Asociacin Musical Blues Hondarribia Hondarribia, Spain In 2005, Carlos Malles created the Asociacin Musical Blues Hondarribia in Hondarribia, Spain, as a way to promote the blues in the Basque region of the country. A year later he organized the first Hondarribia Blues Festival. The nine festivals he has promoted have brought to the region the blues of Pinetop Perkins, Magic Slim, Solomon Burke, Johnny Winter, James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Robert Cray, Taj Mahal, Janiva Magness, Shemekia Copeland, and many others. At a time when economic problems have devastated the economy, a 2012 study found that the 70,000 attendees produced an economic impact of $3.5 million for the area. In 2008, Malles and the Asociacin introduced The Blues Foundation to Spain, paving the way for Spanish pillars of the blues to be recognized in America. After attending the second European Blues Conference, the Asociacin organized the third conference in Hondarribia in 2010. In 2011, the organization produced the documentary Hondarribia Crossroads: Meeting Point, which tells the story of the blues in Spain. Under Malles’ leadership, each year the Asociacin works with other organizations to aid children through various humanitarian programs.
