SPEAKERS & ARTISTS
Meet the incredible speakers and artists for GOI SEDUCE MAY 11th 2019
at V290 right at the heart of Barcelona, Diputación, 290.
Here's a bit of their story and what motivates them to be leaders and innovators within the business community, their industry, or in their area of expertise and who are willing to impart their knowledge, insights, and personal stories to inspire us all.
ROBERT MARQUEZ
Stand-up Comedian Radio Presenter
Drag Queen
USA
Robert Marquez is also known as Bobby Bastos and Snortella de Line; stand-up comedian, radio broadcaster, and a drag queen.
As Robert Marquez , the stand-up comedian, he uses his ability to seduce, through his wit and, more often than not, stories about his past. On of his strengths is the ability to tailor his comedy according to the audience, as not everyone will relate to gay centric humor, he begs to differ.
As BobbyBastos, the radio broadcaster, he can reach people on a global scale. His show has a mix of celebrity status guests as well as random guests that he invites off the street or from any other places. Bob says that his off the street guests are some of his favorite interviews. Reason being, they have no idea what to expect and neither does he.
Snortella deLine, his drag queen persona, came from a joke in his standup comedy. After his first appearance as SDL, he was hooked to how immediate his power to seduce was. He wanted more. As a result he has started his own monthly drag event/show. It has become the hottest drag show in Barcelona. It’s called Comedy Circus Dragstravaganza.
The only all comedy, all English, all Drag but not all gay drag event in Barcelona.
LUBOŠ BARTOŇ
Basketball Coach/ex-Player
CZECH REPUBLIC
Born on April 7, 1980 in Česká Lípa, Czechoslovakia, as a third child to elementary school principal and a math teacher.
Attended Businesses Academy in his hometown where he graduated in 1998 and moved to the United States, to attend Valparaiso University (IN) where he earned a basketball scholarship. Finished his degree in Sports Management / Economics in 2002 and moved back to Europe to play professional basketball.
He spent three years to play in Italy (Bologna, Rome) before moving to Spain (Joventut Badalona and FC Barcelona). Those were his best basketball years of his career winning almost all of his titles with both teams from Catalonia.
In 2010 won the top European trophy with FC Barcelona but shortly left the club due to a Achilles injury. Following years, Barton spent changing teams every season before coming back in 2015 to Barcelona to play and to be a mentor to the promising young players on FC Barcelona B team.
In 2016 announced retirement from pro basketball and started his coaching career in Barcelona and also Czech National team.
Married twice, and has three children. Michael (12, from 1st marriage), Elizabeth (7), Benjamin (6).
STEPHANIE FIGUEIRA
Actress | Stand-up Comedian
CANADA
Stephanie Figueira is originally from Toronto, Canada, and works as an actor, presenter, voice artist and workshop leader. She is a founding member of BIG (Barcelona improv group) and has been performing with them for the last 9 years.
She produced and hosted ¨Frank¨ and ¨Vent,¨ a monthly affair of true stories told live by everyday people and has hosted large events for Revlon, HP and the Mobile World Congress. Starting her career in theater and stand-up comedy, Stephanie was the first female comic to win the Funniest Ficer championship in Spain.
She has spent several years focusing on film and television and spends much time taking part in acting, body movement and self development workshops. One of her many passions is helping to change the portrayal of women in the entertainment industry.
JEFF KIRKWOOD
DJ | Entrepreneur
CANADA / USA
Jeff Kirkwood was born in Bermuda and has lived up to his Gypsy heritage by leaving home at 14 after soaking up all the fresh reggae he could, to live in Toronto, Vermont, San Francisco, London, Bali, and now Barcelona.
He went to school in San Francisco in 2005 for 2 1/2 years to study Electronic Music Production, but upon returning to Toronto he focused on the performance side of his craft.
After winning The Last DJ Standing Competition (best upcoming Toronto DJ) at Str8 Nightclub in 2009 his trajectory took a very steep upward angle, and since then he has opened for such greats as the legendary Derrick Carter, Miss Honey Dijon, Tony Moran, Eddie Martinez, Carlo Lio, Stacey Pullen, Lady Bunny, and Cazwell, to name a few.
Now he's had gigs all over Canada, the USA, Australia, Barbados, Mexico, several islands in Indonesia, France, Spain, England, Austria, Italy, the Toronto International Film Festival Opening Gala, and the incomparable BAAAHS bus at the Burning Man Festival.
