Mojo Music Festival in Las Palmas Celebrates its Fifth Edition This Weekend
The Mojo Music Festival (MMF) in Las Palmas is set to celebrate its fifth edition this weekend, featuring prominent acts such as Instituto Mexicano del Sonido, Natalia Deco, Dengue Dengue, Cosmic Wacho, and Guadalupe Plata. The festival returns this summer with a powerful line-up led by Instituto Mexicano del Sonido and Natalia Deco.
A Rich Festival Landscape in Spain
Spain’s music festival calendar is filled with intriguing events, some of which have gained immense prestige but may face challenges due to the overwhelming number of offerings. In this context, the Mojo Music Festival stands out this year as it celebrates traditional sounds merged with electronic production. Set against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean at the Plaza de la Música, the festival will showcase its unique style this weekend.
On Friday and Saturday, prominent musicians such as Instituto Mexicano del Sonido, Natalia Deco, Dengue Dengue, and Cosmic Wacho will grace the Mojo stage. The festival also opens doors to rockier sounds that veer away from commercial proposals, featuring Guadalupe Plata’s “swamp blues,” as music journalist Diego Hernández terms the Úbeda-based band’s style. Other notable acts include the Barcelona duo Delafé & Las Flores Azules, whose poetic lyrics are intertwined with indie, pop, hip hop, rock, soul, and electronic genres, along with emerging sounds from Madrid’s Toldos Verdes.
The Vision Behind the Mojo Festival
Mario Alonso, the festival’s music director, is a passionate music aficionado and researcher of alternative sounds. He has a simple guiding principle for curating the festival line-up: “In addition to respecting the philosophy upon which the festival was founded, I choose musicians I have personally seen live.” The origins of the MMF trace back to the Mojo Club, which had to close in 2017 after a decade when its public concession expired, located precisely at the Plaza de la Música where the festival now takes place. There, Alonso, a professional journalist, played music he discovered beyond commercial channels, enjoying the alternative groups and soloists that performed.
Established Acts and Emerging Talents
Now, the event has solidified its foundation with support from the local council and the Cabildo. Following a hiatus in 2024, the Mojo returns with a robust line-up that includes internationally recognised names, such as Instituto Mexicano del Sonido, led by the multifaceted Camilo Lara, described by Alonso as “one of the most influential figures in Mexico City’s culture, blending electronic and traditional music.”
Natalia Deco, an Argentinian based in Paris, is set to perform this Friday. “She is a sure bet with a legion of thousands of followers, as demonstrated during her first performance in the Canary Islands a few months ago at Fuerteventura Música,” Alonso notes, highlighting her personal spirituality and anthropology. On the same day, Cosmic Wacho and Dengue Dengue will also perform; both duos draw from tradition, fuse it with electronic elements, and create songs that resonate with the soundtrack of the 21st century. Cosmic Wacho, based in the Costa del Sol, comprises a Malaga musician and another from Argentina, reinterpreting cumbia alongside electronic and other enticing sounds. Meanwhile, Dengue is made up of two Peruvian composers residing in Berlin, who always perform wearing masks.
An Eclectic Musical Journey
As previously mentioned, the Mojo Festival does not solely adhere to folk and electronic music. It embraces an eclectic component, as noted by the festival’s artistic director, with contributions from Guadalupe Plata’s rock blues—with flamenco influences— to more indie sounds like Delafé or Lanzarote’s Yo No Te Quiero, alongside Canarian composer Silde.
Woodhands is the brand image of Las Palmas DJ and producer Carlos Fernández, who will close the MMF on Saturday night following the performance of Instituto Mexicano del Sonido. A resident in various venues, the Canarian musician is well-known across Spanish clubs and festivals such as Sonar and Music & Dealers, and he has performed several times in London. Throughout the two days of the event, which will also feature a free opening party on Thursday night, three DJs from the now-defunct Mojo Club will fill the gaps between performances: Fuckin Four Factory, Baked Belda, and Yeray Pacheco.
