''Mondo Sonoro'', sometimes shortened to ''la Mondo'', is a Spanish magazine established in 1994 which focuses on current

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

, popular and

indie music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties afforded by in ...

, as well as national emerging bands. Co-founded by Sergio Marqués and Jose Macarro in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Dani López joined them in 1995 and they are still in charge of the magazine. By 2019, ''Mondo Sonoro'' had a circulation of 125.000 monthly copies and over two million visits to its website every year. ''Mondo Sonoro'' is distributed every month in clothes shops, discos, pubs and music venues for free, in eight regional divisions of Spain (Madrid, Catalonia-Balearic Islands, Valencian Community, Basque Country, Asturias-Cantabria, Galicia-Castile and León, Aragón, and Andalusia-Murcia-Extremadura), having a local edition for each area. The magazine organises the yearly events ''Fiesta Demoscópica'' and ''Plaza Sonora'', both serving as springboards for emerging bands.

History

''Mondo Sonoro'' was founded in 1994 by Sergio Marqués and Jose Macarro, two university students from Barcelona. The magazine evolved from their previous

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

entitled ''BUM'' (''Boletín Universitario Musical'', translated as University's Music Bulletin). The magazine's first issue was published in October 1994, including reviews of shows by

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

and Mano Negra. Using a

rotary press A rotary printing press is a printing press in which the images to be printed are curved around a cylinder. Printing can be done on various substrates, including paper, cardboard, and plastic. Substrates can be sheet feed or unwound on a contin ...

, within the first year they distributed between 15.000 and 20.000 monthly copies of ''Mondo Sonoro'' in Barcelona, being the second independent magazine to reach that number after ''ABarna''. The following year they were joined by commercial director Dani López. In 1996, the magazine expanded its coverage to Madrid and by 1998 it had seven regional editions across the country. In 1997, it was launched a website for the magazine and in March 2000 they began collaborating with

Terra Networks Terra was a Spanish Internet multinational company owned by Telefónica. It was headquartered in Spain and had offices in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the United States and Peru. Part of the Telefónica Group (the former Spanish public tele ...

. As of that year, ''Mondo Sonoro'' had around 30.000 and 40.000 monthly visits to its website. Since 1999, ''Mondo Sonoro'' has organised the yearly ''Fiestas Demoscópicas'' free tour, where a group of emerging bands without any album are chosen to perform after they sent their

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

to the magazine. In 2018, the magazine partnered with

Matadero Madrid Matadero Madrid is the site of a former slaughterhouse, the El Matadero y Mercado Municipal de Ganados (English: Municipal Slaughterhouse and Cattle Market) in the Arganzuela district of Madrid. Today, it is a contemporary arts centre. History ...

to launch ''Plaza Sonora'', a 12-hour free show realised each year at the venue, and also including workshops, exhibitions and talks. To mark the 20th anniversary of ''Mondo Sonoro'' in October 2014, the bands Sidonie,

Love of Lesbian Love of Lesbian is a Spanish indie pop band. They were nominated for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Spanish Act at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards. Their album ''La noche eterna. Los días no vividos.'' reached number 1 in 2012. On Marc ...

, Dorian and Standstill, all linked to the magazine from their beginnings, performed at Razzmatazz in Barcelona. Celebrating the magazine's 25th anniversary in 2019, there was a special show in Madrid in addition to the release of a compilation album featuring bands who appeared in the magazine during their formative years. In April 2020, ''Mondo Sonoro'' published its first online issue due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and started a podcast series on this issue as well.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, access-date=17 June 2020, url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/4044012/0/revista-musical-mondo-sonoro-25-aniversario/, language=es, website=

20 minutos ''20 minutos'' is a Spanish free newspaper, with local editions in several Spanish cities, published by Multiprensa & Mas S.L. History Multiprensa & Mas S.L. was founded in Madrid in 1999. The founder of 20 minutos is José Antonio Martínez ...

, title=La revista 'Mondo Sonoro', 25 años apoyando la escena musical emergente, first=Pilar , last=Sanz , publication-date= 7 November 2019 , url-status=live, archive-date=12 November 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112074837/https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/4044012/0/revista-musical-mondo-sonoro-25-aniversario/ {{cite web, access-date=17 June 2020, url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/4211282/0/mondosonoro-podcast-valientes-diario-de-un-encierro/, title=Mondo Sonoro debuta en el podcast con 'Valientes. Diario de un encierro', publication-date=31 March 2020 , website=

, language=es, url-status=live, archive-date=3 April 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403212108/https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/4211282/0/mondosonoro-podcast-valientes-diario-de-un-encierro/ {{cite web, access-date=17 June 2020, url=https://www.abc.es/cultura/musica/20141010/abci-aniversario-mondosonoro-201410101815.html, title=MondoSonoro, 20 años de periodismo musical , language=es, publication-date=10 October 2014 , first=Ignacio , last=Serrano, website=

