Papalosophy. A Spanish Cookbook , Needs your support TODAY!

A project I highly support, you’ve got 34 hours left to help making this work! 

I can’t wait for my own copy of this amazing “not-just-a-cookbook-piece-of-food-art”, pledge for your own copy too!

Why? Check this out:

Papalosophy. A Spanish Cookbook for the *LIFE GLUTTON* (where one serving is never enough)

Joel, together with Mexican photographer Aldo Chacon, has created a truly original cookbook that captures their passion for Spanish food and sometimes uncontrollable ‘joie de vivre’.

The recipes…
Joel was inspired to write Papalosophy by a lifetime spent seeking authentic flavors and creative preparations, with influences from his Catalan family, world travels and an obsessive study of the world of gastronomy and nutrition. The book includes Spanish and Catalan classics like Fideua with Squid Ink Allioli, Pulpo Gallego and Leche Merengada, as well as creations like Membrillo-Roasted Pumpkin with Almond Cream, Green Gazpacho with Sumac Yogurt and Saffron-Pulled Chicken with Blackened Corn. Expect almost 80 easy-to-follow and entertaining recipes that you can enjoy for the pictures, and for the stories.

The photos…
The book has a fresh creative approach to it, combining food with fashion and surrealism to result in a publication that is completely authentic and unique. hot Shot through a Aldo’s rockstar lens,Papalosophy confirms that food in Barcelona is most definitely a lifestyle choice.

With the recipes written and tested, we began the mammoth task of cooking and shooting almost 80 recipes. With both of us holding down demanding full-time jobs (Joel as EatWith Global Community Manager and Aldo as an in-demand fashion photographer), weekends and late nights were spent together in the kitchen cooking, styling and shooting every dish over and over again.

But it wasn’t just about shooting the recipe; it was also about capturing the spirit of the amazing produce and traditions that go into Spanish cooking. It was about producing a cookbook with images that make you hungry and smile at the same time, because food is fun, and no-one represents this more than us.

Papalosophy is about the food, the story and the place. And there is no place like Barcelona. We created Papalosophy in and out of the kitchen using the natural beauty and insane creativity that the city feeds you on every corner.

The campaign…
The duo has launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring their creation to the world. For anyone that loves both food and photography in equally radical measures then this is the book for you.

Get your copy here TODAY –> tiny.cc/papalosophy

Sports, a way of life! – A Mumbai Smiles article

Sports, apart from being just a medium of fun, also impart life skills that come in handy throughout the journey of life. It’s a way of bringing everyone together towards a common goal. To respect this level of union, Mumbai Smiles started Life Skills Empowerment project for boys using sports as a channel to bring about a unanimous approach towards comrade and loyalty.

This project was done in collaboration with OSCAR (Organisation for Social Change, Awareness & Responsibility) Foundation and their team. The core idea behind introducing this project is to empower adolescent boys through sports.

The most important aspect of indulging these boys in sports is for them to learn ways of life while on the field. Sports teaches us how to be a good team member, to respect rules and boundaries, to have an eye towards the goal but at the same time making sure that no one is harmed in order to reach that goal. After giving them these ground rules of not pushing anybody, taking care of themselves and their team members; the games had begun.

The OSCAR Foundation divided the boys into three teams and off they were. They started off with an interactive and a lively warm up session followed by an induction on the games. The boys played dodgeball, football and handball. This is because the team of Mumbai Smiles noticed that these boys have played sports like Kabbadi, Kho Kho and Cricket but football et al, not so much. During the breaks the Field Coordinator of Mumbai Smiles made sure to check on each and every boy for if they were facing any challenges or troubles. A first aid kit is always kept in handy by the Mumbai Smiles team for in case of any injury on the field, which is sure, the fun of all the sports, but safety is also crucial.

After the games came to an end, a review was conducted to get a feedback from the boys. One of them said, “This was our first experience in playing football and it was awesome. We want to continue under Life Skills Empowerment Project and play these sports that were so new and exhilarating”.  One thing we’d like to add is that none of these activities could have been possible without the incredible support of the Animators, the community members and most importantly the parents of our beneficiaries.

