ISRAEL VARELA 5et "Dos Fridas"

Tuesday, June 23, 9:00 PM, paid admission FIRST PREVIEW ISRAEL VARELA, "Dos Fridas" Israel Varela | Drums, Vocals, Compositions Rita Marcotulli | Piano Sara Sanchez | Flamenco Dance Sarita Schena | Vocals Mihalis Kalkanis | Double Bass Frida Kahlo was never alone. Painter and icon, a tortured body and an indomitable spirit, Mexican roots and a universal outlook: her life was a constant negotiation between identities that coexist without ever fully merging. It is from this multiplicity that "Dos Fridas," Israel Varela's new project, is born. A composer, drummer, and vocalist originally from Tijuana, Varela returns to Kahlo after "Frida en Silencio" (2021) to explore what that album opened: no longer silence as a refuge, but plurality as strength. The reference is "Las Dos Fridas," the large double self-portrait of 1939, hearts exposed and hands clasped, identities divided and inextricably linked. The project is built around a strong and conscious female presence: Rita Marcotulli on piano, Sarita Schena's voice, and Sara Sanchez's flamenco dance bring to the stage the same multiplicity that Kahlo depicted. Alongside them, Mihalis Kalkanis on double bass. A quintet that blends jazz, flamenco, and contemporary music to convey, through music and movement, the complexity of a woman who turned her own contradiction into a work of art. Opening A BIRCHOLA "Brésiliennes Chansons" Agathe Francopoulo | Vocals Francesco Cosentini | Guitar Nils Wekstein | Percussion A Frenchwoman, an Italian, a percussionist: three different stories that converge on Brazilian music. Agathe Francopoulo on vocals and Francesco Cosentini on guitar met in 2017 during a specialization course on the rhythms and codes of Brazilian music. In 2023, Nils Wekstein joined them on percussion. Three unique paths: a singer who has always been in love with Brazil, a jazz and gypsy guitarist fascinated by the elegance of Italian melodies, and a percussionist specializing in Afro-Cuban rhythms. Together, they build a sound that spans the entire Brazilian emotional palette, from the most subtle saudade to the driving rhythms of samba. Based in Paris, the trio performs regularly in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Rio de Janeiro.