Patrick O’Heffernan
FIRMPRO 2022 Day 2 really ramped up with a Keynote by former Menudo member and global star Draco Rosa and then a showcase of 7 bands. Draco talked about healing and music and his journey to health with music and the people who guided him. His interview, on the mainstage of the 2000-seat Sala 2 of the Conjunto Santander complex. Virtually everyone at the convention was there and fortunately, FIMPRO provided simultaneous translation, although Draco is English fluent and switched languages several times during his interview.
We moved to the outdoor Promenade for two very different performances. Entrópica, (aka Francisca Bascuñán) a omposer, singer, sound engineer and performer. After her third album she played at SXSW and sent on to win multiple awards. She was followed by Cancamusa from southern Chile who strummed, drummed and sang her heart out (and into ours)
Rocked is what happened the evening at the Via Libertad venue. LaLa Love You, Ginebras, Lori Meyers, and La Pergatina. The evening opened up with Ginebras, four women whose clean, joyful, hard frock got the crowd going and dancing. From Madrid, they have shot up in only a few months bringing good vides and good pop and good rock. They continued the vibe during the other bands sets, dancing like crazy. Next up as LaLa Love You, also from Madrid. MTV EMA award winners with a double platinum album, they brought melodic, sometime-bass-drive happy rock that got everyone clapping and dancing.
The energy shifted with Lori Meyers, whose soulful pop earned the band the El Ojo Critico award in 2004. Lori comes off as a happy, loveable comedian who can really sing, and the crowd knew every song and loved him , especially when he came off the stage and danced with them.
Topping the night off was the wild La Pergatina, a extreme high energy Spanish dance band that has toured 35 countries and performed 1,200 concerts. Moving from rumbas to merengue, to salsa to rock, to Ska, with trumpets, accordion, keyboards, multiple singers and guitars and percussion, they just went crazy (during one song the accordion player mooned the audience). The entire crowd cheered and danced and sang every song.
The bands for tonight and tomorrow are warming up now, so I have to go set up for this afternoon’s showcase of Latin bands from Canada.