Post session feedback -Mumbai Smiles

Our beneficiaries during the session-Mumbai Smiles

First round of interaction with the students -Mumbai Smiles

This was a Mumbai Smiles article. “Mumbai Smiles works closely with its beneficiaries and develops bottom up strategies in order to end the vicious cycle of poverty.”
More info: http://www.mumbaismiles.org 

Bluegrass concert@Home Of Art tonight

Last time Cousin Daddy played Bluegrass Music for us at Home Of Art, we had a beautiful sunny day and now it Seems we are lucky again! See you tonight? Music from 20.00h, but you’re welcome any time before! Oh and if you dress in Style and wear a jeans overall, Home Of Art offers you a drink on the house

Glass art necklace

Today’s choice: a beautiful unique glass art necklace by Jelena Popadic, borrowed from our gallery Home Of Art 

 

Upcoming events at Home Of Art in Amsterdam

SEPT 16 Eadon @Home Of Art
JOIN THE EVENT:
https://www.facebook.com/events/131598640518411

He passed by Home Of Art and joined a spontaneous jamsession once, now he will be back and have his own concert!Eadon is a Dutch singer-songwriter from Haarlem, who studies at the Conservatory of Utrecht. In 2014 he formed a band around himself and now he entirely focuses on his own music. Preparations for the debut single are currently in full swing. Inspired by Michael Jackson, Esperanza Spalding and John Legend, he writes groovy, swinging, but always narrative songs.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eadon/920705397953798

 

SEPT 04 Opening party expo Mariana Oliveira & Jasmine Karimova

Mariana Oliveira + Jasmine Karimova by Stefania Ballero

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOIN THE EVENT:
https://www.facebook.com/events/571756589629550

About Mariana:
“The medium of printmaking enables me to explore the textures and shapes of found objects and transfer them directly into paper. Using rust to represent the process of decay, each piece evolves through disintegration, acting as an antidote to the materialism of modern industrial life.”
http://moliveira.nl

 

Mariana Oliveira Home Of Art

About Jasmine:
“Jasmine is a 17 year old artist and singer-songwriter (composing and accompanying herself on the piano) based in Amsterdam. As an artist, she works primarily with oil paints; texture, form and colour playing very important roles in her work. In both her music and her art, she draws inspiration from herself and the environment around her – working primarily with themes related to the human condition (thus the many portraits and of usage human anatomy in her art)”
https://www.facebook.com/karimovajasmine

 

Jasmine Karimova Home Of Art

 

Home Of Art is an Art Gallery in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Van Baerlestraat 39H (Museum District).
https://www.facebook.com/HomeOfArtAmsterdam
(Give us a LIKE!)

 

