Review: Superfama

Reviewer: Josephine Koima

Director: Olga Osorio

Producer: Olga Osorio

Duration: 3mins 45 sec

Country of Origin: Spain

This music video, ‘Buscandia a Superfama’ which means ‘Looking for super fame’  is sang by a  Galician rock band ‘Herederos da Crus’. They started singing in Riberia, a town in Northwestern Spain. Though band members have changed since 1991, the current ones are Antonio  ‘Tuchino’  Novo Suarez (main guitarist),Antonio ‘Tonito’  Ageitos Ares (guitarist),Francisco ‘Fran Velo’ Javier Velo Cambeiro and Francisco ‘Javi’ Javier Maneiro as the lead singer.

The video set is a backstage dressing room with costumes, hair accessories, lighting , furniture and other elements that the band wanted to reflect their humorous and fun-loving personalities and spirit. The song talks about kids who want to be rockers and the musical whim they will need to get ahead in the music world by playing in an orchestra. The ‘special’ piece chosen for the single came as a result of a request made by the orchestra Panorama to the band, with the intention of including one of the band’s themes, on a charity album intended for the fight against cancer. What I enjoyed about the film is the excessively garish and sentimental art employed by individual members e.g having a toilet with oars, (Antonio Novo’s idea) which to me was funny, but weirdly appropriate.

One should appreciate the precision and coordination when it comes to the pace of costume changes for the members. Considering that there was minimal camera movement, only a fixed plane with a dolly-out, they achieved that technical aspect pretty efficiently.

When you look at the band’s previous works, there are certain elements that define them. They are fun, colorful and include a lot of fast paced movements in their videos. In fact, with regard to their themes, appearance and lyrics, they consider themselves more like AC/DC and infuse influences like The Rolling stones.

For me, the fun in the video and reading about their history made me appreciate the changes the band has made over the two decades they’ve been in the music industry. You certainly don’t have to understand Spanish/Galician to enjoy ‘Superfama'.