Batala Bangor celebrated their 15th anniversary this weekend and what an amazing weekend it has been! As the local samba-percussion band performed at Festival No. 6, they even had the opportunity to perform on the giant human chessboard at Portmeirion.
Batala Bangor started in 2003, the second Batala Band to form in the UK after Portsmouth, which had started the year before. Bangor already had a well-established percussion group – Samba Bangor – and it was an ex-member, Paul Green, who, on moving back here from Portsmouth, persuaded them to run a samba reggae workshop tutored by Giba Gonçalves from Salvador.
The response and enthusiasm generated by this led, not just to the foundation of Bangor’s Batala group, but ultimately to the setting up of Batala Lancaster by dedicated people who, after attending the workshop, continued to travel to Bangor for regular practices for months afterwards.
Batala Bangor exists to play music with passion and pleasure. It is a mainstay of the North Wales Summer Carnival scene, and has enlivened numerous community events, private gigs, parties and even weddings!
For more information about Batala Bangor visit their Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/batala.bangor
Photos: Batala Bangor performing at Festival No.6
