This year we have an excellent selection of artist from Mexico and around the world.
Patricia Morales
Patricia is a versatile vocalist with roots from Cuba. Raised in a musical family in Havana, Patricia started her professional career at the age of 20 as lead vocalist with the famous (in Cuba) popular music band Los Gafas. She is trained in classical singing (bel canto), and has sung in most genres, particularly within Latin American music.
She, along with the house band, will be performing our Mexican repertoire consisting of traditional music related to this special date.
Bruna Santana
Joining us again, Bruna Santana will represent Brazil in yet another edition of Xibalba.
Bruna is one of the most prestigious vocalists and all around artists in Oslo, especially when it comes to Brazilian music.
This part of the show will pay homage to Tanya Oliver, a beloved friend and staple of the Brazilian community in Oslo who passed away recently.
We will remember Tanya with some of her favourite songs masterfully performed by Bruna and our house band.
Lillebjørn Nilsen’s Viseskatt.
Robert Rustad Amundsen, Lars Lothe Holm and Hege Rimestad honor Lillebjørn Nilsen at this year’s Xibalb. They promise a reunion with the poet’s many characters and stories, from wistful city atmospheres to cheerful fishing trips. There will be good opportunities to sing along.
Hege Rimestad has been one of the country’s most prominent fiddle players since she was in Amtmandens Døtre and Veslefrikk in the 70s. She has also played with Mari Boine, and released the CDs “The Seed Keeper”, “Hvite pil” and “Fly som en stein” (with Geirr Lystrup) which won the Spellemannpris. As a composer, she works with short films, theater and dance.
As a violinist, she is particularly interested in improvisation, Indian violin technique and the use of electrical effects.
Hege is from Grorud in Oslo, and has lived in Gran, Hadeland for almost 20 years. She has performed several times at Steinhuset, including with Annar By, Amtmandens Døtre and Halvsøstra.
Lars Lothe Holm is from Keyserløkka in the middle of Oslo, and played together with Hege in the underground band Kaniner til saal, which released an album in 1987. This has now been reissued in the Norske Albumklassikere series. Before this, he had managed to play in an early version of Jokke & Valentinerne, and still appears with the band Rubel & Beat at irregular intervals. Lars is known as a guitarist and singer with infectious energy, who invites the audience to join in the choir. He is a veteran of the pub scene in Oslo, and is behind the slightly legendary jam at Queens pub in Oslo together with Robert, where some of Norway’s best musicians can be heard regularly.
Robert Rustad Amundsen from Spikkestad in Buskerud has made a name for himself with his music both at home and abroad. Robert has composed music for both theater and radio and has toured in Germany, England and Norway. He is also a trained actor. Lars and Robert were engaged to play a memorial concert a few days after Lillebjørn Nilsen passed away, and gave people in the vice-poet’s immediate environment a welcome experience at Alexander Kielland’s place – more precisely at the traditional hot dog shop Syverkiosken.
Santeros
Experience the electrifying magic of Santana with this dynamic tribute band!
Our closing act, Santeros, are preparing a special performance celebrating the two-sided themes of life and death in honor of the Day of the Dead. This performance is both a tribute to the deceased and a celebration of the enduring bond between life and death.
Enjoy energetic hits, soulful rhythms and sparkling guitar solos that will make you feel like you’re seeing the real Santana live. Get ready to dance, sing and be enchanted!
Luis Fernando Amaya
Born in Aguascalientes, México, Luis Fernando Amaya is a composer and percussionist based in Oslo. Topics such as collective memory and the relationship between humans and non-humans (such as plants, animals, or environments) are commonly present in his work.
In Xibalba, Amaya will be presenting his project “un lenguaje hecho de susurros”. Mixing storytelling, traditional music, and experimental live electronics, “a language made of whispers” is a show that spotlights the complex and contrasting sets of collective memory that arise from the area that we now call México. Composed and performed by Luis Fernando Amaya, this show aims to share a glimpse of the intricate connections between the different cultures, voices (human and non-human), and historical periods that conflate into the reality of contemporary México.
Inga Mandinga – Adrian Lara
- Adrian Lara – Vocals, harp, percussion, artistic direction.