An overview of past cultural events at Home Of Art

• AUG 28 Adamastor @Home Of Art
  An acoustic Portuguese/gypsy/ bluegrass/punk band with a touch of saudade!
  Adamastor plays up-tempo Portuguese Gipsy punk that won’t let anybody stand still! Based in Amsterdam, we express our love for music from our home countries; Portugal, Spain, Hungary and The Netherlands. Adamastor is a Mythical Monster. He lives in the sea. His roar is our sound, the storm is our soul!
  Members: Joao Costa João Santiago Angél Martinez Reka Bakker Julius Kleipool https://soundcloud.com/adamastormusic
• AUG 21 Jazz @Home Of Art -Santeri Sulkunen & Michael Stratz
  Santeri Sulkunen is a Finnish guitarist, composer and producer. https://soundcloud.com/santeri-sulkunenVideo recorded and edited by Paul Smith: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paul-Smith-musician-author-public-speaker/443714792495223 :
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUOBrTlGSyM
• JUL 24 Start your WKND@Home Of Art -Accoustic violin session with Katarzyna & Sara
  Katarzyna Składanek is a 25 years old Polish violonist. She has just finished her Masters Degree at the Musical Academy in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She participated in many international music workshops and competitions, and also co-operated with many orchestras and chamber groups with whom she performed in Germany, Spain, North Korea and Italy. Now she is about to start a job in the Philharmonic Orchestra in Olsztyn, Poland. https://www.facebook.com/kaska.skladanek
  Sara Kalinowska is a 23 years old violinist born in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She finished her Bachelor’s Degree at the Academy of Music in Gdansk, Poland and then continued studying at the Conservatorium in Utrecht. She participated in many orchestral workshops and projects around Europe. This summer she is going to play with the Nationaal Jeugd Orkest during the Summer Academy. https://www.facebook.com/kizia1miziahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fXhfhRsarA
• JUL 10 The WooHoo Revue @Home Of Art
  The group all are amazingly talented musicians, and the Woohoo sound is a frenzied blur of Balkan, gypsy, swing and jazz.
  http://www.thewoohoorevue.com.au
• JUL 05 Jarrod’s jam @Home Of Art
  Jarrod Brereton is a fabulous saxophone player from Australia.
  https://www.facebook.com/jarrod.brereton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-gs9vPtflw
• JUL 05 Foundation Klawer Fundraiser with Pistoleros de la Paz & Klaver Trio @ Home of Art
  Stichting Klawer (Foundation Klawer) organised this benefit at Home of Art in cooperation with Didge Mama Lies and special guests Los Pistoleros de la Paz in order to collect money to support children in the South African village Klawer. ‘Klaver Trio’ performed this day for the first time in this formation. Klaver Trio is: cello player Lucas Stam, Drummer/Percussionista Clara de Mik (plays for ‘Slagerij van Kampen’) & Lies Beijerinck on the Didgeridoo(s). Klawer Foundation is committed to underprivileged children in the Western Cape of South Africa. Self-esteem through Music, Dance and Art is their motto ! https://www.facebook.com/StichtingKlawer
  Lies Beijerinck, a.k.a. ‘Didge-mother of Holland’, has played the didgeridoo since 1993. Although classically trained in harp and cello, Lies developed her own style busking on the streets, and was soon discovered by the Amsterdam dance scene, subsequently playing with DJ Tiësto in front of 25,000 people. Lies is known for her powerful percussive style and clear harmonics, and is one of the finest exponents of the didgeridoo in the world. http://www.liesundertrees.com
  Pistoleros de la Paz; A couple of friends with some experience in the underground musicworld but with very different musical roots (rock, techno, classical, salsa, flamenco) decided to celebrate their musical and cultural differences taking part in a festival. After this wonderful experience Pistoleros de la Paz went on to continue spreading a message of tolerance and unity full of positive energy by playing a.o. Rumba, Latin and Pop music. Members: Marcel Capell (ES/NL) – Vocals / Guitar Ruben Montes (ES) – Percussion Erol Ileri (ES) – Keyboard Fabian Izurieta (VE) – Bass / Vocals Dionisio Rosales (EC) -Tumbadoras / Bongos http://pistolerosdelapaz.org
• JUN 27 Journey of a Clandestine Instrument + Darwin Medina + Abraham Sarache on Cuatro @ Home Of Art, Organised by TuCuatro
  Descendents of the Guitarra Renacentista or Renaissance Guitar can be encountered far & wide, from the islands of Hawaii in the form of the Ukulele to the Charrangos of the altiplanos in Peru & Bolivia. As a son of the Renaissance Guitar brought to the lowlands of Colombia & Venezuela in 1498, the Cuatro is an instrument which has undertaken an evolutionary journey only recently to have started as of the end of the 90’s. http://tucuatro.com After this concert one of our most amazing spontaneous jam sessions took place; Here’s Home Of Art’s friend soprano Vanja Schoch with cuatroplayers Darwin Medina on Cuatro and Abraham Sarache on piano:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znx2ETR6UmgDarwin Medina: http://darwinmedina.bandcamp.com/release
  Abraham Sarache: https://www.facebook.com/AbrahamSarache
  Vanja Schoch: http://www.vncs.net
• JUN 18 Pit Hermans on Cimbalom @Home Of Art
  Cimbalom player Pit Hermans will perform Greek, Balkan and Oriental melodies and impro’s. She will also sing in the language of her past life, and explain about that. With several guest musicians (saz etc). https://soundcloud.com/cimbalompit
  
