After a pulsating two-day Nigeria-Spain Vis A Vis musical concert in Lagos, two Nigerian artists Ruth Mahogany and the ARB Music Band (Abuja) and Ara Queen of Drums (Lagos) were selected to perform at the summer festivals in Spain.
The concert, which was held recently, featured 125 candidates and 12 Nigerian bands alongside a dozen of Spanish music producers and festival directors, as part of the Nigeria-Spain Vis a Vis cultural joint project.
An audience of over 200 people attended daily the concert at Balmoral Hall, Victoria Island, Lagos.
After the wonderful performances of the 12 bands, which showcased the vast music talent in Nigeria, the Spanish delegation had interactions with each of the contestants the next day in order to decide who would go to Spain on a music tour this summer.
At a ceremony at the Spanish General Consulate in Lagos, a representative of the Spanish festivals and Casa Africa announced the winners.
The Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA), Chief Folorunsho Folarin Coker, and the Ambassador of Spain in Nigeria, Juan Sell, handed them certificate as winners of the contest.
The 12 preselected groups also received a certificate of participation in VIS A VIS and a plaque from the NTDA. The artists on the shortlist and who performed in Lagos were Allure-Plus, Oge Kimono and the Massive Dread Band, The Klan Band, Invictus, Korie, The Sound Order, Zeeter Oliver, Ruth Mahogany and the ARB Music Band, Iammhood, Tisho, Ara Queen of Drums, Baba Ojonugwa J.F.O.
The VIS A VIS project is organised by Casa África, Spain’s public diplomacy institution, along with the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA), and the Spanish Embassy in Nigeria.
Vis a Vis is a professional meeting between Spanish cultural promoters and African musicians, which Casa África has been holding for 12 years on the neighbouring continent.
The project aims to guarantee a greater presence of African music on Spanish stages by promoting the winning groups’ tour to the festivals participating in the programme and to help generate the cultural industry in Africa.
The event provides a space for dialogue, creating an environment conducive to negotiations, and promoting meetings between entrepreneurs, institutions, and organisations in the Spanish music industry that have an interest in African music.
African artists are given the opportunity to share their ideas, creations, and aspirations with their Spanish interlocutors. The two bands selected after performing in front of the Spanish delegation will travel to Spain on July to take part in some of the most important Summer Festivals that are organised throughout Spain and attract both national and international tourists.
Before coming to Nigeria, Vis a Vis professional meetings have been held in Senegal, South Africa, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, and Tanzania as part of a program that helped increase the presence of African music in Spanish music festivals during the summer, when excellent weather allows for huge crowds to gather at each festival.
Casa África has partnered the Ministry of Information and Culture Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA), and has the support of the Spanish Embassy in Nigeria, and the collaboration of the Consulate- General of Spain in Lagos, the General Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE), Dr. Zhivago Producers, La Liga, Marqués de Berol, Nelson Jack, and Alma de Vega.