HELLO CUCA: La Manga on Sunday

‘Doo-wah-da’ by Hello Cuca

A Sunday stroll around La Manga del Mar Menor with Hello Cuca

La Manga del Mar Menor, a strip of coastline of some 21 km in length between the Mediterranean and Mar Menor, is the piece of land (and sea) that saw the rise of Hello Cuca, the legendary Murcia trio and Spanish indie standard-bearers from the mid- 90’s till the present day.

“La Manga is like a big housing estate where, in the absence of roads, buildings serve as a reference for naming areas. Our father worked at this hotel. It’s not the best beach, but we swam a lot here.”

“The sea here barely covers you, unless you go deep inside. I don’t know if it goes on like that, but before there was an area near the shore, near here, where you could dive and catch crabs. With goggles they looked huge, but later you’d be disappointed by their size. Being innocent doesn’t compensate, it’s a great delusion as Nathanael West said.”

Lidia Damunt, guitarist and singer

“Deer Island. Now it’s a real island, because at some stage someone had the great idea of connecting it to a road and that’s how it was for many years. There are several small islands along the Mar Menor, but this is the only one you can walk to. We’ve done it many times, trying to surprise some of the rabbits who live out there (there’s no sign of deer).”

Alfonso Melero, drums

“These surfboard-shaped signs are also used to indicate the number of kilometres from La Manga and as information panels that tell us a little about local areas and places of interest. They’re a nice idea, but, sadly, every time they’re changed they get uglier.”

Hello Cuca.”We used this sign on the cover of the 7″ Triple Dynamita, released in 2002. Local imagery always inspires us for the design of our records ”

“My sister Lidia and I lived here when we were children. In the mid-70s, our mother saw a UFO just here. Herself and lots of other people, who the next day read in the newspaper that it was a trial balloon. It’s such a boring explanation that I don’t accept it.”

Mabel Damunt, bass and vocals. She has shown us her favourite spots in La Manga. Thanks a lot for the stroll.

Photography. Blanca Galindo
Text. Mabel Damunt
Music. Doo-wah-da by Hello Cuca