If your last name is Reyes and you’re from southern France, there’s a good likelihood that you’re a member of the Gipsy Kings, or one of their many spin-offs.

It’s also a good bet that no matter what iteration of the band performs, the audience is going to be standing and dancing the entire show. Such will likely be the case when the Gipsy Kings – Gipsy Reyes takes the stage at the first Meridiano Festival in Ashdod, taking place from June 14-21 in the coastal city.

The Gipsy Kings, known for such rousing Spanish flamenco/pop hybrids like “Bambeleo” and its frantic rendition of “Hotel California,” helped popularize the genre for the worldwide masses in the 1980s. It was founded by the sons of traditional flamenco artist Jose Reyes, Nicholas and Andre Reyes, who teamed up with their cousins, Jacques, Maurice, and ace guitarist Tonino Baliardo, to add rock and Western elements to the music.

The original band started life back in 1978 as Los Reyes, “The Kings” in Spanish, and also the surname of the siblings and other relatives who form the backbone of the band. They hail from Arles and Montpellier in the south of France.

The family-based group hit the big time with the release of its eponymous CD, its third studio effort, in 1987, which featured the now-standard “Bamboleo,” with its refrain “Bamboleo, bamboleo, porque mi vida yo la prefiero vivir así” – “Swaying, swaying, because I prefer to live my life this way” – a ubiquitous tune on Israeli radio and at weddings ever since.

The Gipsy Kings, of ''Bamboleo'' fame, perform in concert. (credit: Courtesy)
The Gipsy Kings, of ''Bamboleo'' fame, perform in concert. (credit: Courtesy)
But it was the release of the 1998 film The Big Lebowski, which featured their version of the Eagles’ “Hotel California” (an ironic inclusion since the title character expresses a visceral hatred of the mellow California rockers), that catapulted the Gipsy Kings into international stardom.

A few years later, however, the Reyes brothers split up, with Nicholas retaining the name Gipsy Kings, and Andre going with The Gipsy Kings by Andre Reyes.

And then there’s the Gipsy Kings – Gipsy Reyes, founded by cousin Antonico Reyes some two decades ago and populated with a healthy number of Reyes descendants, which mine the same intoxicating vein of music.

Reyes and his family members have been pumping out their intoxicating mix of flamenco, rumba, salsa, and pop around the world, but they always look forward to returning to Israel, where the Mediterranean flavor of the music long won over Israeli audiences.

“We love to come to Israel, and I think the Israeli audience loves us too,” Reyes told The Jerusalem Post recently through an interpreter. “I’ve learned to say in Hebrew ‘Meushar meod lehiyot b’Yisrael’ (I’m really happy to be in Israel), and I open every show by saying that.”

“I love the warmth of the crowd,” said Reyes, adding that he’s performed here some three dozen times.At their performance on June 19 at the Ashdod Amphitheater, the band will be hosting Ishtar, the veteran French-Israeli vocalist, for a handful of songs. She’s no stranger to Reyes and the band.

“I love her music; we played together in Morocco and in Dubai, and we’re delighted to host her in Israel,” said Reyes.

Other musicians will perform too

In addition to that showcase performance, the festival is going to host Yehuda Poliker in a show marking 40 years of Einayim Sheli (My Eyes); and the indefatigable members of Zehu Ze (This is It) will also arrive with their successful show Shalem.

Giants of Mediterranean music will be present at the festival, including The Revivo Project, Yoav Itzhak, Glykeria, Haim Moshe, and Avner Gadasi.

Also on the program are a tribute to ABBA and innovative 360 shows with artists like Yuval Dayan, Harel Skaat, Elai Botner, Roy Bar-Natan, and Shimon Buskila.

Gipsy Kings – Gipsy Reyes love Israel

With the Gipsy Kings – Gipsy Reyes being one of the few foreign artists willing to venture to Israel since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War more than 18 months ago, Reyes said that he wasn’t concerned about safety issues and added that he knew what living under threats in Israel was like.

“I don’t care about coming to Israel during the war. It hurts my heart to see what the Israeli people are going through,” he said. “I would come at any time, and my goal is to make the people there happy and forget about their troubles.”

For information on the festival, go to: meridiano.co.ilNeria Barr contributed to this report.