Closing out iFest: What it's like to rock when everybody wants to go home

By the time the last time slots at iFest approached Sunday night, the crowd was winding down and thinning out.

It's a somewhat strange location for the H-E-B Cultural Stage to be situated right by a main entrance that's often ignored by passersby who hunt for the main acts performing on the Bud Light Stage only a couple of steps ahead. Sur, the South American Folkloric quartet which consists of Alfredo Espinosa, Julio Medrano, Gonzalo Quisbert and Alfredo Leon, still managed to make a decent amount of festival goers stop, listen and dance.

"Our sound is traditional music from the Andes," Medrano told CultureMap. The members themselves are eclectic with Espinosa from Argentina, Medrano from Mexico, Quisbert from Bolivia and Leon from Peru — so there's a clear mix and understanding of Latin culture infused into their music.

Just as traditional and experienced as these musicians are separately, the stage production is no less so, with decorated, unfamiliar instruments laid out in front. Medrano gave a quick lesson on the origins of the instruments as he pointed out each one. "We have the zampona, quena and charango all originally from the Andes, the bombos, a South American staple and flutes, Spanish guitar and a violin."

While Sur played an earlier set in the day, their evening performance was a special treat not to be missed as they were accompanied by the First Unitarian Universalist Sanctuary Choir to close out the night.

Before anything had started, front man and bombos player Espinosa showing some Argentinian pride with his blue and white polo, walked on and off stage, delaying the set time for repeated sound checks. Even though he was a bit of a perfectionist, he at least had the audience's best interest in mind.

Every song was fun, accompanied with seamless production. All the instruments came in at perfect points as each band member knew exactly what to do, staying focused throughout and playing off one another. The sound of Leon's dramatic violin to upbeat Spanish sing-alongs had loyal fans mouthing every lyric and all ages participating. Espinosa's bombos kept the crowd going with repetitive hand-clapping and sudden Latin dancing as people walked by the stage or popped up from their seats to join in.

After each song, Medrano would show his appreciation and say "Si, senor, gracias!" The entire group though was carried by the dynamic duo of Espinosa and Medrano. The two founding members of the original group from 1985, are still unbelievable vocalists. Medrano's Spanish guitar solos were transformative enough to make you want to be in South America at that moment.

Just as the set was about to end, a light drizzle of raindrops fell. But that didn't stop Sur's chants building up to the last piece, "Misa Criolla" with the First UU Sanctuary Choir. "It's a spiritual, Catholic missal, usually sung by priests," Medrano said. As the finale started, each member put on traditional ponchos and started the solemn song as the choir tried to keep up.

Sur showed a lot of pride in what they do. They actively interacted with the festival crowd throughout the night. Their longevity is a real tribute to traditional South American music.

When asked about their iFest experience and the Houston music scene Espinosa and Medrano agreed, "Houston's been a great place for us to play the type of music we make. We haven't been back to iFest since 2002 and it's a great honor.

"It's really nice and we love it!"