Location: Cerkno / Star plac / Slovenia
Date: Friday, 02.08.2019
As part of the 24th Keltika, the renowned traditional festival run by the even more renowned Zavod Jazz Cerkno, Slovenia finally got a visit from the Argentine musicians known as La Fanfarria Del Capitan, or “Captain’s Ship” in plain English. The septet, active since 2004 and with five studio albums under their belt – the latest, “Magias De Hoy”, came out just this year – is made up of: Victoria Cornejo (vocals, accordion), Jerónimo Cassagne (guitar) and Francisco Mercado (violin), who are also the founding members, plus the horn section of Juan Pablo Pelaez (trumpet) and Mauro Luciano Scopigno (saxophone), and the rhythm duo of Jonathan Strugo (drums) and Federico Sebastián Sanchez (bass).
The band, who had been hanging around our neck of the woods, meaning Cerkno and the Cerkno hinterland (Šrebelje), for a few days before this show, is a colorful musical picture book. A genre- and rhythm-rich story of skillful and compatible musical fusion. The guys and the girl realized pretty quickly that they wanted to break away from the strict “latino-salsa” platform, so they started to fuse their melodies and Latin American rhythms with the musical expression of other continents, of a traditional, that is ethno, nature. In this respect their fourth album “la Giravida” is especially ambitious, featuring collaborations with Kočani Orkestar (Macedonia), Chotokoeu (Spain), Mate Power (Germany), Raffaelle Quarta (Italy), Lisa Witt (Germany) and La Cesar Pavón Orquesta (Argentina).
Another “factual intro” again, but its dryness isn’t all that pointless here, because the music coming off the Star plac stage in Cerkno that evening really did serve up an incredibly successful mix of traditional cumbia and mestizo melodies, with a hefty dose of ska and even some Balkan flavor. The band has traveled a ton and played countless stages around the world. The mileage is exceptional, the experience no less rich, and La Fanfarria Del Capitan really are a family, all breathing as one – all for one and one for all. There’s no need to stress that they delivered an excellent show that night. They served up a great party, cleverly building it up the whole way through, and in the closing excess of guitars and drums they almost wrapped it in the sharpness of punk rock.
The band is superbly tight, led by the charismatic and playful singer Victoria, but she’s not the only one on the team who approaches everything she takes on with such passion. We’re talking about Latin temperament, of course, which is a crucial element that makes La Fanfarria Del Capitan a truly distinctive and special musical story that, when you meet it live, leaves a mark and doesn’t leave you indifferent. The band skillfully used the stage in both width and depth and didn’t skimp on positive vibes and good cheer. That mattered more this time than ever, because guess what?
It was pouring buckets during the show. Harder, then a bit softer. A downpour of biblical proportions! Absolutely unbelievable. The clouds had been gathering over the Cerkno hills all afternoon, and we hoped it would all go off toward Idrija and Ljubljana, but it came down mercilessly right before the show started, a little before nine in the evening, and the rain just wouldn’t quit. That naturally affected the crowd, which was less bouncy and less receptive to the calls coming from the stage. The show also got a smaller turnout, of course. Anoraks all around. Luckily the organizer is full of experience and had also tucked the floor section with the mixing desk under a canopy before the show, so people could still enjoy the gig. So it poured again, but we stayed dry. At Križanke, for instance, we wouldn’t have.
And La Fanfarria Del Capitan? A show heavy with emotion and, of course, with dedication, charm and fire! In everything they took on. The band said a heap of thank-yous and never hid their great mood and sunny spirits, which kept the show alive in the middle of a storm and warmed soaked hearts! A mission full of big-heartedness was, all in all, a total success. This time a special shout-out really has to go to the people of Cerkno, who with their daring, courage, sixth sense and experience brought this show home safe and sound. Literally under a roof!
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