- María Cornelia Lund – Vocals, violin, percussion
- Aina Gnoutou – Dance
- Luis Fernando Amaya – Vocals, Jarana, percussion
- Halvor Olsen – Vocals, requinto, percussion, dance
Inga Mandinga is Adrian Lara’s main artistic project and is about recreating the use of the harp in Afro-Peruvian music. As of today, there is only one person left in Peru among Afro-descendants who can be recognised as a traditional bearer of this instrument (Noel Adrianzén, Piura, 73 years old). In other words, the project is about resisting the extinction of this tradition.
According to the Día de los muertos tradition, oblivion is the ultimate death. But traditions can’t live without the contribution of the people devoted to preserve and continue them. This being said, there is a strong African presence in the various cultural expressions in Latin America characterised by anonymisation, discrimination and oblivion. Therefore, Adrian Lara’s presentation will honor the forgotten souls who have made it possible for us Latin Americans to have a rich musical heritage with an African touch.
Ingvild Skarv Andersgaard
Ingvild Skarv Andersgaard, or BANGS, is a versatile vocalist with roots in several worlds. The main emphasis of the artistic work is on songwriting and vocals. As a songwriter and lyricist, Andersgaard is concerned with themes such as generation, community vs individual, trauma and social inequality. As a vocalist, Andersgaard is well versed in improvisation and alternative vocal techniques, while also contributing as a vocalist within more traditional genres. Since Andersgaard started singing professionally, she has worked to master a variety of singing techniques and genre expressions
BERISA – Creative Cultural Adventure
BERISA are Isabel Silva, an arts and crafts teacher from Portugal and Berta López, a music teacher from Chile. Their show “Creative Cultural Adventure”, is aimed especially to children. It immerses children in a creative journey through art and music from around the world. The combined knowledges and expertise of both Isabel and Berta offer an experience based on diversity and integration of things such as cultural and artistic traditions from several parts of the world. From the knowledge that many many children have already culturally unique situations themselves, Berta and Isabel use those situations to enhance everybody’s experience. With the goal in mind of creating an inclusive experience where kids can share their own cultural traditions as they learn, create and participate in art and music from diverse cultures in a fun an attractive way, Silvia and Berta believe that experiencing art and music from around the world children will develop a better understanding and respect for the complex beauty of our world.
Luna Horns
Luna Horns is a 6 man ensable from Oslo. The name suggests there are several wind players in the band.
Luna Hors is a band that radiates creativity and joy!, This is a band where improvisation, interaction and energy are key words. Beautiful and delicate polyphonic melodies are replaced by wild solos and spontaneous improvisations. And all this while the solid rhythm section creates playful and funky beats.
The music draws inspiration from jazz, soul, reggae, Latin and electronica. And the concerts are often exciting experiences as the band playfully weaves the styles together while balancing between musical chaos and order.
The band’s first EP was recorded live in a 3 hour recording session in authum 2023 and released on the renowned leftfield electronica lable Satig Records. They will soon be rel3evant with their first LP, which will be finished during the autun of 2024.
This is a band that is best experienced at intimate concert venues where you can really experience the energy up close. Come and see and hear! We look forward to seeing you in concert.
Tim Lowerson – soprano saxophone
Ulf Denneche – trombone
Morten Møller – alto saxophone / flute
Torbjørn Syversen – drums
Gard Langerud – bass
Khalid Laouaam – tenor saxophone.
Besides being a part of the house band this year, Luna Horns will perform a special show for our young audience in the morning.
Alejo Conejo
Is a live entertaining storytelling show for the whole family.
The performance is carried out in simple, clean and basic Spanish, aimed at Spanish-speaking families and those who want to reinforce their Spanish learning path.
Each story is an adaptation of ancient folk tales, fairy tales, legends, or fables enriched with original songs and musical effects performed by musician and composer Cristian Ruiz.
We also perform at schools, kindergartens, embassy celebrations, non-profit organizations, libraries, and children’s events.
We create, adapt and combine stories for each show, building a completely new experience for our audience. We create our own songs, illustrations, wooden or paper characters and performance elements for each and every tale.
Our adaptations contain beautiful messages for the whole family on topics such as peace, love, friendship, empathy, courage, emotions, and much more.
Human beings have been telling stories for more than 30,000 years. Our brains are adapted to learn and understand the universe from stories.
We believe in the magic of the spoken word, and we are convinced that every time a story is told, a beautiful idea springs to life in the minds of those who hear it.