Currently, he has a weekly residency in Barcelona at Botanic Bar Cafe, and is about to embark on a dj tour in April of Toronto, Barbados for the Vujaday Music Festival (which is one of the founders of) and Costa Rica, with more dates and cities coming in every day.
CHARO TRIS
Soprano | Businesswoman
SPAIN
Born in Zaragoza, after graduating in Business Studies, Charo Tris moved to Madrid where she began her singing studies with soprano Isabel Penagos and graduated in the Superior School of Singing of Madrid, being its professor the tenor Manuel Cid.
Within the framework of practical experience, she has interpreted óperas: La Traviata (Violetta) by G. Verdi, Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio San) and La Bohè- me (Musetta) by G. Puccini, Don Pasquale de G. Donizetti (Norina), The barber of Seviglia (Rosina) de G. Rossini, The Elixir of Love (Adina) de G. Donizetti. Hänsel y Gretel (Gretel) de E. Humperdinck, La Contadina (Scintilla) by J. A. Hasse, The telephone "(Lucy) de Gian Carlo Menotti, The Sacrifice of Abraham (Angel) de Camilla de Rossi, The Marriage of Figaro (Susana) de W. A. Mozart, The Pastor King (Aminta) W. A. Mozart, Die Fledermaus (Adele) de J. Strauss, Romeo and Juliette (Juliette) de Ch. Gounod and Don Giovanni (Zerlina) de W. A. Mozart.
Charo's professional career has taken her to cross Spanish borders, encompassing from the recital to the opera. She has made several tours in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. As winner of the Lied contest "Wolfram Rieger", she performed recitals on repertoire Liederista in Germany.
Also as a singing teacher, of the Talent Academy 2009, which is a project that the Miradas Compartidas Association has launched, in collaboration with the Mapfre Foundation and the Carmen Pardo Valcarcel Association and that is focused on the artistic development of people with intellectual disabilities through of music, dance and theater. She was a singing teacher at L'Escola de Música de l'Escola Pia de Terrassa.
Since 2017 she holds the chair of singing of the International Academy of Music of Barcelona (AIMB) and she is a professor of Vocal Technique for Actors at the Catalonia Film School in Vilanova i la Geltrú.
AYISHAT AKANBI
Writer, Speaker, Artist
Cultural Commentator and Fashion stylist
UK
Ayishat Akanbi is a fashion stylist, writer, cultural commentator, speaker and artist based in London, UK. Ayishat made her entry into the fashion scene in 2010 and has amassed a growing following ever since.
While maintaining a sense of individuality at the forefront of her work, she has also maintained cultural awareness while keeping up with current trends. She has garnered the attention of many Artists, Celebrities and TV Personalities as well as a number of private clients she regularly tends to.
Ayishat’s keen interest in socio-political issues, music and culture has attracted the attention of a number of institutions and reputable brands. Ayishat regularly lends her voice in the form of public speaking to budding creators and young entrepreneurs and academics.
Ayishat delivers talks that are both humorous and thought-provoking, and has been described by Adidas as having ‘an enlightened & elegant touch’.
Ayishat’s technique is rooted in her ability to establish a political, psychological and artistic understanding of style, and her subjects reflect that notion. She also believes that personal style is something that is accessible to any and everyone. Amongst other accolades, Ayishat has been featured in GQ, Fiasco, RWD, The Mirror Newspaper and the BBC programme “A day in the life of” special.
Ayishat strives to deliver a service that goes beyond the client expectation. Her strong relationships with established fashion brands ensure to offer a quality experience.
TORI SPARKS
Singer - Songwriter
Businesswoman
USA
Since the age of 18, singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and activist Tori Sparks has played an average of 150-200 concerts each year in 20+ countries, and has built an extremely close relationship with her fans through her constant touring.
Sparks was born in Chicago and later moved to Nashville, Tennessee. In 2011, she moved from Nashville to Barcelona, Spain, and in just a few years has become a household name in her adopted country. Rock magazine Popular1 included her name on the list of the five most important female voices in Spain (January 2018 edition). Sparks has played for 30 people in a house concert, and for 30,000 people at prestigious music festivals such as Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. No matter the size of the audience, she delivers the same no-holds-barred performance every time.
