The Spanish Embassy in collaboration with Music Crossroads will on August 12 and 13 join the rest of the nation in celebrating Heroes’ Day by hosting a heroes’ bash in the capital.
The bash will feature Spanish reggae and dancehall band, Elan Swan aka Swan Fyahbwoy and Spanish graffiti artist, Raul Ruiz Morales of the fame El Nini de las Pinturas (The child of paintings).
The first concert will be on August 12 at Libby’s restaurant in Newlands at 10pm and the other at Zindoga Shopping Complex in Waterfalls on August 13 from 2pm till late.
According to organisers, both concerts are free of charge.
“The two shows will be supported by local artists such as Abra Simmz, Freeman of the Joina City fame and many more popular dancehall artists yet to confirm participation,” said the Spanish Embassy’s Cultural Attacheé, Marina Garcia.
Garcia said Swan Fyahbwoy and Morales were visiting Zimbabwe for the first time and would be celebrating Heroes’ Day with two innovative concerts in Harare with local collaborations.
She said Swan Fyahbwoy was a reggae/dancehall band composed of four incredibly talented artists including the singer, Swan, a vocalist Mario Olivares Gomez-Plata, a DJ Raul Manuel Sanchez and a dancer Aida Guimo Ortuño Lopez.
“Swan emerged in the reggae music scene in 2006 and as a founder member of the band Madrid Dancehall Crew he quickly forged a place for himself in the reggae/dancehall world, both in his own country and overseas, especially in the Spanish-speaking countries where he has received many accolades,” said Garcia.
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She said Mario “La Cobra” Olivares, the vocalist was a distinguished reggae/dancehall producer and had been managing the production of most of Swan’s songs and in May 2006, his promotional CD, Ni Chance Ni Try, was internationally released on the internet and exceeded all expectations with more than 40 000 people downloading his songs from the web.
She said he first appeared on stage in the 18th edition of the reggae/dancehall festival “Granja Time” and in 2006 he undertook a tour of his home country, during which he had the opportunity to perform with the Jamaican artist Malijah, amongst others.
Garcia said the group had performed in many music festivals around Spain and Europe, such as the Jamrock Festival in Amsterdam, Holland and the Festival Rio Loco in Toulouse, France.
“Morales is one of the best graffiti artists in Spain and his beginnings were in the 90s with beautiful creations along the walls of the Realejo district of Granada. Spain and the human figure in infancy and childhood with emphasis on the facial expressions of insolence, fear, surprise, sadness, faces with attitude, are the main themes in his work,” she said.
Garcia said the essential elements in his work were almost circular workings of gears in the machinery of trains and the artist adapted his knowledge of art to graffiti which makes his art form all the more original.
She said he had painted over 2000 murals covering whole streets, buildings and corners in various countries around the world: Portugal, Holland, Italy, Venezuela, Hungary, Belgium and France.
Garcia said during his stay in Zimbabwe, he would paint the Cultural Centre of the Spanish Embassy in Harare and another wall in the city yet to be confirmed and also paint during Swan Fyahbwoy’s concerts.
“The Spanish artists, together with their local counterparts, will also be running workshops during the festival to open up new perspectives in plastic arts and to exchange ideas in the reggae/dancehall art form,” she said.
She said this new and innovative Spanish/Zimbabwean experience will encourage creative development and interaction with Zimbabwean singers and visual artists creating new ideas in the abstract arts in Zimbabwe.
