, given that we offer suggestions of things to do every month, why don't we do a couple of reviews of the suggestions from the previous month? Well often it is to do with deadlines, but actually, if it is possible we will, so let's start right now!
Last month we informed you of the flamenco-pop band Chambao who were playing at the Auditorio y Centro de Congresos Víctor Villegas in Murcia. I went. What did I think?
Chambao have been around the Spanish scene for around 5 years since their 2003 award-winning debut album Endorphins in the Mind. I first came across them in the summer of 2004 when the Andalusian Tourist Board used a Chambao tune, 'Ahi Estás Tú' (There You Are) as an ad on Spanish telly. It seemed to be on constantly and it became inextricably linked with our first summer here. It is still shown today. Since then I have been a fan.
The driving force behind the band is María del Mar or LaMari, lead singer and songwriter who is still recovering from breast cancer diagnosed and treated last year. LaMari sang, danced and directed her fantastic troupe of talented musicians for a solid two hours and the only evidence of her battle against cancer was the truly moving reaction she got from her audience. This was the band's opening show of the tour and LaMari's first since her illness and the affection from the crowd was palpable.
Chambao pride themselves on their warmth and closeness to their fans and indeed this concert felt more like a 1000 strong family reunion rather than a rock gig - a family reunion with an amazing band up front. The band essentially plays flamenco music but fused with jazz, Celtic and African influences to give what is a Spanish sound but one with a difference. And so Chambao offer us bulerías, tangos and rumbas but set against a jazzy, electronic ambient feel, all of which is presided over by LaMari and her unique voice. To listen to Chambao's recordings one might describe her voice as childlike, however when heard live, there is a greater maturity and strength there, whilst retaining an angelic quality not unlike the voice of Björk. Add this to her diminutive stature, her boyish prettiness, her ability to belt a song out in the face of adversity and we have rare star quality.
When we think of flamenco, we often think of tortured souls and at times of painfully inaccessible music and Chambao's music deals with the real social issues and heartache associated with the music of the gitanos. However the energy of the band and the sheer joyfulness of LaMari's voice, presence and leadership ensure the music does not descend into the melancholy some find difficult in more traditional flamenco.
Chambao and LaMari are stars in the old fashioned, talented, hard-working yet almost indefinable way, sadly lacking in these days of instant fame and just as instant obscurity.
Get a hold of a Chambao CD or better still see them live and do yourself a favour. I understand they will be touring Spain again in the late spring. www.chambao.es
OK, so what's around the region this month? Well Easter or Semana Santa dominates the picture but it would be impossible to inform you of all that's happening on this front. Elsewhere in Spain, the big celebrations are in Sevilla and Málaga and in Murcia. Lorca is the big one, but for some, the understandably solemn nature of the Spanish Holy Week is less of a celebration and more of a wake. Lorca is a little different and is pretty exciting especially in the earlier part of the week when the competing Blue and White Brotherhoods parade their flags.
And whilst we're in Lorca, the beautiful Teatro Guerra has on the 28th of the month the Murcia Symphonic Orchestra doing Haydn and Beethoven. The theatre, a treat in itself, is the oldest in the region of Murcia, and first opened in the spring of 1861. For a full programme for the Guerra and further details of Holy Week in Lorca go to... www.lorcaturismo.es/
STOP PRESS
Back to Murcia and the Auditorium - news has just reached me that Scottish pop and folk legends the Proclaimers are playing on Friday 7 March. In one of only three dates in Spain, Edinburgh boys Charlie and Craig Reid will present their impressive recent album, Restless Soul, together with some of the huge hits like I'm On My Way, 500 Miles, Letter from America and Sunshine On Leith that have made them famous the world over this past 20 years or so. - It'll be a hoot!