On Saturday night in Mexico City, about 1,000 people gathered to see Isaac and Nora. The concert was a huge success, with the audience captivated by Nora’s Spanish-language conversation. She explained to the audience that it was her first solo performance. I will sing Volver a Los 17 by Violeta Parra. It’s quite strange that I’m singing about 17 years old since I’m only 10.
This wasn’t always the case. Nicolas Restoin, Isaac’s father, said that he remembers the moment when Nora and Nora posted the Veinte AA+ os video on Youtube in June 2019. “I believe this is an important date in our lives, because everything changed. It transformed the way that we listen to music.
Millions of people have been following Veinte AA+ Os on social media.
Nora, Isaac, and their parents hail from Quimper in Brittany in northwest France. Nora sings and plays the ukulele while Isaac provides background vocals and trumpet. Their father is the guitarist and also leads the group. They all learned Spanish over the past two year.
Restoin was educated in France, but he said he wanted to give his children a new experience. “Isaac, Nora, and their parents don’t know how music is read. They don’t even know the theory of music. They do it by ear.”
Nora’s mother has been a lover of Latin American classics over the years. This is how they started playing Veinte AA+ os. They recorded Latin & Love Studies, their first album, a few months after the viral video. This album features classics such as Brazil’s Manha de Carnaval and Colombia’s Arroz con Coco. Cuba’s El Cuarto de Tula is also included. There’s also a popular song called Hasta la RaAz by Natalia Lafourcade from Mexico.
Nicolas Restoin admits that Isaac and Nora are not masters. They play from their hearts.
Restoin stated that while it might seem like they are trying to bring back old songs for a new audience, their song selections are completely random. It’s not the lyrics or the meaning of lyrics that matter, but the music. A song’s melody, rhythm and ambiance are what really matters. This is what we care about.
Although there may have been some naivetA(c), the crowd in Mexico City couldn’t stop watching Isaac and Nora. Both children expressed their excitement after the concert with a sense of humility.
“People are kind and generous. Isaac stated that the concert at Sala Cantoral was amazing, and people were already screaming before we arrived on stage.
“Although it can be daunting to play in all these great Latin American theatres for the first time, the public receives you with such love, it’s comforting and it gives strength,” Nora says.
Mary Farquharson was the director of an independent label in Mexico City and she attended the concert. She stated, “Nora carried me from the moment she walked onto the stage in her beautiful velvet knee-length gown and with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, looking like a 10-year old.” Before she spoke, the audience was eating out of her hands.
Farquharson stated that it is difficult for children to become viral stars and serious artists in the entertainment business, but she believes Isaac and Nora have the right mindset.
Isaac and Nora conclude their first Latin American tour this weekend with two concerts in Santiago Chile. Both shows have been sold out.
