"Gipsy Kings" is synchronized with "Hardh Fest" in the tradition spectacle

With the slogan "For a grain of fun", the "Grape Fest" festival has held its tenth edition in Rahovec for three days, but with a 23-year tradition. The musical evenings are one segment of the Festival, and on the stage on Saturday night the world-renowned band "Gipsy Kings" brought the iconic hits. The common denominator among the event group is tradition, and the spectacle on stage has been a kind of synchronization between the music passed down through the generations and the tradition of grape cultivation and processing. The band members on the stage of the event, which breathes on a long legacy, have proven themselves as kings of their music

If "Hardh Festi" were to compile a list of names or musical groups that synchronize with his spirit, "Gipsy Kings" would be somewhere at the top of it. Tradition is what unites them. First, it preserves and promotes the cultivation and processing of grapes, its transmission to the new generation, and the iconic group has long since turned the legacy of music into a mission and practice for the descendants and within the family. The rest is history. The concert spectacle. The next synchronization is also the one with this year's slogan, "For a scarf".

The group with a 45-year history has changed formations over the years, the name has remained the same, but there is something beyond that. He keeps his breath, sounds the same as when he was at his peak and when his name was written in gold.

It was also written in golden letters on the sign of the "Hardh Fest" stage, which caught fire and smoke as soon as the "army" of the group came on stage, on Saturday night, on the second night of the jubilee edition, formally the tenth, but since a decade ago he continued to format what was started 13 years ago.

First it was fogged with the effects of smoke, then it "caught fire". The performance of "Gipsy..." was fiery. Immediately recognizable, yes, even for those who have only a superficial knowledge of music. The music of a formation like this, officially founded in 1979 in France, is a kind of "soundtrack" of its genre, officially a mixture of traditional flamenco, rumba, salsa and pop. Or, in fact, it could be named as the "Gipsy Kings" genre, because they are now the kings of what they once created and inherited from others. Those who today intend to keep the title of "kings" are the sons or grandsons of those who founded it.

Six guitarists, a bass guitarist, a drummer, a percussionist and a pianist have been the formation with which the group has ignited the public with iconic hits.

Diego Baliardo: "We are connecting people with our music"

The appearance on the stage was frantic, the synchronization of the instrumentalists is proof that the music flowed in their veins. It only takes a "strumming" as the flamenco style technique is called, for the audience to know that the stage is for "Gipsy Kings". "A nuestra manera" - as written on the pano toc with the band's name and that of Diego Baliardo as leader - is the title of the band's tour. In simple translation, it reads "In our way". "Their way" is constant.

"Los Reyes" was the name under which the former members became a tok in the 70s, the current one dates from 1987 under the leadership of Baliardo and Reyes family members. At that time he released two albums: "Allegria" in 1982 and "Luna de Fuego" a year later. But he reached the peak of success with the third, which was named after the name of the group, published in 1987. It includes the songs "Djobi Djoba", "Bamboléo" and "Un Amor".

The first two have echoed in "Hardh Fest". They also brought their version of the song "Volare" by the Italian Domenico Modugno. "Allegria" and "Baila me" brought the "dance" rhythms and made the audience sing along with them.

The leader of the band now is the guitarist Diego Baliardo. After the concert, he said that it is time for young people to take over the group and inherit the musical spirit of their ancestors.

"It's always a family system, there are sons and nephews of the founders of the band. Then every concert for us is the subject of our heart. We are traveling the world and connecting people with our music. It's always fun to find new countries that weren't even countries at the time when 'Gipsy Kings' were making hits, like Kosovo," said Baliardo, 73, who grew up playing the guitar with his brothers. with whom he founded the group "Gipsy Kings".

Baliardo told TIME that it was a pleasure to see how they dance to their songs which date back to before they existed. According to him, the formula for songs to stand the test of time is simple.

"The principle is simple. It's all about the heart, if you do what you love you don't think about how you will do it. It has nothing to do with the brain, but with the heart, if in it, as the blood pumps, so does the music, then it will survive for a long time", he said further.

The image of the festival in tourism promotion

The image of the authentic festival related to the city's culture of grape growing and processing is almost the same in every edition. Even one of the three evenings, which are reserved for musical entertainment, is the same picture. Long is the line of cars that is a kind of guide to the location of the event.

Cars parked on both sides of the road, kilometers away from the place where the Festival is held, and people making the way on foot, are proof of the interest and large number of participants in the event. But the whole landscape is revealed upon arrival there and the crowd of hundreds of people is testimony to the lovers of the Festival.

The stage with colorful lights and the Festival logo at the top is the first thing that catches the eye. Next to it are arranged the stands of the "Wine Fair" where wine producers serve the attendees and demonstrate their processing. As it goes on, the entire area where the Festival has taken place is getting more and more crowded.

The performance of "Gipsy Kings" was preceded by DJ Enndzi, who mixed local and world hits.

Then the singer Shkumbin Ismaili came on stage. He sang his well-known songs "Se ç'mu desh", "Don't accuse me", "Once", "Only you", "I don't forgive", "This heart is not a stone", "I want to be with you" ” and “Did you tell me yourself”. With the interpretation of "Albania, my mother" the audience sang in unison and concluded his performance with it.

For the singer and lyricist Ismaili, it was the first time he performed on the stage of "Hardh Fest". He said that it was a special experience and that the audience was loving.

"It was a great pleasure. In this beautifully organized festival, it was my pleasure to perform and the audience was incredible. Like every time I'm in Kosovo, I feel very good and tonight the same thing happened and this makes me feel very good and come more often. For me, the greatest pleasure is when the audience sings with me and I try to make the audience feel as good as possible. A special feeling, I believe that only an artist on stage can express it", he said after the concert to KOĖN.

The festival has traditionally opened with the cutting of the grape vine on Friday morning. The activities have included discussions, demonstrations of grape processing and product display at the Fair of Grapes, Wine, Brandy and Gastronomy.

The director of the Festival, Agron Sokoli, said that the main goal of "Hardh Fest" is the promotion of tourism.

"In the three-year strategy that we have, we always change by promoting cultural heritage and now we have understood and are working in that direction that tourism and vines are a phenomenal combination and I hope it reaches that good point for us to understand. We managed to bring many internationals and currently 40 percent of those who come to the festival  they are international", said Sokoli.

It has shown that about forty businesses were exhibited at the Summer Fair.

"There are about forty wineries and hotel businesses. It is a very good economic impact for Rahovec, because it is a plain country and that revives for three days in Rahovec", he said.

On the first night, in addition to local artists, the former leader of the rock band "Guns n' Roses", American guitarist, lyricist and producer Ronald Jay Blumenthal, with the stage name "Bumblefoot", also performed. On the same evening, the Greek George Gakis also performed, who two years ago was one of the names of the Festival in the same edition where one of the most famous names in rock, Kip Winger, had performed. Apart from Gakis, the group "403" and Arsi Bako with band also performed.

On Sunday, the last day of the Festival, the poetry class "Xhevdet Bajraj" was held in honor of the poet who died two years ago. In fact, Bajraj was the one who baptized the Festival and his poetry is a kind of spirit of "Hardh Fest". Honoring Bajraj has already become a tradition. His friends, colleagues and admirers usually gather in the yard of his house and there the wife of the famous poet, Vjollca Bajraj, who has arrived from Mexico this year, is waiting for them.

"Hardh Fest" has closed the jubilee edition with the concert with local artists such as Dren Abazi, "NRG Band" and Nita Latifi. This year "Vine Fest" has completed a decade since it was formatted as an event, but which has a tradition of almost a quarter of a century.

This year the edition was organized on September 1, 2 and 3 with the slogan "Touch the grape, taste the vein". This year, wine and rakia were watched together with the music of famous names. "Gipsy Kings" has already entered the history of "Hardh Fest" and the tradition continues.