Natalia Lafourcade brilla en la apertura de la 30 edición de La Mar de Músicas

The 30th edition of the festival La Mar de M�sicas, dedicated to South Korea, is here. The event organized by the City Council of Cartagena started on Friday, July 18th with its over 40 concerts, featuring Leenalchi, the Korean band par excellence in the blend of tradition and modernity. Next, it was the turn of one of the most important voices in African music, Salif Keita. A Paco Mart�n Auditorium at Parque Torres full of people welcomed the Mexican Natalia Lafourcade, the Latin artist with the most Grammy awards. The concert was attended by the Mayor, Noelia Arroyo, who was accompanied by the Regional Culture Councillor, Carmen Conesa, as well as other members of the Corporation.

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After Lafourcade, it was the turn of Queralt Lahoz, one of the singers with the most promising future in the national music scene. Closing the first night was Jambinai, the Korean group that blends the country’s traditional music with post-rock and metal. All the information about the event is available at www.lamardemusicas.cartagena.es

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NATALIA LAFOURCADE

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If we talk about talent and passion in Latin American music, the name Natalia Lafourcade shines brightly. She is the Latin artist with the most Grammy awards, with four Anglo-Saxon awards and 18 in the Latin edition. «She is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in Spanish music,» explained Eugenio Gonz�lez, the director of the La Mar de M�sicas festival. With an impressive career, she merges genres and emotions that go straight to the soul. The audience, who filled the Parque Torres Auditorium, connected with the artist from the first song.

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She was in the lineup for La Mar de M�sicas 2007, when she was taking her first steps, and we were doing a Mexico Special. Unfortunately, she couldn’t attend. Since then, the festival has had a pending date with her. In 2025, she opened the festival at the Paco Mart�n Auditorium, with sold-out tickets, where she presented her new album ‘Cancionera’, where Natalia bridges the gap between the intimate and the universal.

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SALIF KEITA

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If we talk about legends of African music, Salif Keita is one of its most prominent figures. This Malian singer and composer has been a key figure in spreading African sounds around the world. And the best part is that, at 75 years old, known as the «Golden Voice of Africa», he is a true icon of Mandingo music. The artist returns to Cartagena after receiving the La Mar de M�sicas award in 2019. The concert opened at the stage located in the courtyard of the former CIM, of the Technical University of Cartagena (UPCT).

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His career has been marked not only by his incredible musical talent, but also by his advocacy for the integration of albino individuals. In 2025, Salif is back with a new album titled ‘So Kono’, which in Mandingo means «inside the chamber, inside the room,» an acoustic album where the artist returns to his roots and shares intimate moments with his guitar.

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QUERALT LAHOZ

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Queralt Lahoz is one of the artists with the most present and future in the entire national music scene. Displaying one of the most groundbreaking and attractive proposals of the moment, she also extends her growing fame beyond our borders. It’s the third time that the artist has performed at La Mar de M�sicas, and she did so by engaging with the festival audience, who couldn’t stop dancing with the singer.

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In her music, crossed by Latin, roots, and urban sounds, genres like soul, hip hop, or dancehall gracefully and naturally dialogue on an aura of coplas and boleros that emerge spontaneously from her flamenco origins and personal landscapes. The artist relies on the genealogy of the working women in her life and her suburban childhood to draw a flowery bridge between the past, present, and future that gives her music an unmistakable character.

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LEENALCHI and JAMBINAI

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Korean music will be present at the La Mar de M�sicas festival from the first day. The Ayuntamiento square welcomed, with free access, Leenalchi, the South Korean group that has achieved a surprising combination: they take the traditional Korean music pansori (a traditional Korean lyrical song in which a story is told and all the characters are presented through the voice of the singer) and merge it with funk, pop, and electronic sounds. The result is a fresh, catchy, and totally addictive style.

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The first night of the festival concluded at the Arab Castle with Jambinai, who amazed everyone with their fusion of traditional Korean instruments and music, post-rock, and metal. The band is formed by three friends who met at the Korea National University of Arts and decided to join their paths creating an addictive and fascinating music. A post-rock band, but not limited to the fixed structure of guitar-drums-bass, they introduced instruments from Korean folk music such as haegum, piri, and geomungo.

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The detailed schedule of the La Mar de M�sicas festival, including the concerts, the literary activities of La Mar de Letras, or the workshops that will be held at the Ram�n Alonso Luzzy Cultural Center, are available on the website www.lamardemusicas.com

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