Charlie Smith
AN award-winning festival held in a small, rural village high in the stunning Alpujarra mountains is set to return for its fifth year next month.
Me Vuelves Lorca, named after Granada poet and playwright, Federico Garcia Lorca, is a 9-day event, run by British-born Anna Kemp, in the village of Laroles (Nevada), that aims to emulate Lorca’s work immersing rural communities in culture.
The festival is held in a beautiful, handcrafted stone amphitheatre which was built by the local community in 2013 around an ancient corn-threshing circle.
Inspired by childhood holidays at the Minack theatre in Cornwall, Anna, who studied English at Oxford before moving to Spain, started the project in collaboration with the local ayuntamiento, as a catalyst for a new kind of tourism in a place threatened by depopulation.
Run by an ever-growing group of volunteers from the local community and beyond, the festival prides itself on its top-quality programme.
The main attraction this year is a week-long artists’ residency by theatre company La Rueda Teatro Social, which will ‘work with residents’.
Local people will offer their stories and memories, collaborating with the Madrid-based group to develop a play to be performed in Laroles amphitheatre on August 10.
A stripped back acoustic set by award-winning Spanish singer, Carmen Paris will open the festival on August 2, before iconic 10-piece Madrid jazz band, Mastretta hit the stage the following night.
Madrid swing academy, Big South, will also host dancing workshops, while other performers include swing band Enric Peidro Swingtet; theatre group A Panadaría; and comedians Jamming on tour.
Me Vuelves Lorca runs in Laroles from August 2-10 and tickets start at around €12 from www.mevuelveslorca.com
