De la Gran Via al Paral·lel (From Gran Via to Paral·lel)

Homage to the Paral·lel and the Master Juan de la Prada

During the revival season of Cómeme el Coco, Negro at the Teatre Coliseum in Barcelona we organized an homage to the Paral·lel Avenue Artists and the composer Juan de la Prada. The show was named From Gran Via to the Paral·lel.

What inspired us to do it? The reason is very simple, we owed it to them. Firstly, Juan de la Prada, known respectfully as Maestro de la Prada – composer of the majority of the songs from Cómeme el Coco, Negro – died in the August of 2005, a matter of days before we premiered the English version of “El Coco” at the Edinburgh Festival renamed Nuts Coconuts for the occasion, and featuring many of the songs translated into English. Secondly, when La Cubana created the show in 1989, we were inspired by the Paral·lel artists and all the many people who worked in the Variety and Music Hall scene, that existed at that moment in Barcelona.

After nineteen years, as the Company celebrates its 25th anniversary with the revival of Cómeme el Coco, Negro we learnt that the Master de la Prada had passed away and the theatre genre that was the inspirational source behind the work, has disappeared too, having died in January of 1996 in the Paral·lel, with barely a sound and certainly without a proper farewell.

The night was a great success. The show was moving yet festive, but not nostalgic. 2000 invitation tickets were made available –1.300 for the many people queuing outside the Coliseum Theatre on the day of the show– On the same stage as Cómeme el Coco, Negro a new and special show was created and performed, with La Cubana and also Paral·lel Artists of all ages performing. This included talents such as Lita Claver “La Maña”, Pirondello, Merche Mar, Israel, Doña Soledad, Pastora Reyes, Amparo Moreno, Annabel Totusaus, Toni Torres, Pierrot, Lidia Moreno, Núria Feliu, Eva Sorel, Ondina, Christine, Carmen de Mairena, Regina do Santos and Sara Montiel interpreting songs, the vast majority of which, were written by Juan de la Prada.

You can watch the whole gala in the vídeo below: