The Ecojazz Festival presents an exceptional jazz program alongside educational opportunities, lectures, and public discussions focused on sustainability and ecology.
The delicate ecosystem of an island such as Fuerteventura, which faces demographic and tourist pressures, is a biosphere reserve continually endangered by oil extraction initiatives along its shores and the mining of rare earths. Its complete dependence on external resources, owing to its arid environment, inspired Enrique Thompson, a composer and saxophonist with a profound ecological consciousness, to develop this project.
To reimagine the concept of a jazz festival and convert it into a multifunctional venue where concert programs, scientific discourse, analysis, and public debates coexist, while attracting an audience and ensuring accessibility and sustainability for the community.
The promotion of jazz and the awareness of environmental issues constitute the two fundamental pillars of the project.
‘NEXT EDITION — September 2026, Fuerteventura’
One afternoon. The wild northwest of the island. EcoJazz at its most essential.
November 30, 2025. Av. Muelle de los Pescadores, El Cotillo, La Oliva — 3:30 to 7:00 PM. The fourth edition of EcoJazz moved to the rugged Atlantic coastline of northwestern Fuerteventura for a programme that wove science, art and community into a single, uninterrupted afternoon.
The day opened with a participatory Ornithological Route Through the Intertidal Zone, facilitated by Grupo Ornitológico Alcaidón de Canarias and led by J.A. Sarry (biologist, ornithologist and science communicator) — open to all ages, connecting participants directly with the coastal ecosystem beneath their feet. A presentation on Ornithology, Birdwatching, Biodiversity Mapping and Citizen Science, developed in collaboration with Observatory.org, complemented the outdoor activity.
Two performances brought art into the ecological conversation: Alicia Díaz and Anna Villacampa (thefact.co) explored pollution and social and industrial toxicity through flamenco movement arts, and writer and social activist Figu García performed two pieces of advocacy poetry, Prisma and Caligrama. Video reflections on environmental awareness and tourism in Fuerteventura by filmmaker José Assima, and on global ecological challenges by Protect the Planet Org, added further layers to the afternoon’s dialogue. Energy expert Víctor Caballeira presented on solar generators as a tool for sustainable event management.
Prior to the concert, a participatory public debate brought together expert speakers, professionals and the audience. The questions, ideas and proposals raised were documented in full and will be presented at EcoJazz V — September 2026.
The afternoon closed with a concert featuring Enrique Thompson (saxophone), Thomas Figueroa (guitar), Bryan Corbett (trumpet), David Muñoz (piano), Julia Rodríguez (vocals & timple), Lindi Duma (vocals) and Ancor Miranda (drums).
Two days in the capital. Two stages. One city — and a debate that won’t go away.
May 4–5, 2024. Puerto del Rosario opened its doors to the most ambitious EcoJazz edition yet: Friday evening at the Auditorio Insular de Fuerteventura, Saturday afternoon at Plaza Playa Chica — outdoors, beside the urban beach, where families, jazz fans, environmental collectives and curious passers-by shared the same space spontaneously. That open-air experience directly inspired the programming approach for 2025.
Friday brought a keynote on citizen science and biodiversity conservation by J.A. Sarry (Grupo Ornitológico Alcaidón de Canarias) through Observation.org, a screening by Verde Aurora eco-farm, a video reflection by Protect the Planet Org, and a keynote on rare earth mineral extraction in Fuerteventura by Pedro Hernández Camacho (Professor, University School of Tourism of Lanzarote) and Juan Miguel Torres (edaphologist, IES Gran Tarajal, researcher at La Gavia). Figu García performed activist poetry on the same theme. The evening closed with Revirado Project in concert: Enrique Thompson (saxophones & composition), Davor Pomir (trumpet), Luis Sánchez (piano), Davide Garattoni (double bass) and Ancor Miranda (drums).
Saturday brought an educational talk on cetaceans by Asociación Calderones Grises, presentations by Verde Aurora and Grupo Ornitológico Alcaidón, a panel on the state of the seas featuring Ocean Foundation, Observatorio de Basura Marina and Calderones Grises, activist poetry by Figu Surf, and an open public dialogue on rare earth mining — one of the most pressing environmental debates on the island. The day closed with the José Vera Quartet in concert: José Vera Bello (compositions, tenor & soprano saxophones), Luis Sánchez (piano), Nelson Saavedra (double bass) and Juan Pérez (drums).
Three days. One resort by the sea. A message that needed to reach beyond the island’s residents.
September 1–3, 2023. Las Playitas Resort, Tuineje. The second edition of EcoJazz chose its venue deliberately: a resort, in a municipality that receives millions of tourists every year. With a resident population of just over 100,000 and more than 2 million visitors annually, Fuerteventura faces a reality that cannot be ignored — the collective impact of tourism can be either deeply destructive or genuinely transformative for sustainability. EcoJazz II chose to bring the conversation to where tourists actually are.
Three consecutive days, three different musical formations, and a programme of keynote talks that deepened the scientific and environmental conversation started the year before.
Keynote presentations covered the wildflowers and endemic flora of Fuerteventura by Stephan Scholz (PhD in Biology, 35 years studying the island’s vegetation, director of the botanical garden of Oasis Wildlife since 2011); the Potaje Científico project and the critically endangered Houbara Bustard by Sofía Menéndez (science and environmental journalist, coordinator of Del Jable al Malpey, the only Majorero environmental radio programme, 22 years on air); birds of Fuerteventura by José A. Sarry (biologist, ornithologist and science communicator); and marine litter as a collective problem by Bárbara Abaroa Pérez (marine biologist). The programme also featured the presentation of the book Chronicles of the Garden of the Hesperides by Alicia Díaz Jiménez (Russian Philology, filmmaker) and Laly Jiménez Delgado (Philosophy and Arts, Universidad de La Laguna).
Three concerts, three formations: Playitas Jazz Band (Day 1) — Enrique Thompson (saxophone), Joel Beltrán (piano), Joaquín Vaccari (bass), Riccardo Capelli (drums). Revirado Project (Day 2) — Enrique Thompson (saxophone), José A. Medina (piano), Davide Garattoni (double bass), Ancor Miranda (drums). FTV Jazz Sextet (Day 3) — Davor Pomir (trumpet), Enrique Thompson (saxophone), Thomas Figueroa (guitar), Joel Beltrán (piano), Joaquín Vaccari(bass), Ancor Miranda (drums), with guest vocalist Marina Di Maio.
The first edition of EcoJazz was the hardest and the bravest. Nothing was invented yet, nothing had been tested — everything was learned by doing. Over two months, from March to May 2022, the festival took shape as a cycle of eight consecutive weekly concerts across four different spaces in Fuerteventura: the Auditorium of Corralejo, the Auditorium of Puerto del Rosario, the Auditorium of Antigua, and the Casa de la Naturaleza in Betancuria — four Sundays in March, four in May. Eight nights to build from scratch a festival model no one had attempted before on the island: a cycle where world-class jazz and ecological awareness did not simply coexist, but genuinely needed each other.
Eighteen musicians from Argentina, Italy, Germany, Austria and the Canary Islands formed the artistic universe of this first edition: Enrique Thompson (saxophone & EWI), Thomas Figueroa and Torsten de Winkel (guitars), Joel Beltrán(piano), Lindi Duma, Julia Rodríguez (vocals & flute), Davor Pomir and Luca Simonelli (trumpet), Davide Garattoniand Agustín Buenafuente (double bass), Joaquín Vaccari and Franco Contreras (bass guitar), Riccardo Capelli, Ancor Miranda, Carlos Pérez and Sergio Díaz (drums).
Nine collectives and organisations joined the programme — the Marine Litter Observatory, Grupo Ornitológico Alcaidón, Espacio de la Biosfera, Clean Ocean Project, Verde Aurora Bio Farm, Ecoáreas Mardetodos, Eduardo Fránquiz, Silverio López and Bimbache Open Art, the El Hierro arts festival that stands as a model of island sustainability — alongside six keynote speakers who put science and language at the service of the territory.
From that first experimental edition came the foundations of everything EcoJazz is today: the blend of concert and debate, the journey across the island’s spaces, the community of organisations that return year after year, and the conviction that jazz and ecology have more in common than it might seem. Everything that came after began here.
A fundamental pillar of the Ecojazz festival is to foster a space for dialogue between experts in sustainability, the environment, and ecology, professionals, and the general public.
Year after year, the dynamic format of educational sessions, activities, participatory workshops, presentations of projects, initiatives, and possibilities, and the discussions held before the concert, become a forum for meeting, participation, and reflection as essential as the music itself.
Name | Profile | Editions |
José A. Sarry | Biologist, ornithologist and science communicator · Grupo Ornitológico Alcaidón de Canarias | I · II · III · IV |
Sofía Menéndez | Science and environmental journalist · Del Jable al Malpey, Radio Sintonía Fuerteventura | I · II |
Stephan Scholz | PhD in Biology · Director of Oasis Botanic, Oasis Wildlife Fuerteventura · Author of Desierto Florido · Atlantic Environment Prize 2018 | I · II |
Bárbara Abaroa Pérez | Marine biologist · Director of OBAM | I · II |
Alicia Díaz Jiménez | Russian Philology, filmmaker · Co-author Chronicles of the Garden of the Hesperides | I · II · IV |
Laly Jiménez Delgado | Philosophy and Arts, Universidad de La Laguna · Co-author Chronicles of the Garden of the Hesperides | I · II |
Eduardo Fránquiz | Researcher · Palm groves of Fuerteventura | I |
Silverio López | Collaborator | I |
Pedro Hernández Camacho | Professor, University School of Tourism of Lanzarote · Rare Earths | III |
Juan Miguel Torres | Edaphologist · Teacher IES Gran Tarajal · Researcher at La Gavia · Rare Earths | III |
Figu Surf | Writer and social activist · Activist poetry | III · IV |
Alberto Sarabia | Marine biologist · Asociación Calderones Grises | III |
María Rodríguez | Marine biologist · Asociación Calderones Grises | III |
Anna Villacampa | Flamenco dancer · thefact.co | IV |
José Assima | Filmmaker, Fuerteventura | IV |
Víctor Caballeira | Energy management expert · Sustainable events | IV |
Organisation | Focus | Editions |
Bird protection and citizen science | I · II · III · IV | |
Environmental conservation and renewable energy · Founded by Dorothea Sick-Thies | I · II · III · IV | |
Marine litter research and education, Fuerteventura | I · III | |
Organic local farming and eco-tourism, Fuerteventura | I · III | |
Ocean and beach conservation, Fuerteventura · Founded 2002 | I | |
Fuerteventura UNESCO Biosphere Reserve | I | |
Ecoáreas Mardetodos | Marine ecology and sustainability | I |
International arts festival, El Hierro · Model of island sustainability | I | |
Cetacean research and conservation · Risso’s dolphins | III | |
Global marine conservation | III | |
International citizen science platform · Biodiversity data | III · IV | |
Movement arts · Environmental activism | IV |
EcoJazz exists because someone believed that a jazz concert and a talk on rare earth mining could share the same stage — and that the audience would be richer for it. Five years later, that belief has built something real: a community of scientists, artists, activists and citizens who gather every year in Fuerteventura to ask the same urgent question: what are we doing to protect this place?
If that question matters to you, there is a place for you here.
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