15th Fira Mediterrània hosts performances by Noa & Solis String Quartet, Tempvs Fvgit, Esne Beltza, Compagnie Karnavires and Circ Teatre Modern

Video installations El retaule de les endevinacions and Traços by Isaki Lacuesta will also be on show at the Casino

The Milcentenari marquee is the setting for Rumba Night with performances by Remendaos, Achilifunk Sound System and Canteca de Macao

Catalan companies will be meeting international and Spanish programmers at midday

The Fira Taverna gastronomy area will be up and running

Manresa, 8 November 2012 – Tomorrow, Friday, the 15^th Fira Mediterrània of Manresa will be hosting a performance by Israeli singer Noa, who is in Manresa for what is scheduled to be her only appearance in the Spanish State this year. The concert, at which she will be accompanied by Italian group Solis String Quartet and guitarist Gil Dor, is being held in the Sala Gran at Teatre Kursaal, strating at 21:00, and features well-known numbers from her repertoire alongside new co-written songs. Friday is also an important day for some twenty Catalan groups and companies, who will be meeting with around a hundred international and Spanish operators. Taverna, Fira’s most popular area and the event's quintessential gastronomy venue, will be up and running too.

Alongside all this, and in the magnificent setting of La Seu, Tempvs Fvugit will be opening the Nostrum series of performances, focusing on preserving our heritage. Specialising in Corsican polyphony, one of the most fascinating forms of musical expression in Europe, the ensemble combines the ancestral sentiment of voices from the land with the refinement that comes from a tradition stretching back over centuries. The songs are religious in origin and are handed down as part of oral history. They play a fundamental role in Corsican identity and are performed a capella by male vocalists. Later on, at half-past midnight and as part of the OFF section, Sala Stroika will be the setting for Basque group Esne Beltza, a spin-off from Fermin Muguruza’s last tour. Esne Beltza (meaning black milk), play with two colours, black and white, performing black music for white people. Reggae, ska and hip hop, a sure-fire combination for dance and partying.

Rumba Night at the Milcentenari

In parallel, Fira’s Milcentenari marquee is holding Rumba Night, which will be different from other years in that tickets will be valid for all three groups performing. Bages-based group Remendaos will be playing from 23:00 onwards. Celebrating their 15th anniversary, their fresh, familiar sound is aimed to break down barriers keeping people apart.  They are followed on stage by Achilifunk Sound System, a quartet known for their electronic-based, organic rumba music, ideal for getting everyone out on the dance floor anywhere in the world. The last act of the night is Madrid group Canteca de Macao with their latest album Nunca es Tarde, a blend of Latin and flamenco, rumba, reggae, jazz, rock and Mediterranean sounds, in what promises to be an exhilarating performance.

Family shows

During the day, from 16:00 to 20:00 in Plaça Major, young audiences can enjoy themselves on a very special merry-go-round with cows, provided by French group Théatre de la Toupine. These friendly creatures will be taking their little passengers through meadows into a world full of sounds. A family activity that encourages mums and dads to get involved and push them round. Also in Plaça Major, 19:00 is the start time for Image par image, a show by Compagnie Karnavires. Inspired by the magic of fire, the artists show their mastery in creating fiery structures and burning constellations, carried by a series of extraordinary characters called Les Illumineurs. The show takes the form of a street parade and will be completing its journey at Teatre Kursaal. Lastly, at 21:00, Parc Casino is the location for Circ Teatre Modern, a beautiful setting holding over a hundred spectators and reminiscent of a bandstand, inside which two performers will be sharing a mosaic of 14 acts infused with fantasy in a dance of sound, bars and chords all coming together in a melody.

Isaki Lacuesta

On Friday, two video installations specially produced for Fira by this year’s guest artist Isaki Lacuesta will be showing from 11:00 in the morning. Together with Isa Campo, Lacuesta will be presenting the interactive video installation El retaule de les endevinacions, in which spectators can press buttons to find out their fate, the forces moving their present and obstacles from the past affecting their lives. A series of videos featuring archetypal images invite us to reflect on the passage of time. The second work, Traços/Traces, is a seductive video installation comprising four large-format screens used by the film director to reflect on two concepts marking his appearances at Fira as guest artist: generation to generation handover and grafting artistic disciplines. The work, being shown for the first time in Catalonia, features celebrity figures such as Antoni Tàpies, Ferran Adrià, Cesc Gelabert and Ronaldinho interacting with each other. Both video installations can be seen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Exhibitions Room and Espai 7 respectively at the Casino. Tomorrow, Friday from 20:00, Lacuesta will also be talking about his interventions at Fira with artist, critic and curator Carles Guerra in the Casino Exhibitions Room at 20:00.

The Gastronomy Area is up and running

From tomorrow, Friday, Fira’s Taverna / Gastronomy Area will be fully operational in Plaça Sant Domènec. Our Mediterranean diet was given Intangible Cultural Heritage status on 17 November 2010. To mark the occasion, La Taverna / Gastronomy Area will be focusing on local products used in Mediterranean cooking. To get in, all you have to do is buy a ticket for one of the Mediterranean meals or one of the local drinks involved, and then exchange it for a wristband giving you access to the main marquee in Plaça Sant Domènec. You can use your entry ticket all day. There is a different coloured wristband for each day of Fira. The speciality foods on offer are from places such as Maghreb, Italy, Brittany and the Catalan Countries.

Sons competition

Box Office locations and opening times for Friday

·         During Fira, tickets will be on sale at the special box offices set up in Plaça Sant Domènec. They will be open every day from 10:00 until Sunday. Friday until 23:00; Saturday until midnight and Sunday until 19:00.

·          The Teatre Kursaal box office will also be open every day.  Opening times here will be Friday to Sunday from 18:00 to 21:00; Saturday from 11:00 to 13:00 plus one hour before the start of each show. You can also buy tickets by telephone at the same opening times, using your credit card on this number: 93 872 36 36, and 24 hours a day on the web site www.kursaal.cat.

·          For shows scheduled at Seu de Manresa; rumba night (Friday) and folk dancing night (Saturday) at the Milcentenari marquee; and at El Sielu, the venue ticket office will be open half an hour before each session.

·         For the two concerts at Sala Stroika (Friday and Saturday), you can buy tickets 24 hours a day on www.stroika.cat and in advance at Cafè l’Alzina, Sibeilius and Solans, as well as at the venue prior to each session.