Euphoria over Furia

By Naomi Selvaratnam
Based in Berwick, Furia has been selected to participate in the competition by organisers of the Contra Clave Contra Latin competition, a nationwide search for Australia’s best Latin rhythm band.
Lead singer of Furia, Omar Pereira, describes the Contra Clave Contra competition as a positive step forward in promoting Latin music in Australia.
“It’s fantastic to see the Latin rhythm growing in popularity in Melbourne,” Pereira said.
“When I first arrived in Australia in 1986, very few people knew about Latin music, and the culture of Latin rhythm was almost non-existent in Melbourne.”
“But over the years we have seen tremendous growth in the number of bands playing Latin music, as well as a lot of different styles of rhythm developing.”
Furia has been playing at events and cultural festivals throughout Australia for 15 years. Pereira attributes the support of the local community as part of the reason for the band’s success.
“Our friends and fans in the local area have been coming to our shows for years,” Pereira said.
“Having that support and encouragement from the community is what keeps us playing music.”
While excited at the prospect of performing at the Contra Clave Contra, Pereira is not focused on winning.
“It would be nice to win, but we are taking part purely for the joy of performing,” Pereira said.
“It is just a pleasure to be able to sing and put on a good show for our friends and fans.”
The Melbourne heat of the Clave Contra Clave competition is being held at Kingston City Hall on Saturday 8 October. The national finals will be held in Sydney on 5 November, with stars from world-renowned Latin group, the Buena Vista Social Club, flying in to perform alongside competitors.
The winner of the Contra Clave Contra competition will receive $10,000 and a place on the Contra Clave Contra national tour in 2012. Tickets to the Melbourne heats are available on Ticketek.