Tori is also known as a champion of the DIY business model – her independent record label, Glass Mountain Records, celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2017 – and regularly speaks at schools, universities, and music conferences such as South by Southwest, the International Folk Alliance, WOMEX, PrimaveraPro, and others. Tori has organized and/or performed at numerous benefit concerts, and is a strong proponents of social justice and music education.
Her new live double-disc recording, titled Wait No More, will be released on limited-edition vinyl on Record Store Day 2019 (April 13th). This will be Tori’s seventh album: Her third since embracing the rock-blues-flamenco fusion that has become her signature sound, and her first recorded live onstage.
LUCAS AVRAM CAVAZOS
Educator | Radio Presenter
Freelance Journalist
USA / ITALY
Lucas Avram Cavazos made his Saturn’s Return move to Barcelona from New York City ten years ago at the age of 29 and since then, he has been using the gifts of education, media and cinema to stake fertile ground in the English-speaking world of Catalonia.
As lead presenter of English Radio BCN each week, for over three years and nearly 200 shows and guest interviews, Lucas has presented #TheClub on Radio Kanal Barcelona and FaceBook LIVE to scores of thousands, using his show as the weekly radio/online update for the expat community here in Barcelona and beyond.
Starting as the cultural reporter for Barcelona Metropolitan Magazine in 2013, Lucas soon worked his way to being the only weekly, English-language film and festival critic in Catalonia. His work has been used and published throughout the region, but also at the LA Times, Catalonia Today and ABC News in the US. He now runs his burgeoning film critic centre through his blogsite A Bitter Life Through Cinema. The arts, and most especially music, film and literature, have been his lifeline for many a year, but it is his fusing of those arts and his love for serving others that has spurned his growth and progress in what he does. He has also been involved in outreach programmes and events for the needy and the LGBTQI community here in Barcelona, and will never stop doing so.
You can get some light and some Lucas in your life, as well as the city’s freshest music, every week from 11-12h on 106.9 FM and FaceBook LIVE! on English Radio Barcelona.
MELANI MESTRE
Orchestral Pianist and Conductor
SPAIN
Successfully combining the roles of pianist and conductor, Melani Mestre has been hailed as a ‘truly virtuoso musician’ (The Daily Telegraph). He studied with José A Calvo and Alicia de Larrocha, themselves disciples of Frank Marshall, thereby directly inheriting the cherished Catalan piano tradition of Enrique Granados.
Mestre studied at the Conservatorio Municipal de Música de Barcelona, continuing in London with the acclaimed Russian pedagogue Sulamita Aronovsky (piano) and Sir Colin Davis (conducting). Mestre has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Symphony, BBC Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Moscow Chamber, Prague Chamber, New York Philharmonic and Warsaw Philharmonic orchestras.
Melani Mestre has a repertoire of over forty concertos, including many works by Spanish and Ukrainian composers, as well as concertos by Piazzolla, Scharwenka, Medtner and Paderewski, and he champions little-known repertoire as both pianist and conductor.
He has collaborated with renowned artists including Ivry Gitlis, Ruggiero Ricci, Martha Argerich, Lorin Maazel, Roby Lakatos, Giora Feidman, Valentin Gheorghiu and Al Di Meola.
Mestre was appointed chief conductor of the Lviv Symphony Orchestra in Ukraine in 2007, with whom he has toured extensively; since 2008 he has also held the position of Artistic Director of the International Lviv Summer Music Festival, ‘Improvizacia’, working with world-class soloists including Andrei Gavrilov and Wojtek Mrozek.
Melani Mestre is also principal conductor of the Orquesta Filarmonía Ibérica, and is invited as guest conductor at some of the most distinguished orchestras around the world.
PATRICIA CURTY
ANDREW PITT
Co-founders of Gallery of Ideas
BRAZIL
ENGLAND
Gallery of Ideas was founded by Patricia Curty and Andrew Pitt who believe that in order to motivate we must first communicate.
Drawing from their very diverse backgrounds in business, coaching, networking, training, mentoring and presenting they have created a movement that helps people to develop skills, confidence and motivation as well as connecting individuals and business through mutually beneficial networking.
These events, seminars and training programs embody their 3 core principles: CONNECT, INSPIRE and PROMOTE which are the bedrock of any personal and business development.
Their business and message have grown exponentially since inception gaining followers, presenters, and praise from all over the world.
Welcome to GALLERY OF IDEAS