The band was formed in 2001 in the French-Catalonian city of Perpignan, where North Africans and Roma mix in the centre of town, not in their own quarters on the fringes, as in other French cities. The band has raised the profile of the popular but little known tradition of Catalan rumba, which is less dramatic than Andalusian flamenco but which has had its stars including Péret, the Gypsy Kings and Pata Negra.
The band's members - Antoine "Tato" Garcia (guitar, vocals), Sabrina Romero (vocals, dance, cajon), Guillaume Bouthié (double bass), Majid Benyagoub (vocals, derbouka), Chris Mailhe (congas, percussion) and Caroline Bourgenot (violin) - impressed festival-goers with their multiple talents. Each of the members could perform with any group on the power of their voices alone, yet each demonstrates an extraordinary prowess on their instruments as well. And then there is Romero, whose spectacular dancing might be called the band's secret weapon. Her dancing is an expression of passion and wildness that is at once demonic and marvelous.
Author: Bálint Kovács