• JUN 02 Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra@Home Of Art AGAIN   https://www.facebook.com/BgkoBarcelonaGipsyKlezmerOrchestra
  An impression (taped with mobile phones, sorry for the quality!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HrSpRXy7B0
• JUN 01 Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra @ Home Of Art
  Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra (BGKO) has been thrilling audiences all over Europe with their soulful, vibrant show of traditional and popular Balkan, Gipsy and Jewish music from Eastern Europe. BGKO has also been inspired by Barcelona’s eclectic music scene, from Latin-American melodies, traditional Catalan and Middle Eastern music to electrifying Jazz and Rockabilly. BGKO is an international ensemble based in Barcelona, well-known for exploring musical roots, creating and performing with outstanding personality.
  BGKO is:
  Robindro Nikolic- Clarinet, Serbia/India
  Mattia Schirosa- Accordeon, Italy
  Julien Chanal- Guitar, France
  Ivan Kovacevic- Double Bass, Serbia
  Stelios Togias- Percussion, Greece
  Sandra Sangiao- Voice, Catalunya
  http://bgko.org
  The videoclip of this concert will be online soon!
• MAY 24 Katapulta & friends @ Home Of Art
  Katapulta is an energetic folk band that delights its audience with South-Italian music. Tarantellas, hysterical women, forbidden love. Dancing Mandolines..
  Sheba: Voice and Guitar;
  Federico: Voice, Guitar, Tamburine;
  Antonio: Accordion;
  Renske: Violin;
  Catrien: Flute.
  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Katapulta/137111013041568
• MAY 21 Bec Sandridge @ Home Of Art
  Inspired by adventure and loss, Bec Sandridge’s newly anticipated EP, WILD HEART, paints six tales decorated in nostalgia and wonder. As listeners we are guided throughout the streets of Los Angeles, New York and London by haunting yet sweet and catchy vocal melodies, majestic trumpet lines and shuffling drums and piano.Working with producers Mark Myers (The Middle East) and Tony Dupe (Holly Throsby), WILD HEART is a more mature and sure Bec Sandridge sound; we are welcomed in to listen to a secret. Though from the small sea-side town of Stanwell Park, NSW, at twenty-two, Sandridge has shared the stage with acts as varied as Half Moon Run, Husky, Passenger, Diesel, Rachel Sermanni, Andy Bull, Owl Eyes, Stu Larsen and Adalita (Magic Dirt) throughout the UK, US and Australia.
  http://becsandridge.tumblr.com
  https://www.facebook.com/becsandridgemusic
• MAY 10 Sofar Sounds & Massive Talent Secret gigs (3) @ Home Of Art
  Sofar Sounds = Intimate secret gigs in 100+ cities all over the world.
  http://www.sofarsounds.com/amsterdam
  1. Secret Rendezvous
  Members: Sietske Morsch , Remi Lauw, Joel Dieleman, Ricardo Lekatompessy, Yori Olijslagers play: Future Electronic Soul. http://www.secretrendezvous.org
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RxdbJy2zmE2.
  2. Postcards from Mars
  Singer Singwriter music with roots in Pop, Indie Rock & Folk, based around Bart van Dalen http://www.postcardsfrommars.nl
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiDX27YPfjg
  3. The Wanderer
  Members: Danny La Haye (bas), Damian Corlazzoli (guitar), Victor Driest (keys), Marien Okkerse (cello), Bartho Staalman (drums), Nikos Frangiskatos (voice and guitar). https://www.facebook.com/TheWandererOfficial
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dTsa98_DEw
• APR 27 Home Of Art Kingsday with Circus Hoppa
  Koningsdag (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋsˌdɑx] ( listen)) or King’s Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander.
  Circus Hoppa is a DJ collective/ musical circus that plays a.o. Balkan Beats/ Gipsy/ Swing/ Folk/ Reggae/ Rock/ Dance & Electronica. http://www.circushoppa.nl https://www.facebook.com/CircusHoppa
  
