Yeah, I could stay in Spain...

Attention all barbershoppers! I have good news for you: barbershop is alive and well in Spain!

The Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers (SABS) had it's annual convention last weekend in the armpit of Spain San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia). Although the town the convention was held in had a complete lack of curb-appeal, the barbershoppers brought an unforgettable vibe to the town.

Now, I've been to a lot of barbershop conventions in my measly (almost) 23 years of life. But I'll have you know that the SABS convention will definitely be one that stands out. Why? Let's just say this definitely wasn't your typical barbershop convention...

Our journey: Madrid to Murcia

Friday: Roadtrip & Quartet contest
Yes, this sounds like the typical start to a convention -- drive, sing, eat, sing, drive some more. Actually the landscape along the way was very similar to the semi-annual drive to the FWD convention in Bakersfield (maybe it was a little greener than California's Central Valley).

We arrived at the hotel and had some dinner before heading over to the quartet contest. My first reaction to the convention's participants was, "¡Madre mía! How many British people are here!?" That's right. About 80% of the convention-goers were from the UK. Weird? Yes. You would think that the Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers would consist of mainly Spaniards; I guess all those retired Brits on the southern Spanish shores have to have something to do in their spare time.

1st Place: The Hanfris Quartet
[photo from their Facebook page]

I found out early on that this audience was quite proper. Maybe it's because I come from a district known for it's youth movement, slow claps, and exciting afterglows with champions up the yin-yang. Maybe it's because a chorus in my region has a baritone wave (Woo!). Maybe I've just grown accustomed to the American loudness and jollity at barbershop conventions. But it was a bit of a barbershop culture shock to me when I was shushed for cheering too soon as a quartet was being announced. (¡Jolines! It's not like we were being broadcast on the BBC or anything!)

As for the quartet contest, it was pretty good considering how new SABS is. There were 9 quartets total, combining male quartets, female quartets, and mixed quartets all into one contest. The outcome: the top three quartets were all Spanish and young!! So not only has barbershop come to Spain, but the youth movement has come here, too!

Saturday: Chorus Contest & Show
Saturday was the day for the chorus contest. There were 5 choruses, again with a variety of all-male, all-female, and mixed. My friends in Barberidad from Madrid got 2nd place!!

Barberidad
[photo from Héctor]

Later, my chorus (Barbees) performed on the afternoon show. It was my bass-singing premiere! Click here for a video of the performance.

Barbees
[photo from Héctor]

Sunday: Coaching & Show
We were lucky enough to be coached by the bass of Steel on Sunday morning. Most people had to go home after the coaching, but those of us die-hards stayed to see the afternoon show featuring two quartets and two choruses from the UK (along with the newly-crowned SABS champions). During the day we hung out and I learned some extremely vulgar Spanish phrases (I'm hoping they come in useful someday). Later we watched the show and, of course, tagged and afterglowed for the third night in a row.

In the end, I realized that this weekend was the first time since I came to Spain that I actually thought I could really stay here. I am very fortunate to have so many great barbershop friends in Spain. As many a barbershopper will remind you, we come for the music, but we stay for the friendships.