Vigüela
Since 1986, in a village in Don Quixote’s homeland, Vigüela sings rural Spanish tradition the way it is lived: improvised, festive and fiercely faithful
Biography
Vigüela — the name comes from the vihuela, the Spanish Renaissance guitar — was born in 1986 in El Carpio de Tajo, a village in Castile-La Mancha, when 20-year-old Juan Antonio Torres gathered his sister Carmen and other young people from the village. Forty years later, the group — a quintet on its recent posters — remains the voice of a rural Spain that sings to work, to celebrate and to tell its own story.
The repertoire: jotas, seguidillas, fandangos and sones, performed as they are in their social contexts, with melismatic singing and a strong share of improvisation — verses are created or adapted on the spot. The voices of Carmen (Menchu) Torres, Juan Antonio Torres and Mari Nieto answer one another, carried by guitar, lute, bandurria, guitarro manchego, rebec and percussion made of castanets, tambourines, the zambomba friction drum and even spoons.
Ten albums tell the story, including Temperamento (2016), A Tiempo Real (2018) and A la manera artesana (2022, featuring Jorge Pardo) on ARC Music, then We (2024), praised by the German record critics, the LIMúR panel and Mondo Sonoro. In 2022, the Library of Congress commissioned a concert recording from the group for its archives; in January-February 2026, a ten-day tour of India took them to Kolkata’s Sur Jahan festival. An eleventh album is announced for autumn 2026 — and November 2026 marks their Canadian debut.
Upcoming dates
- Thursday November 19, 2026 — Vitrine officielle — Mundial Montréal 2026 (après-midi) · Maison des Arts Participatifs, Montréal (Canada) — Official page ↗
Public dates — collected from the artist's official channels on November 9, 2026.
Discography
Ten albums, including Temperamento (2016), A Tiempo Real (2018), A la manera artesana (2022) and We (2024) · Eleventh album announced for autumn 2026
On stage
- 19 November 2026, 2:40 p.m. — Montréal, Maison des Arts Participatifs — official Mundial Montréal showcase: the group’s Canadian debut
- Autumn 2026 — release of the eleventh album (announced)
On video — their Mundial Montréal 2026 showcase
The official presentation video of Vigüela for Mundial Montréal 2026: Thursday, November 19, 2026 · 2:40 p.m. · Maison des Arts Participatifs, Montreal. Video © Mundial Montréal — provided to Festival TV in the festival's official media kit.