ARCHIVED - 19th to 27th July 2019 Mar de Músicas Festival in Cartagena

A diverse range of music in Cartagena, with many free concerts in this programme

Mar de Músicas returns for its 2019 edition between the 19th and 27th July, this year with invited guest nation Portugal adding a varied selection of artists to the diverse programme of entertainment.

The core concerts in the programme are offered either in well-priced season, or abono blocks, or as single tickets, with the concerts split into two separate bargain lots depending on the venue and the majority of the remaining concerts are free of charge.

This year there are less well-known names for expats,although there are still plenty of free open-air concerts for those who enjoy exploring different styles of music and attending this type of festival.

The following names may be more familiar to foreign visitors than some of the Portugese artists in the programme and are worth investigating. On the individual articles for each event youtube videos have been loaded for every artist. Links are provided below to this separate page for each day as loading them all on this article would make the page loading time unworkable.

Concerts of possible interest to foreigners.

19th July; Marlon Williams from New Zealand (known as the Maori Elvis his concert in 2018 was cancelled due to clash of schedule).

20th July; Olafur Arnalds from Iceland

21st July; Kamasi Washington from the USA (Jazz)

21st July; Pianist Rui Massena

22nd July; Salif Keita from Mali

25th July; Jazz combo Toquinho, Silvia Pérez Cruz and Javier Collina( some readers may have seen them at the San Javier Jazz Festival)

27th July Flamenco artists Kiki, Estrella and Soléa Morente

Detailed information about the venues and the ticketing points of sale can be found at the bottom of the programme below and videos of each artist can be viewed by clicking onto the separate article for each day of the festival shown below.

Link to online ticketing page: Mar de Músicas 2019

Season tickets:

350 season tickets are sold for ALL of the concerts in the Auditorio Parque Torres priced at 80 euros.

200 season tickets are sold for ALL of the concerts in the Patio of the CIM building, priced at 50 euros.

NB: The concert by Salif Keita in El Batel is NOT included in the packages, although tickets are reduced from 18 to 10 euros for those who have purchased one of the season ticket (abono) packages and wish to include this concert. These additional tickets can only be purchased from the box offices of El Batel or the Nuevo Teatro Circo.

These can be purchased, along with single tickets,  via redentradas.com

Click here for season tickets link 2019: Abonos Mar de Músicas 2019

Link to online ticketing page, single concert purchases: Mar de Músicas 2019

Telephone ticket sales: Via 968 10 81 81 between Monday and Friday from 10:00 to 14:00.

Other sale points:

From 21st May onwards the festival office in the Centro Cultural Ramón Alonso Luzzy will open for ticket sales in situ.

Reservations can be made by telephone on 968 12 88 68, as well as in the offices of the festival in the Centro Cultural Ramón Alonso Luzzy, between Monday and Friday from 10:00 to 14:00. (Click Centro Cultural Ramón Alonso Luzzy)

Any remaining tickets are sold at the box offices located by the entrance of the concert venues two hours before the performances. There are generally tickets available other than for the major sell-out acts.

Other ticketing venues:

Via the self-service terminal in the tourist office on the side of the Palacio Consistorial(Plaza del Ayuntamiento) in Cartagena using a credit card in situ. This is open from Monday to Saturday between 10:00 and 14:00, and 17:00 to 19:00, as well as on Sundays from 10:30 to 13:30.

El Soldadito de Plomo Calle Príncipe de Vergara, 5.
Cash payments only between 11.00 and 23.00 daily

Zafiro Tours Calle Capitanes Ripoll, 2.
Cash payments only : Monday to Friday from 09.30 to 13.30 and 17.00 to 20.30
Saturdays from 10.00 to 13.00

Zafiro Tours Calle Real, 34.
Cash payments only; Monday to Friday from 09.30 to 13.30 and 17.00 to 20.30. Saturdays from 10.00 to 13.00 .

Venues:

The main paid venues are the open-air auditorium in Parque Torres, the El Batel auditorium, and the internal patio of the CIM building, the Facultad de Ciencias de la empresa.

The main free venues are in front of the town hall (Palacio Consistorial) in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, in the Plaza alongside the CIM building, and in the port area, alongside the El Batel auditorium.

Some of the events in the Parque Torres are followed by a second concert in the “Castillo Árabe”, an open space inside the park behind the Auditorium. Most of these second events don’t start until well after one o’clock in the morning, so check when purchasing tickets as you may get two, or even three concerts for the price of one. These “second” events can only be accessed with a ticket to the first. The Castillo Árabe can only be accessed via the auditorium in the Parque Torres.
Venue map links:

Auditorio Parque Torres and Castillo Arabe, click for Auditorio Parque Torres and Castillo Arabe

Auditorio El Batel, click for Auditorio El Batel

CIM building; Click for CIM Cartagena

Plaza del Ayuntamiento, click for Plaza del Ayuntamiento

Plaza San Francisco, click Plaza San Francisco

For more information about Cartagena in English go to the dedicated Cartagena section

Outline programme Mar de Músicas 2019 (videos on individual links from each day)

Friday 19th July:

Click for individual videos
20:00 in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. The first of the free concerts of this festival featuring Pongo from Portugal – Angola.
21:30 Marlon Williams from New Zealand.
Tickets 10 euros.
Described as the “Maori Elvis”, Williams was scheduled to perform in Cartagena last year, but was forced to cancel the concert due to changes in a filming schedule. He’s a very talented performer, with an empathetic style, memorable presence and melodic melodies. Very much a concert which should appeal to the expat population.


