Urban dances
Afrojam Bcn
21 July, at 6:30 pm
Azonto, afrohouse, kuduro, dancehall, ndombolo, coupé, décalé... Do you know these names? They are all styles of music and dance derived from afrobeat and get people moving in many African capitals. This is a space designed for playing these rhythms, getting people dancing to them and creating a community around music and dance, focusing on the urban beats of today’s Africa.
Jokkoo, Alien Nomad Sound, on the square
Jokkoo collective
22 July, at 6:30 pm
Jokkoo, a Barcelona-based collective focusing on new musical narratives with African roots, puts on a participatory performance that seems like a science fiction story and ends with singing and a DJ set. Come and see a sculptural chariot arrive on the square and transform into a hub of alien sound operations that will have the audience enthralled. The members of the collective are the kings of recycling: they use rubbish to create incredible art. When the session is over, they will dismantle the chariot and disappear as quickly as they appeared. Get there early, because before the show they set up a workshop where they turn the audience into aliens who then join the party. Want to take part?
DJ Owey
23 July, at 6:30 pm, and 24 July, at 6:30 pm and 8 pm
Many of the days' events kick off with a set by DJ Owey: one of the biggest names in black music on the Barcelona scene. His sessions are legendary and include the best black roots music.
African fashion
23 July, at 7 pm
Fashion is an especially evocative element of African culture and is characterised by bold colours and eye-catching patterns. Want to see it up close? Then head to Plaça de Margarida Xirgu and you will find a fashion show where African and Afro-descendant designers living in Barcelona will be showing us their creations.
Colonial Utopia
Montserrat Anguiano
23 July, at 7:00 pm
An antiracist, feminist Afro-Catalan artist expresses herself through the visual arts, using the human body as her canvas. Montserrat Anguiano, an artist born in Barcelona in 1982, turns the body into a canvas to talk about women’s empowerment and the beauty of bodies in general.
Ngomez Nokass
24 July, at 7 pm
This Senegalese group is made up of descendants of African guewels – experts in story-telling, reciting poetry and making music – who star in a concert that has made them famous all over the city. With instruments like the sabar and the djembé, they will offer a masterclass in African percussion and dance, in a kind of hurricane of sound and rhythm that will get everyone up and dancing their heart out. Get carried away by the rhythm!
Free entrance
