On Saturday night, rock guitarist and singer Danfer Ciudad truly comes alive. The heavily tattooed rocker, a familiar face in Asunción’s bar scene for over two decades, strides into bar JazzCube and passionately greets his fellow band members of Gas Panic. As the Oasis tribute band rips through their soundcheck, Danfer, who was born in Paraguay and raised in Argentina, readies himself for a night driven by his greatest passion: shredding rock guitar.
Tonight at JazzCube, Gas Panic delivers “Wonderwall” and other iconic hits of the legendary English rock band, paying tribute to brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. Danfer knows the escapades of the notorious Liam Gallagher all too well, having served as his local manager in Asunción in 2022. That gig led to Danfer rocking out in Mexico alongside Liam, Arctic Monkeys, and The Kooks – but more on that adventure after Danfer’s musical journey.
Danfer’s love for the guitar
First there is the gig in JazzCube, where Danfer, after a meticulous soundcheck, settles on a couch outside the venue. Surrounded by his lovely wife Maca and his fellow members of Gas Panic – one of the four bands he currently plays with – the now 42-year-old guitarist begins to share his story.
“My love for the guitar sparked when I was seven,” he says with a smile, a pint of beer never far from reach. “I’d spin a padel racket in my parents’ living room, pretending to be Slash from Guns N’ Roses. I bothered my father for years to get me a guitar. When I was 11, he finally gave in and bought me one. A beautiful Texas guitar. But it came with a condition: ‘If you want it, you have to take this seriously. No messing about. You need to study and practice it properly.’”
“Hopeless at school”
And practice he did. Almost exclusively, Danfer admits. “By 15 or 16, I was hopeless at school. All I could think about was the guitar. My teachers were furious because I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to.”
That cherished Texas guitar gifted by his fater, has always remained a constant in his life. “My father passed away when I was 17,” he says in a soft voice. “This guitar still hangs above the bed I share with my wife. It’s hard to explain what the guitar in general means to me. On stage I feel whole with it. Without it, I feel naked.”
Before he hit 18, Danfer was already tearing it up in bars across Argentina. “At 17, I was playing in places I wasn’t legally allowed to be, alongside guys in their thirties,” he recalls with a smirk. “They’d stick me at the backof the stage, near the office and say, ‘If the police shows up, you’re hiding in there.’ I absolutely loved it.”
Danfer was utterly hooked. Swallowed up, by his guitar, by the music, by the energy of the crowd. His mother, left to raise young Danfer by herself, was far less enthusiastic.
“You have to tell her”
“My mother wasn’t keen on me playing the guitar for a living. She insisted I become a lawyer, doctor, or study marketing or business. She worried that this life was all about drugs and alcohol. Well, she was half right,” he declares laughing, raising his beer in a toast with his bandmates.
Eventually, there was no hiding from his mother any longer. “It was my wife who finally said, ‘Danfer, you have to tell her.’ I was playing all around town with several bands, constantly. But I still hadn’t told her – and I was 28! Can you imagine? So, I decided to come clean. During a Sunday lunch with, the entire family gathered around the table.”
That day, twenty pairs of eyes turned to Danfer as he stood and tapped his spoon against a glass to draw their attention. “I said, ‘Mum, I have something to tell you. The only thing I want to do is play the guitar.’ There was dead silence. Then, all twenty faces shifted from me to her. She didn’t say a word, just stood up and walked inside.”
Go after her, his wife urged. “So, I followed her into the kitchen. I said, ‘Mum, this is the only thing I’m good at.’ She looked at me, and then she said, ‘Then do it. And be the best at it. I love you, and I support you. You play well, but you need to be the best.’”
Mother’s blessing
With his mother’s blessing, Danfer set out to be the best, throwing everything he had into his music. Besides his Oasis tribute band, Gas Panic, he now plays with several other bands: he’s the guitarist for Innuendo, a Queen cover band that nails Freddie Mercury’s vibe, and Arriband, who rock out with Latin, British, and American covers. With Amapola, Danfer plays the band’s own songs.
All over Asunción
The guitarist plays with these bands, all over Asunción. “I play most week nights. From Kilkenny to Sacramento and from Kingfish to Rock66. Now it’s JazzCube, and later on tonight, Rockero, where I’ll be the guitarist for Innuendo.”
Danfer pauses briefly, then leans forward. “Honestly, the guitarist’s spot on stage is where I feel most at ease. As the singer, everyone’s watching you constantly. But as the guitarist, you’re just there, next to or behind the frontman, doing what you love. That’s my sweet spot. This truly is the thing I love doing most”
A JazzCube staffer, who’s been delivering rounds of beer for the past hour, approaches with a nod, signalling that Gas Panic is about to take the stage before a now-packed crowd inside. Danfer downs the last sip of his pint and rises, with fire in his eyes: Let’s rock.
Side Story: Danfer with Liam in Mexico
So, thank you for joining us on Danfer’s musical journey. With him tearing up JazzCube – The Asunción Times was there that Saturday night and Gas Panic was incredible! – we wouldn’t want to keep his Liam Gallagher story from you. So here’s Danfer’s monologue, about his first and second time meeting the Oasis wildman.
“In 2022, the owner of Kilkenny Irish Pub contacted me. Liam Gallagher would be performing at Kilkfest festival in Asunción and I was considered to be Liam’s local manager for the time he would spend in Paraguay! ‘Do you want to meet him?’ was the question. Of course I did!
So on the day of his arrival in Asunción, I went to his hotel to meet him. But Liam went straight to his room and stayed there for two days straight, until he was about to go on; it was quite strange. So I was ready to leave for the day. But then his tour manager, a crazy, broad-shouldered British guy, asked me where I was going. ‘Well, home,’ I said. ‘No, let’s drink!’ he replied, so we did. Oh yes, we did. After about 24 Coronas, we were totally drunk next the pool of the hotel.
On the day of the festival, we were all very unlucky. Due to a storm, Liam couldn’t go on and all was cancelled. I went home and got back the next day to bring him to the airport. But then it turned out that they all got drunk again the evening before, after the cancellation! And the seat with my name on it stayed empty all night!
‘You don’t like me,’ Liam said to me, you know, after not partying with him the night before. But I didn’t know! ‘Come to Mexico then,’ he said. That was one of his next stops on his Latin American Tour. Maybe he felt bad after not being able to play in Asunción due to the weather? I don’t know. But before going through security, he turned around, looked at me, and said it again: ‘See you in Mexico.’
My wife and I had a laugh about it after; this must have been a joke. But the Monday after, my phone rang and it was his manager. ‘Give me your full name and passport number. I’m booking you a flight to Mexico.’ I went to see Liam play there and it was a-ma-zing. For days, I was truly part of his crew, all the way until the afterparty, where we partied with Arctic Monkeys and The Kooks. A trip I’ll never forget.”
Follow Danfer Ciudad on Instagram here! And follow Danfer’s Queen tribute band Innuendo on Instagram, Oasis tribute band Gas Panic on Instagram, Latin Rock band Arriband on Instagram, and original-music band Amapola on Instagram.
Click the links for past performance reviews of Gas Panic at JazzCube and Innuendo at JazzCube!
