On Saturday night at the Dubai Opera, two-times Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santoalalla, 73, makes his first performance in the UAE in celebration of the moment that changed everything.
In 1999, Santoalalla had just released his acclaimed album Ronroco, named after the small stringed instrument invented in the Andes Mountains, not far from his home country of Argentina.
“The album was picked up by college radio stations in the US, and then I played on a programme called Morning Becomes Eclectic. Then one day, I got a phone call from director Michael Mann, who told me that he wanted to meet me and that he wanted to use one of the pieces for The Insider,” Santaolalla tells The National.
That piece, titled Iguazu, has become a staple of film and television, also used in Mann’s own Collateral starring Tom Cruise, Alejandro Innaritu’s Babel, as well as Deadwood, 24 and Top Gear.
It also led him on a path towards becoming of the most renowned film and television composers of his time, scoring such acclaimed projects as Brokeback Mountain, The Motorcycle Diaries, Making a Murderer and The Last of Us, not to mention his award-winning four projects with close friend Innaritu.
None of that success would have been possible if, one day 13 years earlier, Santaolalla hadn’t wandered into a music shop and stumbled upon the stringed instrument, which had been invented in 1968 in Bolivia, for the first time. He was then a popular rock musician and guitar hero in Argentina, known for his energetic shows with his group Arco Iris.
“I remember the moment when I went into the store and saw the ronroco. I said, ‘What is this?’ I grabbed it and started playing it. And the connection that happened between that instrument and my soul was incredible,” Santoalalla says.
He started collecting recordings of music for himself, a personal and globally-influenced exploration of an instrument he would find time for in between his work as a rock musician and in-demand record producer.
But he kept those recordings for himself, only finding the courage to share them with someone else when he was hired to produce an album for Jaime Torres, the most legendary player of the charango, a smaller, similar instrument to the ronroco.
“I gave the recordings to Jaime, and told him, this is something some friends of mine did. I didn’t tell him it was me. Then three days later, he said, ‘You are the guy playing here. I know this is you,’” Santaolalla continues.
“I said to him apologetically, ‘Master, I don’t play with proper technique.’ He said, ‘Listen, there are no rules of how to play. You find the spirit you connected with – the spirit of the instrument.”
Torres convinced Santoalalla to compile the recordings, which became Ronroco, which he will perform in its entirety at Dubai Opera, along with selections from its follow-up Camino, released in 2014.
Sanaolalla’s music is known for its intense emotion, which is what has made his accompaniment particularly powerful when paired with heartbreaking stories. If there is any particular secret to that power, it is in Sanaolalla’s connection to the instrument, which he’s gone on to use in his acclaimed work with Inarritu, as well as The Last of Us games and continuing series.
“The connection I have with that instrument is really something special. It’s been with me for innumerable movies and series. It always finds a place. This concert is dedicated to the music that comes to me through that instrument,’” Sanaolalla says.
“I’ve been doing concerts devoted to the music of The Last of Us in London and in Poland, which have a very different mood – almost wild, at times. But these latest concerts, including the one I will be performing in Dubai Opera, have a different sort of emotion. It’s introspective. And it’s beautiful what happens with the audience and the music – I can’t wait for Dubai to experience that with us.”
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
The Bio
Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride
She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.
Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years
Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves
She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
