Festival Fever in Andalusia: A Ukulele Player Goes Astray
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Patrick Vosen - 10/16/2024
4/20/2024
It’s 2:00 AM when we arrive in Trebujena. My Spanish friend Alicia has been driving for 6 hours from Madrid. We only made two stops because Jorge, the drummer from Alicia’s band, and I needed a “bathroom break.”
Tomorrow (or rather today) “De Perdidas Al Río” will perform, and I get to be there as a groupie! The trip fits perfectly into my travel plans, as I intend to continue on to Portugal afterwards. The rest of the band won’t arrive until the morning, so for now, it’s just the three of us.
Alicia parks in the lot in front of a large gym that the town has reserved especially for the festival artists. Before we go to bed, Ali and Jorge insist on having one last beer.
Nightly Exploration and Unexpected Acquaintances
So we stroll through the small town in the middle of Andalusia, with its approximately 7,000 inhabitants, looking for the festival grounds in the town center. Trebujena is known for its wine cultivation, sherry production, and especially for its many festivals!
We find the decorated town center with its emptied stalls, although there’s still one stand selling beer at this late hour. Around it stand locals who have clearly had one too many. One of them approaches us and offers us a beer. He’s the owner of the bar across the street, who, after a profitable day, is now spending his earnings at the competition before it all starts again tomorrow.
He speaks in such a strong Andalusian dialect that even Alicia and Jorge can’t always understand what he’s saying. But apparently, he’s also telling a lot of nonsense that regularly makes the two laugh. He invites us for another beer and is quite amused when I ask for water again. From then on, he only calls me “Agüita,” which means something like “little water.” He seems to like me despite my alcohol abstinence and wants to make me the godfather of his son.
Return and Improvised Sleeping Arrangements
It’s not until around 4:00 AM that we head back to the gym. The cobbled, narrow streets with their whitewashed houses are beautiful. The silence of the night is only disturbed by the splashing of men relieving themselves against these beautiful houses.
Arriving at the gym, we try to inflate our air mattresses as quietly as possible with a much too small air pump, without waking the others. There are partitions in the hall, but not much privacy. Mosquitoes buzz around us as we try to fall asleep.
A Typical Spanish Breakfast
I wake up at 10:30 AM and go to take a shower, while Alicia and Jorge rush to an organizational meeting because the band leader and singer Lucia hasn’t arrived yet. Alicia drove there by car but returns after 10 minutes because she couldn’t find a parking spot. So we wait for Jorge together and then go to a bar for breakfast. Yes, in Spain, that’s where you go for breakfast.
We order drinks in glasses that are much too small and toasted bread with olive oil and ripe tomato flesh, called “Tostada con tomate” - a popular breakfast in the country. Afterwards, we scout out the festival grounds in daylight and look for the stage where the band will perform this afternoon.
The Last Meal Before the Show
We meet Lucia, who has just arrived with her parents and gives us all “Artist” badges and a meal voucher. By now, the band is complete. We then get a drink at the bar of the man we met during the night who called me “Agüita.”
We walk from one place to another and finally end up in the basement rooms of a café where we can redeem our meal vouchers. There’s a small buffet, and I’m surprised - it’s all vegetarian! The local TV is also there and interviews our lead singer while we eat. Well-fed, Alicia, Lucia’s father, and I return to the gym. There we get into his car and drive to the stage with all the instruments in the trunk.
Technical Challenges Before the Performance
While we’re setting up the stage, it suddenly becomes unclear whether the band can perform at all. The electrical system on site is defective, and the stage has no power. Fortunately, the problem can be solved.
However, the stage technicians don’t seem very professional. They set up speaker towers for the audience but no monitor boxes. This will pose challenges for the band.
The Big Moment: The Band Takes the Stage
The stage is a bit away from the town center, but it’s very large, and the space is big enough for a few hundred people. At 5:15 PM, it’s time, and the band forms a circle - surprisingly including me.
Being part of a band has always been a dream of mine. And in this moment, I’m living that dream. There are a few motivating words and instructions before all hands go to the center and they step onto the stage.
I’m excited, especially for Alicia. It’s her first performance with the band.
The Music Conquers the Audience
But the excitement soon fades, and I’m blown away by the energy coming from the stage. People start dancing with the very first song. With their lively ska music, it’s hard to stand still.
The audience grows and grows as Lucia’s father and I film. The local TV is back again. Without monitor boxes, “De Perdidas Al Río” have a hard time hearing themselves. So Lucia and her brother simply jump in front of the stage to play their trombones.
The band has created a music video of our time in Trebujena. Check it out!
Festival Atmosphere and an Unexpected Beer Shower
After the performance, we pack up and end the evening with food and many drinks. We constantly change locations and watch other artists. It gets more and more crowded in the narrow streets, and at some point, we get stuck in the crowd.
Someone pushes, and before I know it, we all get caught in a shower of beer. I’m getting tired and say goodbye to the group early. I’m grateful to have been part of the band. But now I think the band should also have some time to themselves. Back at the gym, I’m the first one and can get ready for bed without having to consider others.
The others don’t return until 1:00 AM. But by then, I’m already dreaming of my own band in the distant future.
Reflections
The evening in Trebujena has shown me how music can bring people together - whether as musicians on stage or as listeners in the audience. It has reinforced my decision to use the ukulele as a bridge to meet interesting people and experience new cultures on my journey. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll find my own international ukulele band? With trombones :)
Would you like to hear more music from “De Perdidas Al Río”? Here are the links!
