- For the first time, Plaza de la Candelaria will host a free Festival Internacional de Cine de Tenerfe open-air concert dedicated to the music from the films of director Quentin Tarantino. 

Today, Santa Cruz City Council presented the concert that will kick off the nineteenth edition of the Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife (FIMUCITÉ) on Saturday, June 7th, at 9:00 p.m. The free concert, "Tarantino Unchained. Volume 2," by the Pop Culture Band, will be held outdoors at Plaza de la Candelaria. An unprecedented event in the Tenerife capital, it marks the start of this festival, a world leader in its genre, created and directed by composer and conductor Diego Navarro, which will run until July 12th.

The mayor emphasised the importance of Fimucité to the city's cultural life and noted that "Santa Cruz once again becomes a great stage for film music. This free opening open-air concert shows our commitment to accessible, high-quality culture. Therefore, we invite the public and visitors alike to enjoy this great celebration".

FIMUCITÉ composer and director Diego Navarro broke down the festival's schedule, which runs from July 7th to 12th, noting that "this production will feature an extraordinary band on stage, a fantastic production, and Cristina Ramos as a soloist. This is an opportunity to enjoy the great soundtracks of Italian film, written by geniuses".

Turismo de Tenerife CEO Dimple Melwani stated that "tourism promotion is getting us  very good results, and FIMUCITÉ, the world's longest-running film music festival, is proof of this, providing us with a quality experience that brings many positives to the island of Tenerife and our capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife."

For her part, Purificación Dávila, Councilor for the Centro-Ifara District, emphasised the event's value not only as a cultural event but also as a boost for the urban environment. "Seeing Plaza de la Candelaria transformed into a grand stage for a show of this magnitude is a source of pride. The district continues to strive to bring culture to the streets and to make it accessible to all audiences," Dávila stated.

Also present at this presentation were the Councilors for Culture and Festivals, Santiago Díaz Mejías and Javier Caraballero, respectively.

The event will be a two-hour concert in which the audience can dance to a musical selection dedicated to Quentin Tarantino's films, including songs such as "Little Green Bag" from his debut film, "Reservoir Dogs"; "Misirlou," the iconic song performed by Dick Dale from the opening credits of "Pulp Fiction"; "Woo Hoo" from "Kill Bill Vol. 1", and "Across 110th Street" from “Jackie Brown”, among others.

The show will also feature guest soloist Cristina Ramos, internationally renowned for her vocal versatility and ability to blend diverse genres such as opera, rock, pop, and Latin music; and other singers such as Zuleyma Medina, Estefanía Rodríguez, Carlos Ortega, Héctor Quintero, and Juan de Araoz Álamo.

Under the artistic and musical direction of guitarist Gonzalo de Araoz, the Pop Culture Band is made up of Francisco J. Díaz (guitar), Juan de Araoz Álamo (guitar), Daniel Lukacs (bass), Siddharta Dorta (drums), Nuria Herrero (percussion), David González Álvarez (keyboards), Luis Cuan Amieva (saxophone), Elio Rodnell Bignotte (trumpet) and Cristo Rubens Delgado Bautista (trombone).

The audience will be able to come along dressed as characters from the Tarantino universe, joining in a themed party that will culminate with a DJ set by NAGOBA. A percussionist, composer, and music producer, NAGOBA began his musical studies at the age of 8 and took his first steps as a DJ over a decade ago. He is currently completing his training, specialising in composition, at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias, while exploring new ways to connect with audiences and convey his passion for music in his sets.

This concert marks the start of a very special edition of FIMUCITÉ, dedicated to Italy and its cultural legacy. It includes an extensive program of concerts, open-air cinema, and master classes, consolidating Tenerife as an international benchmark in film music.

Programme
The Banda Municipal de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife will perform a second free open-air concert on Saturday, June 14th, this time in the Plaza del Príncipe. Under the theme "From Fellini to Tornatore: The Music of Italian Cinema," the program will include representative works from Italian cinema, composed by geniuses such as Ennio Morricone, Nicola Piovani, and Nino Rota, for film classics such as The Mission, Life is Beautiful, Cinema Paradiso, and The Godfather saga.

