Young musicians unite to promote obscure local talent in Marbella

Young and brash, Marbella’s independent musical talent may be about to receive a kickstart. Marbella boasts an abundance of local musicians and artists striving to develop the city’s creative community, an aspect that some artists say the city neglects in favor of the beach, the money and international celebrities.

Among the younger faces trying to give independent local musicians a voice, there is Kiko Trujillo, one of the founders of the Enclave of the Sun (Enclave del Sol), an association established earlier this year to encourage the creation of places in Marbella for professional and amateur musicians to gather. Trujillo is setting up the organisation along with two other young local musicians, Francisco Gambero and José Antonio Barranquero.

‘We know that in Marbella there are many wonderful musicians, but so far we have no means of locating them’, Trujillo believes. ‘The problem here is that local musical culture is promoted very little in Marbella. That is why this organisation was born.’

The three musicians first thought of the idea in September 2009 while studying together in the music workshop at the San Pedro Arts and Culture facility. They realised that most local musical talent remains hidden away when it could be cultivated. They believe that the reason for the obscurity of the city’s musicians is that there is no common municipal space for them, thus nowhere for them to congregate and make their presence or talents known.

The first thing for them to do, Trujillo says, is to find that common space, an area funded by the city or non-profit sources where local musicians can perform and the public can hear them.

As the group begins, it is operating a web blog, and Trujillo says the group is planning performances, seminars, and expositions for local musicians.

The key distinction of the Enclave is that it will support all styles of music produced in Marbella and its immediate environs, with just one condition – it must be independent music, nothing backed by commercial interests. ‘The commercial does not need support because it already has more than enough’, Trujillo said.

The Enclave applied to the Provincial Register of Associations in Málaga in November and received approval to raise funds in February. That was a necessary first step toward being able to publicise and seek support, whether from government cultural agencies or private, non-profit arts groups.

Although Trujillo acknowledges that most communities in Spain feel a similar need, the Enclave will remain purely local in its focus for the time being. Before too long, however, Marbella’s local musical culture may spread throughout Spain, with Enclave del Sol as its origin. 

John Grimmett

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