WOMAD Gran Canaria 2019 Set for November 7-10

World music festival WOMAD Gran Canaria-Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will present 32 artists from four continents November 7-10, 2019 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.

The international lineup includes Ghanaian artist Pat Thomas, Brazilian diva Dona Onete, Iranian-born Afghan Elaha Soroor with the duo Kefaya, Altin Gün, DJ Mam, Hanggai, Jungle by Night, Nayaband, Sofiane Saidi & Mazaldd, Tupinamba and Trans Sound Kabar.

The Spanish mainland artists this year are Novedades Carminha, Lorena Álvarez and The Limboos.

The concerts will take place at the Santa Catalina and Boulevard stages and the emerging Canary Islander artists will have their own space LPAJuventud @ WOMAD, at the Plaza de Canarias.

The Canary Island’s presence includes six groups and soloists at the two main stages:  Althay Páez, Atlántida, Birkins with Álvaro Suite, Fajardo, Lajalada and Toto Noriega.

Among the fortnight of planned activities, a set of film screenings with seven feature films and three short films will show contemporary visions of Africa.

There will be dancing and percussion in the workshops for adults and children that will be taught by Peruvian Mariella Köhn with percussionist Walter Sánchez.

The commemoration of the arrival of man on the moon will be disseminated in various activities of the Elder Museum and in children’s workshops.

“It is an artistic roster that perfectly condenses the essence of WOMAD and that will offer a magnificent sound and cultural map of the world in a unique communion of tradition and innovation, because culture is history, but also evolution, and that responds to this programming ”, assured festival director Dania Dévora in her presentation.

The mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Augusto Hidalgo, expressed his happiness for the new edition of the festival: “We are tremendously happy with this new edition, to which the Government of the Canary Islands finally joins more firmly. We also add value with a new stage for emerging bands that was born from an initiative of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria through its Department of Youth ”, referring to the new emerging bands stage, LPAJuventud @ WOMAD.

Likewise, the president of the Cabildo (island government) de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, expressed his commitment to the WOMAD festival, which he has described as one of the “great events” national and international. “There are no events of the transcendence of multiculturalism like WOMAD,” he said.

Finally, the president of the Canary Islands regional Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, expressed his delight to contribute to the celebration of this festival that has, in his words, “a transcendence that exceeds music, as it contains values ​​that we share, of multiculturalism, inclusion and also has great economic value for the city and the island.”