The 37th edition of the Festival Campesino achieved a new success in its long career on Saturday night, with its show El poema diario de Titerroygatra. The staging wove the story of the lives of people who have built the emotional and poetic imaginary of Lanzarote with the dance of the "saranda", traditional music, and sepia scenes from the past of an island that beat to the rhythm of the tides and seasons.
After a day of intense heat, the afternoon offered a respite to neighbors and tourists, as if San Ginés himself were watching over the city that pays homage to him these days. An hour before the start of the 37th Festival Campesino, the José Ramírez Cerdá park in Arrecife was packed with a loyal audience that, year after year, accompanies the group Los Campesinos wherever they gather.
The evening began with the screening of an audiovisual with images gathered by Memoria Digital de Lanzarote and the words of Benito Cabrera, a close collaborator of Los Campesinos; an appetizer that created the ideal atmosphere for what was to come: the performance and dance of some of the folk group's iconic songs —Saranda del viento, Isa en Fa, Folías del nueve, Sorondongo de los campesinos, or Malagueñas—, along with others of a more modern creation, such as Mujeres del litoral, El viejo del mar, or Isa marina. And stitching the show together, the memory of Josefina Pla, Félix Hormiga, Agustín Espinosa, César Manrique, or Inocencia Páez, among other figures from Lanzarote's history.
Los Cantadores and Tamara
Los Campesinos bid farewell with the audience on their feet, making way for the second part of the Festival, the one that each year welcomes distinguished guests of root music, in this case Los Cantadores, accompanied on their 18th anniversary tour by the unmistakable voice of Tamara. And the show did not disappoint the hundreds of people who enjoyed more than two and a half hours of the festival without moving from their seats except for applause or uncontrollable dance steps.
The repertoire of Los Cantadores, a perfect combination of the most representative songs from their five albums and their almost two decades on stage with essential pieces from their traditional catalog and new compositions that mark the beginning of their new artistic stage, touched the sky with Si tú me dices ven, La Caringa, Campesina conejera, Canarias, or Guantanamera. And the Andalusian Tamara, the queen of bolero, summoned all voices with the interpretation of songs that are already popular anthems, such as Herida de amor, El gato que está triste y azul or Si no te hubieras ido.
The president of Los Campesinos, Miguel Ángel Corujo, expressed his satisfaction at the end of the show for the success of this new event, which shows that the group is more alive than ever: "The traditional music and folklore of the island have a successor and a future, both in the appreciation of the public and in the quarry of performers. And in this endeavor of survival, we can only thank the Arrecife City Council, the Lanzarote Cabildo, and the Centers of Art, Culture, and Tourism for their commitment and permanent support for our work."
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