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, url-status=live, archive-date=22 July 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722130154/https://www.abc.es/cultura/musica/20141010/abci-aniversario-mondosonoro-201410101815.html {{cite web, access-date=18 June 2020, url=https://www.abc.es/plan-b/aplaudir/abci-plaza-sonora-12-horas-musica-gratis-san-isidro-201905141239_noticia.html, title=Plaza Sonora, 12 horas de música gratis por San Isidro, website=

, publication-date=14 May 2019 , first=Nacho , last=Serrano, language=es, url-status=live, archive-date=May 15, 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515104627/https://www.abc.es/plan-b/aplaudir/abci-plaza-sonora-12-horas-musica-gratis-san-isidro-201905141239_noticia.html {{cite magazine, access-date=18 June 2020, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YQ4EAAAAMBAJ, title=Barcelona Scene Gains Global Notice, magazine=

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

, publication-date=13 June 1998, first=Terry , last=Berne, date = 13 June 1998, pages=1, 113 and 121 {{cite book, access-date=17 June 2020, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFHqBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA182, title=Rock around Spain: Historia, industria, escenas y medios de comunicación, pages=182–183, language=es, first1=José María , last1=Esteban , first2=January , last2=Ruiz, editor-first1=Kiko, editor-last1 =Mora , editor-first2=Eduardo , editor-last2 =Viñuela, publisher =

University of Lleida The University of Lleida (officially in Catalan: ''Universitat de Lleida'') is a university based in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It was the first university founded in Catalonia and in the ancient Crown of Aragon. It was founded in 1300, using the ...

, publication-date=7 February 2013 , chapter=El rock en la prensa escrita: pasado, presente y futuro , date = 7 February 2013, isbn =978-8484096634 {{cite web, access-date=17 June 2020, url=http://www.computerworld.es/economia-digital/mondoweb-la-version-digital-de-la-revista-mondosonoro-se-presenta-en-publico, language=es, website=

Computerworld ''Computerworld'' (abbreviated as CW) is a computer magazine published since 1967 aimed at information technology (IT) and Business computing, business technology professionals. Original a print magazine, ''Computerworld'' published its final pr ...

, location=Spain, publication-date=5 January 2001, title=MondoWeb, la versión digital de la revista MondoSonoro, se presenta en público , first=Inma , last=Rico {{cite web, access-date=18 June 2020, url= https://www.elmundo.es/cataluna/2014/10/10/5437f7e0268e3eed0a8b4582.html, title=20 años poniendo letra a la música, language=es, first=Sergio, last=del Amo, location=Barcelona, publication-date=10 October 2014, website= El Mundo, url-status=live, archive-date=21 July 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721234113/http://www.elmundo.es/cataluna/2014/10/10/5437f7e0268e3eed0a8b4582.html {{cite web, access-date=18 June 2020, url=https://muzikalia.com/comienzan-las-fiestas-demoscopicas/, title=Comienzan las fiestas Demoscópicas, language=es, publication-date=1 February 2007, website= Muzikalia {{cite web, access-date=17 June 2020, url=https://www.marca.com/tiramillas/musica/2019/11/04/5dc01351268e3e89418b4590.html, title=El Columpio Asesino y Viva Suecia cierran el cartel de la fiesta de celebración del 25 aniversario de Mondo Sonoro, language=es, publication-date=4 November 2019 , website= Marca, url-status=live, archive-date=5 November 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105161630/https://www.marca.com/tiramillas/musica/2019/11/04/5dc01351268e3e89418b4590.html {{cite web, access-date=17 June 2020, url=https://muzikalia.com/vvaa-mondosonoro-25-anos-larvin-music/, title=VVAA – MondoSonoro 25 años (Larvin Music), language=es, publication-date=1 July 2019 , first=Amaia , last=Prados, website= Muzikalia {{cite web, access-date=17 June 2020, url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/participacion/20141012/54417036944/exito-20-aniversario-revista-musical-mondosonoro.html, title=Éxito artístico y de público en un emotivo 20 aniversario de 'MondoSonoro', language=es, website=

La Vanguardia ' (; , ) is a Spanish daily newspaper founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan. It has its headquarters in Barcelona and is Catalonia's leading newspaper. Despite being mostly distributed in Catalonia, ...

, publication-date=12 October 2014, first=Carlos , last=Romero Dios, url-status=live, archive-date=6 December 2014 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206055407/https://www.lavanguardia.com/participacion/20141012/54417036944/exito-20-aniversario-revista-musical-mondosonoro.html

External links

Official website
1994 establishments in Spain Free magazines Independent magazines Indie rock Magazines established in 1994 Magazines published in Barcelona Monthly magazines published in Spain Music magazines published in Spain Spanish-language magazines Alternative rock mass media