The stage next to the Music Kiosk was the place chosen to celebrate the XXXIV Meeting of Habaneras and Sea Music 'Braulio de León' this Sunday.
The event began with the participation of the Arrecife Choir directed by Professor Hernán Lorenzo. This group was created in 2007 by a group of friends, most of whom were students of Braulio de León in the years he directed the San Ginés Polyphonic Choir. One day they decided to return to sing the Canarian Mass of the maestro Luis Prieto and sing it at the Solemn Mass celebrated in honor of the Patron Saint of Arrecife, San Ginés. They have also participated in several choral meetings held on the island and have also organized a Christmas Gala to benefit Cáritas, which features prominent artists from the world of music and humor. For this occasion, the director Hernán Lorenzo, with the complicity of the choir members, chose a varied repertoire including some habaneras such as Aurora, Era una Flor, Dicen que se muere el Mar, Habanera Divina and included other genres with Canarian airs such as Madre Canaria and Fiestas de San Ginés, songs that were highly applauded by the audience.
The XXXIV Habaneras Meeting also featured the Arrecife Choirs and Dances Group, directed musically by Santiago Torres. The emblematic group, which is always very involved in the San Ginés festivities, is celebrating its 66th anniversary since its creation. They are rescuers of the San Ginés Folk Festival, which had fallen asleep at the zoco of the Puente de Las Bolas, but they awakened it with great enthusiasm and are now in its XXX edition.
The Arrecife Choirs and Dances Group parked their dances and, joining the two bodies, toque and dance, performed a varied repertoire suitable for this habaneras meeting with very popular songs with a taste of the sea such as La Bella Lola, Niña Bonita, Salió de Jamaica, Fulgida Luna and a medley in homage to the Amigos de Portonao called 'Añoranzas de Arrecife'. In this edition they presented an unpublished song composed by the musical director Santiago Torres entitled 'Habanera Reina de las Marineras', sung masterfully by the young soloist Raúl Caraballo Santos. To finish they sang a sailor medley that was sung by the public, rewarding them with their applause.
The Meeting was closed by the Musical Group 'Elysian', a formation created in 2017 by four friends who love good music and who usually meet from time to time to have a good time and enjoy friendship. They are young people like Almudena Hernández, Montse Medina, Israel López and Ivanhoe Rodríguez, who during these years have participated in several events held in the municipalities of Tinajo, Femés, Teguise. For this special night in Arrecife they had their friends Acorán Ramos, Cielo Guzmán and Genaro Pérez, great music professionals who can handle any score. 'Elysian' chose a theme of sea music partly referring to the sea from Canarian folklore including also South American as Soledad y el Mar, Al otro lado del Río, Viajera, Bajamar, among others. In addition, they performed an unpublished habanera composed by the timplista and Canarian musician Benito Cabrera in 2023 for his program 'Con el Timple a Cuestas' entitled 'Amaro Pargo'. The public rewarded the members of 'ELYSIAN' for their good work with resounding applause.
The mayor of Arrecife Yonatan de León, the councilor of festivities Echedey Eugenio and corporation colleagues enjoyed the XXXIV Meeting of Habaneras and Sea Music Braulio de León, supporting with their presence each of the participating groups. Sara Bermúdez was in charge of directing the presentation tasks.
History of the Meeting
The XXXIV Meeting of Habaneras and Sea Music "Braulio de León", established within the program of events on the occasion of the festivities in honor of San Ginés by the Department of Festivities of the City Council of Arrecife in the year 1989. It was inaugurated by the Grupo Amigos de Portonao, a bastion of the culture of the sea in Arrecife, participating in it for about 30 years, impregnating the festive nights with their songs from its beginnings in the Parque Islas Canarias, ending later in the Ribera del Charco de San Ginés next to the Casa del Miedo.
