Gipsy kings, the traditional French group with Spanish ancestry, is getting ready to perform a single concert in our country, where it promises to make its loyal fans dance. We talked with Andre Reyes, the founder, composer and voice of the original band that is considered a legend of flamenco rumba with more than 30 years of success on stage. They are presented this November 17 in the Exhibition Park.
Los Gipsy Kings is a group that sings in Spanish with southern French dialects. His music is a mix between flamenco, pop and Catalan rumba and the sales of his records are estimated at more than 60 million copies worldwide.
The group was born in the late sixties and their first album, called Alegría, was released in 1982. Their sound is characterized by flamenco, pop and Catalan rumba, mixing and innovating with the creation of new sounds from the influences.
“I am very happy to do this tour with my band and happy to meet the public of Peru. We’re going to have a big party. They are going to have a very happy time with the classic songs and also with the new songs from our new album”, said André, one of the greatest exponents of flamenco rumba who, with his group, popularized ‘Bamboleo’, Djobi, Djoba’ and ‘ Baila y baila’, among other hits that went around the world.
—In an interview you commented that the band was created to dance. How did you experience the lockdown?
—We have played from home, we have played through videos. It was a very difficult subject. Two years of pandemic, locked up, it has been very strong and difficult. But always in mind we knew that we would get out of this and that we would continue with the tour to travel the world. And now we have Peru. All in all, I am happy to have passed the pandemic. For all the artists in the world it has been very difficult”.
And although the group has permeated more than a generation, Reyes acknowledges with considerable satisfaction that, at present, it has a large legion of followers. “They love the Gipsy Kings. At our concerts we enjoy witnessing how they enjoy what we give them. Our music has transcended the passage of time”, he says, adding that at his concert in Peru he will show his album entitled Nací gitano, which has ten unreleased songs and from which La Negra already plays.
—Without a doubt, there are themes that have passed from generation to generation. Why do you think this popular flamenco rumba has transcended the passage of time despite the foreign rhythms that invade us?
For the theme of the songs that are melodies to tell. It’s something that lives and maybe I can’t explain how people like it so much.
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