'Rumba Catalana' Day concert to promote UNESCO bid
Organizers to highlight the music genre's cultural importance at event in Barcelona
Barcelona will host a concert on Friday, October 20 to celebrate Rumba Catalana Day, honoring a music genre that dates back to the 1950s in the city's Raval and Gràcia neighborhoods.
The celebration of Catalan rumba, heavily influenced by flamenco and Latin American music, will take place in Gràcia's Centre Artesà Tradicionàrius at 9.30 pm with artists like Los Manolos, Sabor de Gràcia, Johnny Tarradellas, Peret Reyes, and Los Amaya among many others.
The event is organized by Plataforma per la Defensa per la Rumba Catalana (The Platform for the Defense of Catalan rumba), at a time when the organization aims to promote Rumba Catalana's bid for UNESCO World Heritage status.
The organization is focused on the preservation, promotion, and recognition of Rumba Catalana as part of Catalan culture and universal musical heritage, and hopes this represents a "step forward" towards the preservation and diffusion of this "unique tradition".
PODCAST: Catalan Rumba: a genre full of history
To learn more about this genre of music that developed among Barcelona's Romani community in the 20th century, listen to the podcast below, when Filling the Sink danced to the rhythm of rumba.