• APR 12 Home Of Art presents: Cousin Daddy
  Cousin Daddy plays “a bunch o’ Bluegrass with a bit o’ Pop, Folk, Country and Rock ‘N Roll”.
  http://www.cousindaddy.com/
• MAR 29 Another side of the exhibition; Home Of Art presents Kariatides Duo
  Kariatides Duo (with Elliot Simpson, guitar and Nick Thess at percussions) decided to turn our exhibition into a musical surrealistic travel, through the colours, the ideas and the sounds that have inspired some of our main artists. Theofilos Lamprianidis and Fanis Zachopoulos have composed the music especially for this event.Kariatides Duo is a chamber music project which born from the desire to combine two different instruments and to explore the possibilities that this new combination can offer to musicians and to the audience. Lina Tsiva, Greek flutist and Maria Rosaria Della Ragione, italian clarinetist started to play together in 2011, when they met each other in Utrecht conservatory. Both attending the master of music in chamber music, they starts to research about the repertoire written for flute and clarinet and when the notes starts to coming out like one warm and colored sound then it is clear that this combination can actually works. Through their concerts they want to allow people know about the music and the colors that the flute and the clarinet together can express. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kariatides-Duo/138201313022218
• MAR 08 International Women’s Day 2015: MAKE IT HAPPEN Brainstorm Session @Home Of Art
  Female (aspiring) entrepreneurs in or around Amsterdam that are interested in a professional brainstorm session in English with likeminded women on an inspiring location, initiated by DLCS. http://dlcs.eu
• FEB 15 Buren Borrel @ Home Of Art
  “You have probably passed by already, but have you been inside yet? Home of Art invites its neighbors for a drink to get acquainted.” Home Of Art hosted a unique concert; the premiere of a new musical project!  Eva Aukes and Cecylia Fenrych played a mix of classical music of Chopin, Bach and Batsevich, experimented with live electronic sounds.
  https://www.facebook.com/eva.aukes
  https://www.facebook.com/fenrych
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP60BGc6qaE
• DEC 23 Tara Wilts @ Home of Art
  One of Amsterdam’s freshest singer songwriters Tara Wilts will share her songs and beautiful warm voice at Home of Art. When Tara was about 6, after she treated her family to a concert with wooden spoon- microphone, she told her mother that she was made for music. Now she’s 17, writes her own music and she hopes that others will enjoy her music as much as she does..
  https://www.facebook.com/tara.wilts
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNrRpCKuhjg
• DEC 23 Balcony Players @ Home of Art
  The Balcony Players play energetic Klezmer and gipsy music. Traditional songs and original compositions inspired on tours trough the Balkans, Brasil and the USA! http://www.balconyplayers.com
• DEC 23 OPENING Home of Art
  The official opening of Home of Art , Amsterdam’s coziest Pop Up Art Gallery and your LAST CHANCE to buy Christmas presents with us!
  Do pass by Home of Art on Tuesday 23 December and discover artforms you may have never seen before, buy your mother a traditional Japanese dish, or your girlfriend an exciting book, finally find that painting with us that fits in your livingroom, or the carpet you have always been looking for, a comfy vintage chair, get a unique handmade broche or porcelain button, enjoy some music, meet some talented artists and more!

Home Of Art is an Art Gallery in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Van Baerlestraat 39H (Museum District).
https://www.facebook.com/HomeOfArtAmsterdam (Give us a LIKE!)

Home Of Art!

On December 23, 2014, my partner and I opened our Pop Up Art Gallery Home Of Art in the Museum District of Amsterdam, this is the reason I haven’t been blogging much lately.

 

What’s new?
After these hectic, but inspiring months, we have decided that Home Of Art will become a permanent Art Gallery in Amsterdam, something I could not have imagined a year or even some months ago!

 

What do we (aim to) do?

• Home Of Art is an Art Gallery in the Museum District of Amsterdam.
• Home Of Art is a non for profit organisation and aims to present and promote talented artists.
• Home Of Art offers a platform for artists that create diverse art forms in the broadest sense possible.
• Home Of Art combines art with a cozy atmoshphere and unique cultural events such as intimate concerts.

