Spanish neofolk singer-songwriter Karmento has released a new single, “El Mayo Florido de Karmento,” a tribute to the traditional “mayo manchego” festivities and the arrival of spring.
The song draws inspiration from a line in La Seguidilla de Don Enrique, a folk tune Karmento first encountered when she was named Mayera de Honor in Pedro Muñoz (Ciudad Real). It combines folklore with poetic imagery.
“El Mayo Florido de Karmento” is a song of awakening, of the unexplored, the eternal, and the simple nature of first love. It also sings of love as a place of protection and a fantasy of eternity. Love carries an indelible, magical, and mysterious mark of humankind’s passage through the earth.
Karmento shared: “A couple of years ago, I was named Honorary Mayera at the May Festival in Pedro Muñoz, Ciudad Real. There, I heard Don Enrique’s seguidilla for the first time, and a light lit up inside me, some call it inspiration. From that light, the desire to contribute a song to our folklore, with a nomenclature and surname that reflects its identity.”
Los Mayos (the Mays) is a festival that extends throughout Spain and is especially celebrated in Castilla-La Mancha, although it is in the town of Pedro Muñoz where it is considered a festival of national tourist interest. It is also the song sung on the night of April 30th or May 1st to woo new loves. With this new song, Karmento brings folk music back into the present with her own unique perspective.
“El Mayo Florido de Karmento,” produced by Joel Condal, features backing vocals and instrumental accompaniment by the “Virgen de los Ángeles” Folkloric Group from Pedro Muñoz and also features arrangements by folklorist and guitarist Juan José Roblés. For its recording, Karmento and her team received financial and technical support from the Pedro Muñoz City Council.
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