Celtas Cortos

Originating from Spain, Celtas Cortos emerged as a Celtic rock group whose appeal has endured across several decades thanks to an eclectic sound that incorporates influences from many different genres. Standout tracks from their catalog feature the 1991 single “20 de Abril” and the 1993 song “Tranquilo Majete.” The ensemble came together in Valladolid in 1986 and entered the studio for the first time in 1988, contributing three songs to the youth-folk compilation Así Es Como Suena: Folk Joven. Although personnel shifted repeatedly in subsequent years, the founding roster comprised Jesús H. Cifuentes (aka Cifu; guitar, vocals), Nacho Castro (drums, percussion), Carlos A. Soto (flute, whistle, gaita), Goyo Yeves (flute, whistle, saxophone), Nacho Martín (keyboard), Luís M. de Tejada (violin), Óscar García (bass), César Cuenca (guitar), and Alberto García (violin, trombone). Their debut long-player, the all-instrumental Celtic-rock set Salida de Emergencia, appeared in 1989. The follow-up, Gente Impresentable (1990), marked the first occasion on which Cifuentes supplied both vocals and lyrics. The remainder of the decade saw steady album releases: Cuentame un Cuento (1991), Tranquilo Majete (1993), Vamos! (1995), En Estos Dias Inciertos (1996), Nos Vemos en los Bares (1997), El Alquimista Loco (1998), and Tienes la Puerta Abierta (1999). After 2000, two compilations preceded Cifuentes’s exit in 2002, an event that followed the earlier departures of César Cuenca in 1993 and Nacho Martín in 1996. The group later reconvened for the albums C’est la Vie (2003) and Celtificado (2004), after which Cifuentes returned to mark the twentieth anniversary with the double-disc collection 20 Soplando Versos (2006). Its successor, 40 de Abril (2008), achieved notable success by entering the Spanish albums chart inside the Top Five.