Musician Rafael Serrallet bewitches Nairobi with his Guinness record guitar

Nairobi, 15 Mar It had been years since Nairobi surrendered to classical Spanish guitar. Until this Monday night, when Rafael Serrallet, a real Guinness artist, gave a memorable Kenyan accent recital that bewitched the audience. The charming National Theatre in Kenya's capital dressed up to welcome the Spanish maestro, who has walked the art of the six strings in nearly eighty countries in more than a thousand performances. “It's my fifth time in Nairobi. I have a very close relationship (...) with Kenyan musicians”, told Efe Serrallet (Valencia, 1950), to whom King Felipe VI of Spain awarded in 2020 the prestigious cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic for his contribution to spreading Spanish culture and music around the world. The concert, organized by the Spanish Embassy in Nairobi and the Kenyan Conservatory of Music, took place in four delightfully woven acts that began with a guitar solo by the artist. Under the light of five lights and anchored to a chair, Serrallet performed classics such as “The Wild Cat”, by Manuel Penella Moreno. The popular pasodoble received warm applause from the public, a lively mix of Kenyans and expats. With a masterful technical performance, the guitarist also delighted the auditorium with the electrifying “Asturias”, by Isaac Albéniz. “Bravo, bravo, bravo!” , replied the respectable, already committed to his chords. In the second act, the Spanish artist embarked on a “mano a mano” with Kenyan guitarist Yovan Barkisoy, who - as Serrallet told Efe - “has become the benchmark for classical guitar” in Kenya and East Africa. It was then that the synchronization of both guitars took over the stage with pieces such as “Intermezzo (Baetic Fantasy)”, by Manuel de Falla. The result was not long in coming: closed ovation from the auditorium. The third act was a magical fusion of the Spanish musician's instrument and the violins of the Nairobi String Quartet, “one of the best string quartets in Africa,” Serrallet explained to the audience. That section of the concert was a tribute to the women who have composed music. “There have been great composers throughout history,” the guitarist told Efe. “Unfortunately,” he claimed, “history has not been very fair to women in any aspect and not in music either. We have to incorporate women's music into our repertoire.” The emotional play “Lights and Shadows”, by Argentine composer Claudia Montero, among others, unleashed great public acclaim. The “finale” of the show was a total surprise: “Wimbo wa kusafiri” (“Travel Song” in Swahili, the national language of Kenya), a play written by Serrallet himself that had its world premiere last night in Nairobi. The performance marked Serrallet's reunion with Kenya after his last performance in this country in 2018, when he became the first musician to give concerts on all continents - including Antarctica - in the same year, a feat that earned him recognition from the Guinness World Records (Guinness World Records). “First I went to Antarctica and then I went to Mombasa (Kenyan coastal city), which was the concert that closed”, recalled the artist, who collaborates with musical projects in solidarity in this African nation. “It was,” he concluded, “a curious coincidence that unites me even more to this wonderful country, in which I already have very good friends and of which I always have a precious memory.” CHIEF pa/cc (photo)