Fira Mediterrània in Manresa

Manresa

Manresa is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographic centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged around the basilica of Santa María de la Seo....

(Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

) is a trade fair

Trade fair

A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...

 for new artistic creations inspired by Catalan and Mediterranean traditions or those from other parts of the world. It is held the first complete weekend in November every year in this town 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) away from Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 since 1998.

It is the main meeting point and trade fair of the mediterranean world, folk and roots artists with distributors, organizers, agencies, labels, export offices, instrument makers and dealers, journalists and other professionals. It also offers a better understanding of the complex richness of the world cultures.

Shows

Being a market, the main objective of Fira Mediterrania is to help the programmed artists to be contracted by the attending delegates. Every year there are usually around a hundred different artistic shows on offer:

• Music, theatre and dance performances
• Shows for adult and family audiences
• Stage shows and also street performances

Fira is designed for anyone involved in the sector including:

• International arts promoters, producers, event programmers and festival organizers

• Agents, artists and managers

• Local authority teams and arts professionals

• Managers of commercial retailing and leisure

• Funding bodies

Objectives

Attracted by this program, around 1,100 international delegates sign up for this event each year. Thanks to this professional exchange, other objectives are achieved:

• Provide incentives for the creation of new quality artistic productions and present them to a wider audience
• Internationalize artistic productions developed in Mediterranean area
• Provide a showcase and main exhibition point for the roots, folk and world music
• Act as a meeting place for delegates
• Create a forum for cultural exchange between the different nations and regions of the Mediterranean.

Artists

Hundreds of artists have played or acted in Fira Mediterrania. Some of them are:

Circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

: Pierrot Bidon

Pierrot Bidon

Pierrot Bidon was a circus promoter. He formed circus troupe Archaos in 1984 and the Circus of Horrors in 1995.-References:...

 and Circo da Madrugada (France / Brasil)

Street performances: Plasticiens Volants (France), Comediants (Catalonia), Xarxa Teatre (Valencia), La Companyia del Foc (Catalonia), Commandos Percu (France).

Deambulatory performances: La Banda del Surdo (Catalonia), Taraf Goulamas (France), Tandarica Orkestar (Catalonia), Close Act (The Netherlands).

Music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

: Kepa Junquera (Basque Country), Maria del Mar Bonet (Majorica), Al Tall (Valencia), El Pont d'Arcalís (Catalonia), Quico el Célio, el Noi i el Mut de Ferreries (Catalonia), A Filetta (Corsica), Mor Karbassi (Israel), Elena Ledda (Sardinia), Souad Massi (Algeria), Carles Santos (Valencia).

Vertical dance: Les Passangers (France), Circ Delícia (Catalonia).

External links

• Official website
• Fira Mediterrània at Womex
• Music of Fira Mediterrània at myspace
• Fira Mediterrània at RNE / Radio 3
• Film about Fira Mediterrània 2009

Discography

• 12 Mediterrània. Fira d'espectacles d'arrel tradicional, Sons de la Mediterrània, 13, 2009.
• 11 Mediterrània. Fira d'espectacles d'arrel tradicional, Sons de la Mediterrània, 7, 2008.
• 10ª Mediterrània. Fira d'espectacles d'arrel,Sons de la Mediterrània, 1 / World Music Magazine, 87, 2007.
• 9a Fira Mediterrània d'espectacles d'arrel tradicional, Folc, 31 / World Music Magazine, 81, 2006.
• 8ª Fira d'espectacles d'arrel tradicional Mediterrània, Folc, 25, 2005.
• Mediterrània. 7ª Fira d'espectacles d'arrel tradicional, Folc, 19, 2004.
• 6ª Fira d'espectacles d'arrel tardicional a Manresa, Folc, 14, 2003.
• Fira d'espectacles d'arrel tradicional Manresa, Folc, 9, 2002.
• Fira d'espectacles d'arrel tradicional, Folc, 5, 2001.
• 3a Fira d'espectacles d'arrel tradicional de Manresa, Folc, 1, 2000.