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Vallecas brings hip hop to Madrid with concerts and urban culture
Centro Cultural Pilar Miró will host a programme of rap and urban dance on 6 and 7 November. Ambkor will perform on Friday, and Suzete y Todo el Rato will be on stage on Saturday. The programme also includes a masterclass and activities about the origins of graffiti.
Orígenes traces the beginnings of this culture in Madrid and the rest of Spain since 1984. It shares a programme in Vallecas with the concerts and activities of the second weekend of Madrid Urban Fest (MUF), which takes place from 6 to 7 November at the Centro Cultural Pilar Miró.
An exhibition on the early years of hip hop
Curated by Francisco Reyes, the exhibition offers an interactive journey through different expressions of the movement. It includes graffiti and rap, alongside the work of DJs and break dance. Admission is free.
On Thursday 5 November at 7:00 pm, Madrid graffiti. Orígenes, a documentary by Francisco Reyes, a graffiti pioneer and professor at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid specialising in hip hop, will be screened. The organisers note that the film has not yet premiered in Spain. Entry will be free.
Live rap on Friday and Saturday
On Friday the 6th, Ambkor will present Los últimos vivos at 8:30 pm. The Barcelona-born artist, now based in Madrid, will combine his latest work with well-known tracks from his career. His introspective rap repertoire addresses mental health and personal relationships, as well as the passage of time.
Before the concert, at 7:45 pm, Mbeats90 will offer a DJ set with free entry. Ambkor’s performance is designed in an intimate and close-up format.
Saturday the 7th will begin at 8:00 pm with JAVS, who will return to the decks between performances and accompany Suzete. Born in Santo Tomé y Príncipe and raised between Portugal and the Canary Islands, the artist blends afrobeat, afro-pop, R&B and urban sounds with African, Atlantic and Latin influences. Her songs deal with roots and identity, as well as freedom and empowerment.
Beforehand, Todo el Rato, a duo formed by Camu y Michael and linked to Afro-Caribbean sounds, will perform. Their music crosses Angolan kizomba with the afrobeat of Nigeria and Ghana, as well as Jamaican dancehall and Puerto Rican reggaeton. Last year they released No pasó with JAVS, who is also producing their next work.
On Saturday there will also be a masterclass in popping and locking, urban dance styles that emerged in the seventies. It will be led by Venezuelan dancer Nanox.
The MUF is organised by the Comunidad de Madrid and continues its programme at the Centro Cultural Pilar Miró de Vallecas until 14 November. The artist Amalia Pacheco continues to portray festival participants to add them to the Mural de Artistas Urbanos, one of her recurring projects. The MUF focuses its programme on hip hop and its origins.