This Sunday, December 11, the colorful Mexican singer, double bass player and composer Fuensanta Mendez, considered the new star of Mexican jazz, will perform in the cultural hall “M/Darbnīca”. On other nights, rich musical and cultural events are planned at the aforementioned entertainment venue this week.
In Fuensanta Mendez’s innovative music, various elements of nature are sung and played within the framework of various Latin American rhythms. Mendez graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory, performed both in Mexico and in many European countries. In Riga he will perform together with Italian singer Marta Arpini and Latvian singer Līva Dumpi, who will play keyboards and percussion. Fuensanta also skillfully uses a sound loop machine while performing, and also plays the harana, or a small guitar-like Mexican acoustic stringed instrument. The concert on December 11 will start at 19:00.
On the other hand, already on December 7, “M/Darbnīki” will offer the program of its recently released album “Acclivity” by pianist Vestards Šimkus together with the avant-garde jazz trio “Endless Roar”, in which Latvian double bass player Stanislavs Yudins and foreign musicians living in Latvia – Lithuanian saxophonist Arvīds Kazlausks and Singaporean-American drummer Jaken Poosson.
On December 8, the “M/Darbnīca” cultural space will host a film evening dedicated to Tom Harjo’s feature film “Sēklis”. The film debut of the young Riga theater actor and photographer was made in Pāvilosta together with his classmates, creating three different vignettes of romantic relationships. Using both irony and cutting observations about his generation, the roles in the film are played by actors Agate Krista, Jānis Grūtups, Marta Lovisa, Matīss Ozols, Sabīne Tīkmane as well as Harjo himself. After viewing the film, a meeting with the filmmakers is scheduled.
On December 9, the “My Story” evening of the international literary festival “Prose Readings” will take place, hosted by Inga Žolude, and will see the participation of Gunta Barbāne, Ieva Būmane, Guntars Ceravs, Santa Igaune, Agnese Irmeja, Santa Kapakle, Laura Lapiņa , Sanita Rubene, Vineta Stīpniece, Eddy Schauers, Mara Upman-Holstein and Yvonne Seele. The author’s works were created within the framework of the writing workshop “The Story of My Book” led by the writer Inga Žolude. The authors will present their stories in five-minute readings. Musical accompaniment will be provided by Māra Upman-Holštein and Melissa Deborah Kashkur.
On December 10, the jazz quintet “Lowland Quintet” will perform in the cultural space “M/Darbnīca”, where students of The Hague Royal Conservatory from Latvia, Italy and India have gathered. “Lowland Quintet” consists of Latvian trumpeter Kristians Kalva and drummer Davids Dāvis Eglītis, as well as Italian saxophonist Pietro Mirabasi, Italian guitarist Emiliano Roca and Indian double bass player Arjuns Ramdas. The program includes compositions by Miles Davis, Art Blackie and other jazz greats that bring out the strongest qualities of the quintet’s instrumentalists.
“We continue to think hard about the diversity of content of cultural events,” says Maija Moira Mazanova, creative director and head of cultural space “M/Darbnīca”. “This creates a saturated and regular modern cultural environment for both ourselves and our guests, which is also the creative goal of our cultural space. Of course, we still place the greatest emphasis on music that lives close to the world of jazz. December for us it is a public holiday month, and various events will take place almost every day, so I invite culture lovers to follow the calendar of events!”