 

 

Home Of Art by https://www.facebook.com/jennifergrubephotography

 

A request: 
If there’s anyone that could/ would voluntarily help us out with our website, please contact me!  It’s online (http://www.homeofart.org ), but I need help with adding content & making it look good, so until now we have mostly been communicating through Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/HomeOfArtAmsterdam (Give us a LIKE! We need them.), most of our artworks and an impression of the cultural events we have hosted are there.

 

Last but not least;
If you’re in Amsterdam, please do pay us a visit! We sell art for every budget and we are pleased to show you around.

Art Gallery ‘’Home Of Art’’
Van Baerlestraat 39H
1071AP Amsterdam
The Netherlands
www.homeofart.org
home@homeofart.org

 

Besides on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/HomeOfArtAmsterdam),
you can also follow Home Of Art on:
Instagram (http://instagram.com/homeofartamsterdam ),
Twitter (http://twitter.com/Home_Of_Art ),
and You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7vT0Jlghx324q97mKDQgg ) !

A Mumbai Smiles article- Spread a Smile Campaign

Spread a Smile Campaign

In collaboration with Rotaract Club of Churchgate, 19^th of July 2015

Mumbai smiles, Rotaract Club of Churchgate

Event Name:  Spread a Smile

Date and Time: 19th of July 2015, 4.00pm to 6.30pm

Venue: Marine Drive

In association with: Rotaract Club of Churchgate

Beneficiaries of Project: LSE Project Beneficiaries (8 participants)

Purpose of the event: To celebrate International Nelson Mandela Day

On a rainy cool evening of 19^th July, 8 LSE beneficiaries of Mumbai Smiles and a bunch of volunteers from the Rotaract Club of Churchgate clubbed together to celebrate International Nelson Mandela Day through a simple yet very effective campaign of spreading happiness and joyfulness among the people of Mumbai.

The 18^th of July is more than a celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy. It’s a global movement to honour his life’s work and act to change the world for the better. Hence it was for this very purpose that Mumbai Smiles collaborated with the Rotaract club of Churchgate to spread awareness about the importance of promoting human rights and what better way than observing the life example of Nelson Mandela. He gave 67 years of his life to the struggle for human rights and social justice. Being a leader who acted with a steadfast belief in justice and human equality believed that it is in our hands to create a better world for all who live in it, and what better way to promote his thoughts by reminding the people that a smile has the power to change the world, enhance your business and build better and faster relationships.

This day was celebrated by distributing colourful pamphlets among random people present on that evening in Marine Drive. These pamphlets contained the message, “You’re never fully dressed without a smile”. It was a message that encouraged people to put behind their worries and sorrows and take each day as an opportunity to be joyful and spread that happiness around. Along with the colourful sheets of paper, big sign boards that read “cheer-up, high-five, smile” etc were also displayed as the volunteers walked on the streets. The people watching these signboards would inevitably have a smile on their face and were curious to know more about the campaign. Many of them came forward to participate by holding these boards and promoting it themselves.

Mumbai smiles, Rotaract Club of Churchgate

The Rotaract Club volunteers also distributed free coupons of eating joints and vouchers of salons for the people. This was another reason for the people to be happy and interested in the campaign. The volunteers made people sing songs, express a few words of joy, take photographs and share with everyone the thing that makes them smile.

The campaign brought an unexpected result. The outcome was tremendous as in a span of just 2 hours more than 200 people were made aware of the campaign and thus the true objective and aim of the campaign was achieved, which was ‘spreading smiles’.

On hearing the feedback from the people with whom we interacted that evening, the team realized that many appreciated the campaign and expressed their desire that more of such campaigns should be organized to alleviate the stress and anxiety that many face today in this city.

Thus, the overwhelming response to the colourful smiley faces and attractive sign boards truly helped in making people spread their contagious smiles around. No wonder they say, “Smile at the world and the world will smile back at you”

Mumbai smiles, Rotaract Club of Churchgate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.mumbaismiles.org
mumbai@mumbaismiles.org
http://www.mumbaiaction.org

 

Journey of a Clandestine Instrument @ Home Of Art

Journey of a Clandestine Instrument

Descendents of the Guitarra Renacentista or Renaissance Guitar can be encountered far & wide, from the islands of Hawaii in the form of the Ukulele to the Charrangos of the altiplanos in Peru & Bolivia. As a son of the Renaissance Guitar brought to the lowlands of Colombia & Venezuela in 1498, the Cuatro is an instrument which has undertaken an evolutionary journey only recently to have started as of the end of the 90’s.

