News (Noticias) Tagged ‘Grupo Fantasma’

Prince wants to party with them. Salsa legend Larry Harlow is itching to school them. And groove maestro Maceo Parker can’t wait to blow with them again. Since roaring out of Austin, Texas, several years ago, the horn-laden combo Grupo Fantasma has become the nation’s most visible purveyor of Latin funk, and everybody seems to want a piece of the action.

The 10-piece band, which performs at the Museum of Fine Arts tomorrow, is building on its triumphant 2007 run, which included a command London performance with Prince last August. Fantasma had already played a two-month run at Prince’s Vegas club and entertained at his celebrity-filled, post-Golden Globe Awards party.”*

I got to see them in a small venue with less than 100 people a couple of weeks ago - lots of fun.

n her native Puerto Rico, Rosalie Bocelli-Hernández grew up calling kites “cometas.” When she started working for Durham City Parks and Recreation, she was surprised that other Latin Americans have at least 10 different words for kite: “Papalote, chiringa, cometa … I have a list. That was so funny,” says Bocelli-Hernández.

This experience of linguistic and cultural diversity within their own ranks is common for Latinos, she says. And as she spearheads Durham’s 4th annual Latino Festival, she invites Durham residents to learn a lesson in diversity from the city’s Latino residents.”*

As Grupo Fantasma prepares for a busy fall packed with festival and club dates, the Latin collective received the exciting news confirming the airdate for their appearance on Season 33 of Austin City Limits, America’s longest running televised concert series. “Every season, the show seems to keep reaching new heights,” said Terry Lickona, longtime producer for ACL. “The talent line-up so far for Season 33 speaks volumes about the series’ lasting appeal and integrity, and the fact that we’re able to attract such an eclectic array of original and innovative artists of every stripe. Grupo Fantasma is one of the most exciting bands to come out of Austin in decades. They’re the sound of the city today–young, eclectic, adventurous, cosmopolitan! Their name says it all, and we’re thrilled to have them on our stage for millions more to discover.” PBS will air the band’s performance nationally on November 17th, 2007 and viewers are encouraged to check local listings for exact date and time for their area.”*

“Anyone who’s truly interested in music is familiar with the reputation of Austin, Texas. The city is spoken of in the same reverent tones reserved for Nashville, for New Orleans, for New York and L.A. It hosts both the South by Southwest Music Conference and the Austin City Limits festival. It regularly produces famous singer-songwriters, country bands and punk acts. It is universally regarded as one of America’s most fertile musical meccas.

It’s no small feat, then, to be lauded - not just once, but consistently, and in various publications across the nation - as the best live band in “the live music capital of the world.” The distinction is even more remarkable when it’s being bestowed not on the newest alt-country group or rootsy troubador, but rather an 11-piece orchestra that’s both carrying on and reinventing the Latin big-band tradition - Grupo Fantasma.”

“Arguably, the real news here is that something good came out of Texas in 2000 beyond pain, pestilence, famine and the death penalty.

Said goodness is Grupo Fantasma, a late-era addition to Tejano music. This 10- to 11-piece orchestra got its break while playing with Los Lobos six years ago. Since then they have shared the stage with members of the Buena Vista Social Club and performed recently with Prince.”

“When you hear Grupo Fantasma for the first time, Austin, Tex. is not the place that immediately pops into your mind.

Maybe Miami, Los Angeles, Harlem or even New Orleans, but not the alternative rock/renegade country musical capital of the American Southwest.

To guitarist and cuatro player Beto Martinez, however, there’s no such cultural disconnect. Austin is the most natural town in the world for a hard-core Latin dance band to find a supportive base, he said over the phone, as the 11-piece Grupo Fantasma embarks on a tour of the northeast that brings them to the Lula Lounge tonight for their Canadian debut.”