Franco Luciani: harmonica
Carlos “El Tero” Buschini: bass
Natalio Mangalavite: piano
An original, passionate, and dazzling encounter between three extraordinary Argentine musicians who have been active for over 30 years on the Italian, Argentine, and international music scenes. This musical project, deeply rooted in South American character, with exquisite taste and countless influences, is a heartfelt homage to El Mate, the traditional drink beloved by Argentinians, Uruguayans, Brazilians, and Paraguayans. For these peoples, mate has, since time immemorial, been a daily ritual — an indispensable presence at gatherings among friends, favoured by gauchos, as well as by Che Guevara and Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Mate is an infusion made from the leaves of Ilex paraguariensis, a South American evergreen shrub also known as “Paraguayan tea” or “yerba mate.” It is traditionally sipped through a metal straw with a built-in filter, drawing from a small dried gourd — round in shape — that serves as a cup or container. Throughout their careers, the three master musicians have performed in festivals across five continents, in countless prestigious projects. Among their many collaborations are: Mercedes Sosa, Juan Carlos Cáceres (Tango Negro Trio), Jairo “Jazziro,” Raúl Carnota, Mario Biondi, Ornella Vanoni, Fabio Concato, Paolo Fresu, Egberto Gismonti, Peppe Servillo, Fabrizio Bosso, Fito Páez, León Gieco, and Gotán Project.
Franco Luciani — A musician, composer, and harmonica player from Rosario, Argentina, he is considered a true institution in his country, one of the most talented Argentine musicians of his generation. Unanimously considered one of the best harmonica players in the world, he trained in Rosario as a symphonic percussionist and drummer at the Municipal School of Music, the National University, and the Provincial School of Music in Rosario, he eventually chose the harmonica — particularly the chromatic harmonica — as his main instrument. His unique style masterfully blends Argentine folk music with tango, while also exploring jazz and classical music. In 2002, he won both the Revelation Prize and First Prize in the Instrumental Soloist category at the Pre-Cosquín Competition of the National Folk Festival. His awards include: the 2005 Clarín Espectáculos Prize, the 2007 UNESCO Trimarg Prize, the 2008 Premio Atahualpa, the 2009 Clarín Espectáculos Prize in the “Folk Figure” category (shared with Mercedes Sosa and Teresa Parodi), the 2010 Consagración Prize of the Cosquín Festival’s Golden Edition, and further Premio Atahualpa awards in 2010 and 2011 as Best Instrumental Soloist. He has toured extensively in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, sharing the stage with Mercedes Sosa, Fito Páez, Víctor Heredia, Juan Carlos Baglietto, Jairo, Gotan Project, Raúl Carnota, Pedro Aznar, Jaime Torres, Divididos, Guillermo Fernández, León Gieco, Luis Salinas, Sandra Luna, Teresa Parodi, Federico Pecchia, María Volonté, Horacio Molina, Dúo Coplanacu, Eva Ayllón, Lila Downs, among others.
Natalio Mangalavite — pianist, percussionist, singer, arranger, and composer — was born in Córdoba, Argentina, into a family of pianists. He studied singing and music at the Escuela de Niños Cantores de Córdoba; classical piano at the Provincial Conservatory; and jazz piano, composition, and arrangement with Prof. Luis Vecchio at the Escuela Canaria de Jazz (Las Palmas, Canary Islands). In 1982, he left Argentina in search of new life and musical horizons. His first stop was Rio de Janeiro, where he realised his Latin heritage could support and inspire him beyond South America. He then moved to Europe, living in Madrid and Las Palmas, working with local musicians and the Compañía Canaria de Teatro. His travels took him to Senegal, where he deepened his study of traditional percussion. His Sicilian roots eventually led him to Italy, where he settled in Rome in 1985. For over 20 years, he performed and arranged for Ornella Vanoni, and played in jazz and Latin ensembles such as Tercer Mundo (with Javier Girotto and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez) and Cirimìa (with John Arnold, G. Savelli, and Massimo Bottini). On television, he taught singing and music on “Operazione Trionfo” with Miguel Bosé, and worked on “Superstar” and many other music TV programs. His collaborations include Javier Girotto, Peppe Servillo, Fabrizio Bosso, Alfredo Paixão, Martín Bruhn, Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel, Michele Ascolese, Paolo Fresu, Barbara Casini, Fabio Concato, and Monica Demuru. He has released several albums under his own name and contributed to numerous others, such as "Colibrí" (with Girotto), "L’amico di Córdoba" and "Futbol" (with Girotto and Servillo), "Sol" (with Latin Mood), "Vamos" (with Girotto, Bosso, Bulgarelli, Tucci, Marcozi), "Madre Tierra" (with Buschini, Bruhn, Casini), "Influence" and "I mercati dell’alba" (with DJ Pieraja), "Luis y Miguel" (with Michele Ascolese), and most recently "Juego" (with Martín Bruhn).
Carlos “El Tero” Buschini — bassist and composer — was born in Despeñaderos, Córdoba Province, Argentina. He began studying classical guitar at age eleven and started performing young as a guitarist and bombo player in local folk groups. He toured internationally in Latin America and Europe before continuing his studies at La Colmena in Córdoba, the CPM in Milan, and AIMRA in Lyon, France, as well as attending workshops with Franco D’Andrea, Attilio Zanchi, Alain Caron, M. Stanchev, and Joe Santiago. Settling permanently in Italy in 1989, he quickly established himself on the European scene, collaborating with Argentine, Italian, and French artists including Mercedes Sosa, Raúl Carnota, Jairo, Julien Lourau, Bojan Zulfikarpasic, Magik Malik, Miguel Anga Díaz, Paolo Fresu, Luis Agudo, Minino Garay, Javier Girotto, Antonello Salis, Tiziana Ghiglione, Phil Drummy, Olivier Ker Ourio, Laurent De Wilde, Daniel Mille, Nicola Stilo, Nicolas Folmer, Krassen Lutzkanov, Gustavo Ovalles, Daniele di Bonaventura, Daniel García, Baptiste Trotignon, Barbara Casini, Coba, Tomás Gudbich, Juanjo Mosalini, Leo Gullotta, Massimo Popolizio, Hugo Fattoruso, Olivier Manoury, Sergio Gruz, Lalo Zanelli (Gotan Project), Los Tambores del Sur, Solis String Quartet, and many more. His projects include Madre Tierra, Córdoba Reunion (with Javier Girotto, Gerardo Di Giusto, Minino Garay), Gaia Cuatro (with Gerardo di Giusto, Aska Kaneko, Tomohiro Yahiro), Cuarteto Rosamonte (with Gabriel Pérez, Leandro Guffanti, Martín Bruhn), Sin Fronteras (with Uruguayan singer Ana Karina Rossi, F. Beccalossi, M. Bruhn, N. Mangalavite, M. Garay, J. Girotto), Jazziro (with Jairo, Baptiste Trotignon, Minino Garay), Tres Continentes (with Bebo Ferra, Aska Maret Kaneko), and Le collectif Tango Negro Ensemble.
