Spain-based Zimbabwean singer, Tina Masawi, is set to perform at the 2024 La Mercè, the largest and most colourful festival in the city of Barcelona's festival calendar.
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| Tina Masawi |
The festival is said to date back to 1868. After Pope Pius IX had declared the Virgin of Mercy the patron saint of the city, festivities in her honour were started each year in September. On an initiative of the politician Francesc Cambó, the festivities were turned into a major festival in 1902, which still serves as a model for almost all city or town festivals in Catalonia.
We caught up with Tina Masawi to talk about her upcoming experience in Barcelona:
How does it feel to be performing at La Mercè?
Tina Masawi: Wow I can’t even believe that that’s me on the posters. It’s surreal. The festival is a huge deal and I managed to go for the first time exactly a year ago because normally I am away on gigs all summer and miss a lot of the festivals. I attended Pongo’s concert and immediately said “Next year I am gonna be on that stage” and just like that a few months later they contacted me to bring my band with me and here we are!
What are you looking forward to most about the experience?
Tina Masawi: So excited to perform my original music and reach a whole new audience as well as my super supporters that come to every show they can, wherever it is. Being on stage with talented musicians is a dream come true for me. Hopefully, this will open doors to even bigger stages for all of us.
What has been the most difficult thing about pursuing a career in music in Spain and what has been most rewarding?
Tina Masawi: The biggest for me is the fact that I am a female in the industry, there are very few of us and I would like to have the opportunity to collaborate with more female producers, singers, musicians etc. Apart from the normal challenges an independent artist faces during their career, I have worked very hard to create a name for myself in a foreign land and the response has been overwhelming in the most positive way.
I feel at home every time I perform because the audience has been so receptive to my sound even though it is very different from what is mainstream here. It’s just given me more confidence to explore my creativity and not be afraid to release music even when I don’t even know how anyone would respond to it.
Using her voice as a tool for change, Tina Masawi has been trailblazing the local music in Spain. The singer's most recent release is a speech that pleads for the fair treatment of migrants, and she seems equally at home singing in multiple languages (English, Shona, and Spanish). In 2022 she performed at Real Madrid star, Dani Carvajal's wedding.
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