WOMAD

San Lazaro

From Australia

“The best Latin album I have heard this year.” - Felix Reible, The Cat EmpireSan Lazaro is a 9 piece original band playing Afro-Cuban inspired music with a distinctly grinding sound, incorporating elements of Hip-hop, Reggaeton and Cumbia. This soulfully driven outfit from Melbourne are breaking the stereotypes and testing the boundaries of Salsa.Their debut album ‘Mestizos Urbanos’ (urban people of mixed races) is a direct reflection of the bands intention to be faithful to their roots whilst embracing their influences. They share a strong heritage in the performance of traditional styles of Latin music, which acts as a binding element used to re-enforce the youthful musical experimentation unique to San Lazaro.In essence, San Lazaro play uplifting dance music, celebratory of the good things in life whilst acknowledging and paying homage to true multiculturalism and real life issues both past and present.Band HistoryIn 2002 percussionist Lazare Agneskis returned from an extended stay in Cuba, where he had fallen in love with the raw swing and African soul of Cuban music.He returned to Australia determined to establish a band that would recreate these qualities. With this in mind, a wealth of well traveled multicultural Australians were recruited to San Lazaro, including guitarists Steven Silk and Oscar Poncell as well as conga player Sebastian Orellana who all carry the residue of time spent in Santiago de Chile, as well as Franchesco Viran, Bob Knob and Nasrine Rahmani who are all grounded by extended time spent in Havana, Cuba. Keko’s voice is sonically rich, supported by a rhythmically strong back line and horn duo Elisha Maiyah and Lachlan McLean. Together they lend the San Lazaro sound a timeless raw soul combined with a youthful freshness that is irresistible to dance to. San Lazaro the name and its meaning….During the times of slavery in Cuba, praise to the African (Nigerian) Yoruba Orishas (saints) was often disguised as prayer to the Catholic saints.San Lazaro (Saint Lazarus in English) is the catholic parallel of the Orisha “Babalu Aye” from the Yoruba religion called Santeria.San Lazaro is a deity of the sick and the poor and is considered a healer of physical and spiritual pain. As protectors of the most humble, the sick and the needy, Babalu Aye and San Lazaro hold a special place for all Cubans.One of the main roads running parallel to the Malecon waterfront in Havana is named after San Lazaro. It is on this street that we the band San Lazaro have found our name. Some of us have lived on this street, been treated for our own illnesses in hospitals there, studied music there, laughed, cried and sunk many a bottle of rum its in crumbling apartments.