23:00 Eliza Soares from Brazil
Mon Laferte from Chile
Tickets 25 euros
Venue: Open-air auditorium Parque Torres
This concert is followed by a second concert in the Castillo Árabe, behind the auditorium in the park, which is free entry and only for ticket holders. This features Mayra Andrade from Portugal- Cabo Verde.

Saturday 20th July

Click here to see individual videos
20:00 Free concert in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento featuring Lorena Álvarez from Spain

21:30 Luísa Sobral from Portugal in the Patio of the CIM building. Tickets 10 euros.

23:00 Ólafur Arnalds from Iceland followed by the Orquesta Akokán from Cuba in the open-air auditorium Parque Torres.
Tickets 28 euros.
This concert is followed by a second concert in the Castillo Árabe, behind the auditorium in the park, which is free entry and only for ticket holders. This features Conan Osiris from Portugal.
 

Sunday 21st July

Click to see individual artist videos
20:00 Free concert in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento featuring Miss Bolivia from Argentina

21:30 Rui Massena from Portugal in the Patio of the CIM building. Tickets 10 euros.
23:00 Kamasi Washington from the USA in the open-air auditorium of the Parque Torres.
Tickets 25 euros.
 

Monday 22nd July

Click to see individual artist videos
20:00 Free concert in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento with Dino D’Santiago from Portugal
20:30 Free concert in the Plaza of the CIM building featuring Río Viré from Spain.
21:30 António Zambujo from Portugal in the patio of the CIM building. Tickets 10 euros.

23:00 Salif Keita from Mali in the El Batel Auditorium. Tickets 18 euros.

Tuesday 23rd July

Click to see individual artist videos

20:30 Free concert in the Plaza of the CIM building featuring Moody Sake from Spain.
20:00 Free concert in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento with Pascuala Ilabaca y Fauna from Chile
21:30 Dead Combo from Portugal in the patio of the CIM building. Tickets 10 euros

23:00 Mariza from Portugal- Mozambique in the open-air auditorium of the Parque Torres.
Tickets 25 euros.

Wednesday 24th July

Click to see individual artist videos
A night of free concerts:

20:00 Free concert in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento with Fanfare Ciocarlia from Rumania
20:30 Free concert in the Plaza of the CIM building featuring La Tribu29 from Spain.

21:30 Lina and Raül Refree from Portugal in the patio of the CIM building. Free entry.
22:00 Snarky Puppy from the USA and Trending Tropics from Puerto Rico perform in the Paseo del Puerto, which is the large decked area alongside the El Batel Auditorium. Free entry.
 

Thursday 25th July

Click to see individual artist videos
20:00 Free concert in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento with Gaye su Akyol from Turkey
20:30 Free concert in the Plaza of the CIM building featuring Mavica from Spain.
21:30 Maria de Medeiros and Legendary Tigerman from Portugal in the patio of the CIM building. Tickets 10 euros.
23:00 Toquinho, Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Javier Colina from Brazil- Spain plus Ana Moura from Portugal in the open-air auditorium of the Parque Torres.
Tickets 25 euros.

Friday 26th July

Click to see individual artist videos

20:00 Free concert in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento with FRA from Ghana.
20:30 Free concert in the Plaza of the CIM building featuring Claim from Spain.
21:30 El Niño de Elche in the patio of the CIM building. Tickets 10 euros.
23:00 Los Hermanos Cubero from Spain followed by Amaia, also from Spain in the open-air auditorium Parque Torres.
Tickets 25 euros.
This concert is followed by a second concert in the Castillo Árabe, behind the auditorium in the park, which is free entry and only for ticket holders. This features Fumaca Preta from Portugal- Venezuela- UK.
 

Saturday 27th July

Click to see individual artist videos
20:00 Free concert in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento with Kyekyeku and Ghanalogue Highlife from Ghana.
21:30 Mulatu Astatke from Ethiopia in the patio of the CIM building. Tickets 10 euros.
23:00 “The night of the Morentes”
Kiki Morente and Estrella Morente from Spain in the open-air auditorium Parque Torres.
Tickets 30 euros.
This concert is followed by a second concert in the Castillo Árabe, behind the auditorium in the park, which is free entry and only for ticket holders who have attended the first concert. This features Soleá Morente who has adopted a more poppy approach to her music than the other members of her famous flamenco family.

For more information about Cartagena, go to the dedicated Cartagena section, accessed via the map at the bottom of every page.

Join the Mar Menor group on Facebook for info about Los Alcázares, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar, Torre Pacheco, La Unión and Cartagena and keep up to date with all the latest news and events in the Mar Menor: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MarMenorNewsAndEvents/

CLICK HERE to receive the FREE weekly What's on round up of events around the Murcia region sent every Friday (select news or what's on or subscribe to both).

CLICK HERE to go to the What's on section of Murcia Today showing events in date order