The barriers keeping the Cuatro isolated from the rest of the world have been overcome as construction & teaching methods have developed into more elaborative & artistic productions. Luthiers are no longer confined to local one dimensional materials & musicians are no longer dependent on learning how to play from locals presenting themselves on street corners. It’s confinement and lack of exposure in both construction & teachings is why this unique piece was considered as a clandestine instrument. This gives those who truly dominate this instrument a unique quality as they have learned with very little direction from documented works.

The Cuatro is distinguishable through the characteristic grin of it’s fingerboard, which makes the instrument an attractive challenge for constructors of instruments. In our possession are two exceptional examples of this instrument being the traditional Cuatro made of Indian Rosewood handcrafted to perfection by Jose Manuel Baritto as well as it’s modernized brother the Electric Cuatro being a child of Roberto Bonaccorso made of mahogany, pau amarillo & zebra wood. All instruments are a subliminal marriage of woods and possess incredible characteristics only possible to attain by great luthiers.

We have the privilege of witnessing the evolution of a clandestine instrument and present it on an international stage. We are privileged to present Darwin Rafael Medina Fonseca as a cuatrista or cuatro player who will be performing fusions of traditional music from the lowlands of Colombia & Venezuela with modern music. Without any further ado, we present to you the Cuatro.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/107348002935943

Instruments and Musician are proudly endorsed by:
Tu Cuatro
Bringing the Cuatro Closer to You
en.tucuatro.com

Tu Cuatro http://www.tucuatro.com

Home Of Art
Van Baerlestraat 39H
1071EA Amsterdam
TheNetherlands
home@homeofart.org

 

Home Of Art Logo by http://www.56spaces.com

Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra (BGKO) – some music

As you saw in my previous post, Home Of Art had the honour to host Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra’s 1st (and 2nd!) concert in Amsterdam on June 1 (and 2) 2015.

BGKO is:
Robindro Nikolic- Clarinet, Serbia/India
Mattia Schirosa- Accordeon, Italy
Julien Chanal- Guitar, France
Ivan Kovacevic- Double Bass, Serbia
Stelios Togias- Percussion, Greece
Sandra Sangiao- Voice, Catalunya

I’d like to share some of their music with you. Enjoy! 

Gelem, Gelem is a song composed by Žarko Jovanović, often used as the anthem of the Romani people. The title has been adapted in many countries by local Roma to match their native orthography and spoken dialect of the Romani language. Some of the song’s many titles include “Gyelem, Gyelem” (Hungarian orthography), “Jelem, Jelem”, “Dzelem, Dzelem”, “Dželem, Dželem”, “Đelem, Đelem” (Croatian and Latin Serbian and Bosnian orthography), “Djelem, Djelem” (German and French orthography), “Ђелем, Ђелем” (Cyrillic Serbian and Bosnian orthography), “Ѓелем, Ѓелем”, “Џелем, Џелем”, “Джелем, джелем” (Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian orthography), “Opré Roma” and “Romale Shavale”.

I present you Djelem Djelem by the Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra: 

Cigani ljubljat pesni is a traditional Russian Gipsy song.
Here’s BGKO’s interpretation, Cigani Ljubiat Pesnji by the Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra: 

 

And here’s BGKO’s latest clip, just released, Imbarca.

 

BGKO regularly tours Europe, and I can assure you these clips are nothing compared to hearing them live. Check them out if they’re around you! Keep an eye on their website and/or Facebook page to stay up to date about their touring schedule:
http://bgko.org
https://www.facebook.com/BgkoBarcelonaGipsyKlezmerOrchestra

Home Of Art
Van Baerlestraat 39H
1071AP Amsterdam, The Netherlands
home@homeofart.org
https://www.facebook.com/HomeOfArtAmsterdam
(website under construction)

Thank you Wikipedia.