That same day, the "Percussionists of the Big Screen" concert will take place in El Hierro, at the Cine de Frontera, featuring the Grupo de Percusión del Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, an ensemble of students from this speciality, under the baton of Emilio Díaz, who will perform great soundtracks from the history of cinema. This event will be repeated on Wednesday, July 2nd, at the headquarters of Fundación CajaCanarias in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

On Thursday, July 3rd, FIMUCITÉ will offer the concert "Cinema e Paradiso" at the Teatro Leal in La Laguna. This is a must-see for film and music lovers: an unforgettable journey through the great scores of Italian cinema. The program will be performed by soloists from the Orquesta Italiana del Cinema, once conducted by Ennio Morricone, along with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Tenerife, and will feature the legendary Pino Donaggio, a cult composer for director Brian de Palma.

In addition, it will feature star soloist Héctor Ulises Pasarella, one of the best bandoneon players in the world, original soloist on the score of Il Postino (The Postman).

To round off the concert programme, FIMUCITÉ 19 pays tribute to the history and culture of Ancient Rome with a unique new live-to-picture show: Gladiator in concert. Conducted by Diego Navarro, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Tenerife will perform the acclaimed soundtrack to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning feature film live at the Tenerife Auditorium on July 11th and 12th, alongside the film, which will be screened in English with Spanish subtitles.

He will be joined on stage by the festival's official choir, the Tenerife Film Choir, conducted by Juan Ramón Vinagre, along with the voices of the Coro Contemporáneo de Tenerife, conducted by Esther Wagenaar, and Coro EnArmonía, conducted by Miriam Luz Fumero Morales and Esther Wagenaar. Of particular note is the participation of Australian artist Lisa Gerrard, co-author of the Gladiator soundtrack with Hans Zimmer, whose iconic voice is prominent throughout the score, especially the iconic song "Now We Are Free."

Open-Air Cinema
To fully experience the festival, among the parallel activities of the nineteenth edition of FIMUCITÉ, a new edition of the highly anticipated open-air cinema season will take place on the evenings of June 20th, 21st, and 22nd in the plaza of Residencial Anaga, Santa Cruz. The programme includes open-air screenings of "Il Postino (The Postman)" (Michael Radford, 1994), "Cinema Paradiso" (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988), and a very current and family-friendly comedy to close, details of which to be announced. This cultural event is supported by the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, the Centro-Ifara district, and Fundación Disa.

FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy
This year, the FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy is launching an exciting programme of masterclasses and panel discussions featuring leading figures in the genre. Registration is free, and attendance will be awarded an ECTS credit.

On Tuesday, July 1st, festival director Diego Navarro will give the inaugural talk, "Gladiator: A Celebration of 25 Years of a Historical Epic Masterpiece Through Its Music", at Espacio Mutua Tinerfeña. The talk will also include a lecture by José Delgado Delgado, a professor at the Universidad de La Laguna, on the context of the film Gladiator.

At the same venue, on Friday, July 4th, there will be a screening of the documentary "Ennio, the Maestro" (2021), directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, a comprehensive portrait of the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, a two-time Oscar winner and author of more than 500 unforgettable scores. This event will be accompanied by a discussion between Diego Navarro and Marco Patrignani, director of the Rome Film Music Festival.

The Academy's activities will then move to Espacio Cultural CajaCanarias. On Tuesday, July 8th, ULL professor Gonzalo Pavés Borges will give a lecture on Italian Neorealism, and on Wednesday, July 9th, Massimo Privitera, an Italian filmmaker specializing in film music, will offer a tour of Italian film music composers, while composer Luis Ivars will give a talk on copyright and artificial intelligence.

On Thursday, July 10th, Lisa Gerrard, co-composer of the Gladiator soundtrack, will discuss the blockbuster, alongside film music producer Robert Townson.

To conclude the FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy programme, on the morning of Saturday, July 12th, the popular Segovian archaeologist, expert, and writer Néstor F. Marqués will offer an immersive talk on Ancient Rome.

The 19th edition of the Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife, FIMUCITÉ, takes place with the support of the Cabildo de Tenerife and Turismo de Tenerife as its main sponsors, Gobierno de Canarias via Instituto Canario de Desarollo Cultural, the city councils of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna, and the Organismo Autónomo de Actividades Musicales de La Laguna. FIMUCITÉ also thanks the involvement of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and the Auditorio de Tenerife, and other public and private partners, including Mutua Tinerfeña, Distrito Centro-Ifara of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, Fundación DISA, Emmasa, Domingo Alonso, and AUDI as the official festival car, Fundación SGAE, and Fundación CajaCanarias.