Singing the dream A hero’s welcome

ORIGINALLY from the UK, singersongwriter Debbie James has now settled in Calahonda in Malaga spending her time making people’s dreams come true.

As well as being a phenomenal performer, Debbie is also an A&R (artistes and repertoire) Manager for the AMG media company. Having been involved in showbiz since a young age Debbie confirmed: “I have always been involved with music, either performing or producing.

“I am currently working on a project with Loris Holland; he is a legend and I am really excited because he is so utterly talented. My first official cut will be on an album that he has produced.”

Lori Holland is a Grammy/Emmy Award ­ winning performer/producer/composer/arranger and conductor who has developed a clientele of greats including Mariah Carey, George Clinton, Whitney Houston, Billy Ocean and Aretha Franklin, to name a few.

In between living the dream, Debbie has somehow found the time to create a global songwriting network and is also the co­ founder of the Jud Friedman Workshops. The singer said: “We have already completed very successful work ­ shops worldwide, in the UK, Canada, Italy and also in Los Angeles. We are delighted to be able to add Spain to the list as we are bringing a songwriting retreat and workshop to Fort Ingles in Malaga from March 4 until March 7.”

Debbie added: “The workshops are great and we encourage all levels of experience from experienced songwriters/ artists/producers to those who are just starting out! Teamwork really does make the dream work!

“Jud is amazing, he is a six ­ time Grammy, Oscar, Golden Globenominated, award ­ winning, Billboard No.1 Hit songwriter and producer and is now offering workshops to share his wealth of knowledge.”

For more information or to book your place head to www.globalsongwrit ersnetwork.com

Debbie added: “Anyone based in Spain is lucky enough to receive a 30 per cent discount. Just input the code SPAIN at the checkout.”

Betty Henderson

THE mayor of Benalmádena, Víctor Navas held a special meeting with Óscar Raggio Pérez, a local firefighter who rushed to Turkey in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake, to thank him for his service on Monday, February 20.

Raggio Pérez explained, “I’m a member of the NGO ‘Firefighters without Borders’ which deployed a specialised search and rescue team on the ground in and around buildings that had collapsed due to the magnitude of the earthquake in Turkey.”

Raggio Pérez travelled with a team of nine firefighter colleagues as well as a nurse and a specially trained dog. The team worked to rescue survivors from underneath the rubble alongside international emergency response teams in the Turkish city of

Maras, which has a population of around 1.2 million. Raggio Pérez described the scene on arriving as a “gruesome panorama.”

The firefighter described their joy at rescuing a 12year­old boy alongside a Singaporean team, but also their feeling of helplessness at such a calamitous disaster.

The mayor expressed his thanks and admiration to Raggio Pérez calling him “An example of the best of humanity, working 40 hours back to back to save lives.”