The MED Festival it took, from the 28th of June to the 1st of July, a lot of celebration in the historic center of Loulé. World music, crafts, but also street entertainment were the right ingredients for another edition in which the balance is «very positive».
Ao Sul Informação, Carlos Carmo, councilor of the Loulé Council and head of the event, revealed that Friday (29) and Saturday (July 1) were the days with the highest attendance.
Although the numbers are not yet fully accounted for, Carlos Carmo estimates that “close to 25 thousand people” passed through the festival during the four days: including this Sunday, July 1st, the open day on which entry was not paid.
Dub Inc, Asian Dub Foundation, La Pegatina, Bonga, Miguel Araújo and Sara Tavares were strong names on the poster and the concerts did not disappoint, having been those that had the most audience to attend.
But it all started with the Spaniard Vurro, at Palco Castelo, on Thursday, the 28th.
De ox skull on his head, which allows him to beat the drums while playing the keys, the artist made a spectacle.
As for Miguel Araújo, with “Dona Laura” and “Anda Comigo ver os Aviões” and Bonga brought animation to the Matriz stage. And the Angolan did not forget his “Mariquinha”, with a “Tear no Canto do Olho”.
On the first night, the Brazilian indie project, Metá-Metá, the Latin rhythms of the Amazonian cumbia of the Peruvian Los Mirlos, the reinterpretation of traditional Portuguese music and its instruments with the Gaiteiros de Lisboa, the American folk brought by the voice and guitar by Sam Alone and The Gravediggers from Quarteira, with an interventionist tune, for example raising his voice loudly against oil exploration in the Algarve, the musical and aesthetic surroundings of Orelha Negra and the new contexts of traditional music, staged by DJ Set Sampladélicos .
Despite the rain having forced the cancellation of the last two concerts, on Friday the euphoria was in the streets, alleys and alleys of the Historic Area of Loulé. On Stage Cerca, female voices were the highlight. The warm rhythms of Cape Verde – one of the countries with the most expressive representation at this Festival – arrived in Loulé with Sara Tavares, the successful artist on the international circuit of World Music.
Friday was also the day of Morgane Ji, the artist from the unknown Reunion Island who for the first time had a representation at MED. Her hoarse voice brought to Loulé the strength of “Woman Soldier” (the title of one of her works).
«If these two concerts allowed the audience to enjoy the magic of music in a calmer way, on Palco Matriz it was the electrifying energy of the artists that made the audience roar. First with the Spaniards La Pegatina, in an always accelerated performance where the Latin side of the rumba and merengue joined the madness of gypsy punk or hooligan chants, and then with what will have been one of the best shows of the entire Festival and that will go down in the history of the MED, with the Londoners Asian Dub Foundation taking thousands of people to ecstasy”, says the Chamber of Loulé, in a press release.
On this night, which ended with rain, the national projects that went up to the Castelo Stage also stood out: guitarist Ricardo Martins, fusion jazz by Bruno Pernadas and klezmer by Melech Mechaya.
At the (official) closing of the MED Festival, Saturday night once again broke records in terms of attendance. The phenomenon Dub Inc, the ex-Madredeus Teresa Salgueiro, or the Cape Verdean duo Bitoria and Chando Graciosa greatly contributed to yet another full house to add to MED's history.
In Largo da Matriz, a crowd awaited two of the various Cape Verdean artists who made funaná a dance phenomenon on an international scale. Bitori “Nha Bibinha” and Chando Graciosa did not disappoint expectations, especially of the many Africans residing in the Algarve who watched «a vibrant performance by two gentlemen who celebrate the traditional funaná, without forgetting that this is also a weapon of protest», according to Loulé autarchy.
In fact, music as a vehicle for political, social and ideological contestation was a constant in this edition of the MED Festival. Coming from Palestine, the 47 Soul made clear what is the long conflict with Israel. The Hanba Poles! they recreated the rebellious, revolutionary and libertarian spirit of opponents to the regimes in the period between the two World Wars in their hometown of Krakow.
On the other hand, Dub Inc, considered the biggest phenomenon in reggae Europe, have not forgotten the lives of immigrants, especially in a country like France.
After performing at the Cine-Teatro Louletano during the presentation of the transata edition of MED, the Tribali set foot on Stage Cerca, already with many fans in this city. Marked by the originality of the instrumental conjugation (zither and didgeridoo, electric guitars and percussion) but also by a mesmerizing trance environment that goes through the voice and movements of the singer/dancer, the band from the Republic of Malta did everything on stage.
The narrative of the trip of a meteor told on stage by Ridding a Meteor, the Portuguese guitar of Ricardo Martins and the frantic Tunisian Ifriqiya Electrique with their Banga ritual passed through the Castle Stage this last night.
The 15th edition of the MED Festival ended with a party, with two DJs set that made Matriz jump: Selecta Alice and the Makossa Brothers.
For Carlos Carmo, there were “good surprises” in this MED, like the Hañba!, from Poland, and the Ifriqiyya Électrique, from Tunisia.
By the way, both concerts were on Saturday, when «we had three stages full almost simultaneously», revealed Carlos Carmo to our newspaper.
One of the great highlights of this event is, in fact, discovering unknown artists, with different rhythms and from all over the world.
In a press release issued by the Loulé Chamber, the official also underlined the «invigoration of the economic activity of the municipality», from commerce to restaurants, passing through hotels, and the «contribution to tourism», with a significant increase in the number of tourists of different nationalities in the city these days.
The MED has just ended, which also witnessed the defeat of the team at the World Cup, but the next edition "is already being prepared" and may have "some adjustments still to be studied", namely at "enclosure level", concluded Carlos Carmo, speaking to the Sul Informação.
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