Ik´Balam

June 16, 2023 @ 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm

We have the privilege of hosting the great Mexican musician, composer, and arranger Ik’Balam in a very special concert. This performer is a true master of the requinto jarocho, an instrument that has historically been relegated to the world of traditional music. However, in the hands of Ik’Balam, this instrument reaches a different dimension by incorporating it into the context of jazz. For Ik’Balam, music is a whole and should not be divided into genres and styles. He believes that the labels used to categorize music respond more to commercialization than to understanding how music is practiced in different parts of the world. Ik’Balam was the first musician in Mexico to graduate from a jazz academic program with the requinto jarocho, and his three albums are evidence of his pioneering work that reverses cultural segregation by demonstrating the universality of traditional Mexican instruments, presenting them in new and diverse contexts.

Additionally, Ik’Balam is also the author of the book “Musical Identities. Similarities between jazz and the son jarocho,” published in 2021 by the University of Guadalajara Press (Mexico). In this concert, the musician will be accompanied by the talented Helio Martín del Campo on the jarana (a plucked string instrument) and Juan Galván on the leona (an instrument that serves as the bass), both musicians of son jarocho. It will be an unforgettable night full of exciting musical fusions that you can’t miss. Tickets will be available for 10€ at the box office on the day of the event.