Fifty platinum discs: more than two million DVDs sold. Eleven million subscribers Youtube (Diamond Button) and 9,000 million views. They are celebrating 20 years of experience and are not an urban music star or a melodic singer. I’m a musical group for children: Cantajuego celebrates two decades by marking what the girls and boys of Spain and Latin America listen to, sing and dance with its own songbook and by recovering traditional songs or compositions that other artists made decades ago. They celebrate it Lope de Vega Theater on Gran Vía in Madrid with concerts every weekend starting from this Saturday and until December 29th, with a show in which the history of the group will be retraced.
Zaidman remains the driving force Cantagameeven though he currently only deals with music. His son, Matías Zaidman, and his daughter-in-law, Olivia, run the company -Do it now productions-, although Matías is also the composer of some songs. He is a discreet person, he prefers to stay in the background. He managed to build a solid team that supports and grows the project. “This gives me the peace of mind of being able to work in the studio,” he explains to El Periódico de España during a break from the last rehearsals before the premiere of the anniversary show.
THE original Cantajuego formula has not changed: it is a fundamentally musical project, accompanied by simple choreographies that help the little ones in their development, just like the lyrics of the songs. Zaidman says he didn’t create it with the music industry in mind, like children’s groups like Parchís or Enrique y Ana, who emerged forty years ago, but rather as a project useful for childhood development. For this reason their first product was not an album, but a DVD with the songs, accompanied by illustrations and choreography. The work, created completely by hand and without any support, was distributed by him himself in shops and early childhood education centres. The year was 2004. It worked very well. And thanks to its almost certain success subwayrecorded a second volume. Word of mouth got me there the Sony offices, who offered him a contract and got the project off the ground. “They welcomed me into the offices with the singing of The tagliatelle clown“he recalls with a smile.
<img src="https://estaticos-cdn.prensaiberica.es/clip/a2b35cdb-625d-47be-acdf-8f29f5a3b16c_alta-libre-aspect-ratio_default_0.jpg" width="1200" height="800" alt="Pedro Zaidman, creator of Cantajuego, in an image from a few years ago." class="ft-helper-img-rd" loading="
One of the things Zaidman was most obsessed with was making the group unmistakable. Got it in the picture, thanks aa simple uniform consisting of a red t-shirt and denim overalls. The idea, he says, was to associate it with work clothes. “We started with very few tools,” he recalls, “but we realized we had to find one identifiable image and what we continually looked for was that clothing was closely associated with work. The armor, or mamluk, as it is called in Latin America, is used by farmers and workers. We don’t like flashes, lights or strange things, we like to associate our image with work”, he says emphatically. Another option could have been a nursery or child’s uniform? “No, because then you leave the family out . “We wanted the project to be strongly aimed at the whole environment of girls and boys, that it was inclusive.”
“We don’t like splendor, lights or strange things, we like to associate our image with work.”
He put the same dedication into the sound. Cantajuego have achieved considerable success with some of their songs, but above all they have done very important work Save and update popular traditional songs (The potato ring, The patio of my house, under a button) as well as the creations of 70s and 80s compositions by similar people Maria Elena Walsh (The little witch of gulugú, It was a big cat) or Miliki and the TV clowns (A small nutshell boat, Hello Don Pepito), among others. “Musically, we tried to find our sound, so that the song starts and without the voices being heard, people know that this is Cantajuego. That it doesn’t sound like anything, that it doesn’t sound like anything. copy the style of anything,” explains Zaidman. “We stick to that formula, no matter if we wrote the songs or not.”
What they have always looked for when choosing their repertoire is that the themes of the songs fit certain themes values which, for the project director, are indispensable: empathy, solidarity and the importance of play. “The age at which boys and girls stop being boys and become pre-adolescents is increasingly younger, we must continue to fight so that they do not forget the game and, above all, that they do it together with the rest of the family,” he explains.
Takeoff, overflowing party
With the help of Sony Music, the project took off exponentially. With them they recorded the third of the DVDs (they recorded ten collections of Cantajuego, and from there they varied the collections with thematic selections) and from that moment the madness broke loose. launch party.
“The company ran the Circus Price Theater for us,” Zaidman recalls. “They asked us how many people we could get together, and all of a sudden, we told them about 300.” In order not to remain empty, they decided to announce it on the group’s website. “It was a Sunday in December, it was around ten degrees in the street, and since nine in the morning there had been people queuing to enter”, he recalls impressed. “I told the first one that he was freezing, that he should go home, and he said, ‘I can’t, my wife told me if I don’t get a place in line,
They began to receive messages asking them to repeat, but for a fee, in order to access it in an orderly manner, and this gave them the idea of jump on stage. “We started working on the tour and in 2008 we started.” The stage support expanded its impact: In addition to the tours in Spain, they began to travel to Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Italy… “For us it is very important”, admits Zaidman, “because it not only helps us to be in direct contact with the public, but also to know which songs work.
Faithful cast
The last distinctive element of Cantajuego is that the cast remained unchanged almost from those early years. Between 2008 and 2010 the members of the group that compose it today joined: Ainhoa Abaunz, Eugenia Cabrera, Helen Girl, Paulino Diaz, Jonas Nihlen and Rodrigo Doors.
After enormous success, Cantajuego will have to reinvent itself once again the record crisis and the arrival of Youtube, where they are absolute kings with 11 million followers (they received the Diamond Button that the platform gives to content creators with more than ten million followers). “You have to adapt,” Zaidman admits. “It’s difficult because technology is going faster and faster and we also need to evaluate it, because not everything works for us.”
What Zaidman has no intention of retiring, at least for now. As they celebrate two decades of the group, which keeps several shows active -mainly Bubbleswith numerous dates planned between the end of the year and the first half of 2025 – remains focused on continuing to grow. “I work with music, but I add the responsibility of trying to change something, so that Cantajuego serves to help transmit good values.”
How has Cantajuego adapted its music and content for international audiences while maintaining its core values?
Ot only allows us to share our music but also to connect with children and families across different cultures.” This international expansion has been a key part of Cantajuego’s success, as they adapted their performances to resonate with audiences in each country.
The continued popularity of Cantajuego can be attributed to its commitment to creating wholesome and engaging content for children. Their focus on family values, educational themes, and joyful experiences has forged a strong bond with their audience. Over the years, the group has remained relevant by continuously updating their repertoire, while still honoring the traditional songs that many remember fondly from their own childhoods.
As Cantajuego celebrates its two-decade milestone, it stands out as an integral part of the landscape of children’s entertainment in Spain and beyond, showcasing the power of music and community in nurturing the joy of childhood. With their anniversary shows at the Teatro Lope de Vega, they not only look back at their journey but also look forward to creating new memories with their beloved young fans.