Originating on 19th Street in downtown Bogota, La Mojarra Electrica appeared on the Lanuza floating stage with its eleven members and clear intentions to show us the most Cuban side of Colombia. Without losing sight of their weakness for blending sounds from both coasts of their country, Jacobo Velez (sax and leader), Marlen Obregon (vocals), Ferney Segura (vocals) and their friends reminded us of the salsa vocation of their native land. "Most of the group cut their teeth in Cuba, and it shows", says Velez, "Our main inspirations were Van Van and, of course, Irakere, a group with a musical spirit that we want for Mojarra", he adds. As a result, there are touches of songo, a smattering of timba, but, above all, a tremendous afinque especially evident in their album Poder para la Gente. It was a highly entertaining concert which Velez topped off with pure Colombian irony: "Now, I want to sing a ballad so that everyone falls in love and starts to make love here. I wrote it by the fireplace in my house in Miami with the great Michael Jackson and Shakira". Obviously, there was no ballad, but instead a frenetic rendition of "El Hoyo". As for the rest of the joke, one need say no more. "We like taking the mickey, like the good Colombians we are", explains Ferney.
An audience that was significantly bigger than in previous days grew even larger as the arrival of Raimundo Amador approached. It was not his usual style of concert but expectations were great. If the great flamenco-rock collaborations with BB King and Björk had raised passions, his current project with Howe Gelb & A Band of Gypsies, Alegrías, is every bit as exciting. The anguished and intense voice of front man Giant Sand was a departure from the Latin flavour of recent days in Lanuza and inevitably transported us to the desert terrain of Arizona. It is pure musical exploration that rides between traditional American rock and the most popular of flamenco. Howe Gelb and Raimundo Amador, the two heavy weights, accompanied by the superb guitarists Fernando Vacas and Juan Fernandez, the bassist Torkho and the drummer Anil Fernandez, gave a brilliant and forceful performance that oozed chemistry from every pore.
MariaJo López Vilalta
