RECORD LABELS AND ASSOCIATIONS CONSIDER THEIR PRESENCE IN COPENHAGEN AS A SUCCESS
Galicia and Brazil sign an agreement at Womex for a musical exchange programme between both countries
[31/10/09] In 2010, Galician groups will be offering a series of concerts in Brazil thanks to an agreement signed between the Galician and Brazilian delegations at Womex, held in Copenhagen. The most important fair on the international circuit dedicated to folk, roots, ethnic and traditional music will be closing its doors tomorrow in the Danish capital after a highly successful event for all of the visiting associations and companies.The agreement signed with Brazil consists of involving a one-week cycle mainly dedicated to Galician music, together with other disciplines, which will be held in the state of Minas Gerais, the fourth largest in Brazil, in the southeast of the country and with a population of more than 21 million. The initiative is a result of an agreement between the Regional Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Xunta de Galicia through the AGADIC (Galician Cultural Industries Agency) and the Secretariat of the State of Minas Gerais, which will involve performances by between 8 and 10 Galician groups or soloists in the region. In exchange, Galicia will hold a cultural week dedicated to Brazilian music in 2010.
Advances in strategic contacts
2009 marked the first of three yearly Womex events to be held in Copenhagen, welcoming more than 3,000 accredited agents from 90 countries. The Galician delegation consisted of the companies Falcatruada, Ouvirmos, Zouma Records, Berrogüetto Producións, Abada, Mare, Articket, Sul Produccións, Nordesía and Lóspregos, with the last two also having their own stands. The institutional representation at Womex, led by the director of the AGADIC, Juan Carlos Fernández Fasero, was joined by members of the two main associations in the sector: AGEM (the Galician Association of Music Companies) and Agaphono (the Galician Record Producers’ Association), who were responsible for organising Galicia’s presence at the event.
Spokesmen from these associations coincided in evaluating the contacts made during Womex as highly positive, especially in terms of strengthening the presence of Galician music at these types of international events, and the progress made in contacts with institutions and companies considered as being of strategic interest for Galician music. They also valued the benefits of visiting professional fairs jointly and with institutional support, in this case with the Regional Ministry of Culture as the sponsor of the GalicianTunes stand.
More than 2,000 visitors
More than 2,000 people visited the Galician stand sponsored by the AGADIC at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, where they had the chance to discover GalicianTunes, the trademark used in recent years to promote modern Galician music abroad.
Visitors were offered specific promotional material on the stand: a CD with a selection of tracks by Galician artists, including bOnOvO, Fía na Roca, Milladoiro, Berrogüetto, Nova Galega de Danza, Rosa Cedrón, Mercedes Peón, Uxía, Fran Pérez "Narf" & Manecas Costa, Hermanos Moreira, Orquestra Vigo 430, ISGA Collective, Donatore di Groove, Xosé Manuel Budiño, Cristina Pato & Mutenrohi and Anxo Lorenzo. The disk also includes the promotional CD Rumbas by various artists, from the platform "Descarga ao Vivo".
All of the visitors were also offered the guidebook Galician Festivals, which includes a list of the most important festivals and cycles of Galician music, specifically produced for international promotion, and the magazine "Ao Vivo Música", published twice a year by the AGADIC to promote groups and solo performers taking part in the programme of the Galician Live Music Network.
