Arcadia Spain

March 28, 2020, or rather, Day 14 of confinement and most Spaniards´ cell phones still brim with memes, jokes, references to how much weight people are going to gain and daydreaming tales of how amazing it´ll be to finally leave the house. Spaniards, the folks who love to have dinner at 10 pm, endless appetizers on the weekends before lunch at a restaurant, who go out on the weekend at 11 pm knowing most places will be empty, where the line ´sorry I can´t have another drink- got to work tomorrow´ is always met with dislike… confined! Yes, it ain´t easy, and yet, we still seek ways to socialize through the screen, not only working remotely but also setting up ´beer time´ through wi-fi, or parties where we cheer each other up while holding the phone or whatnot.

One thing is clear: the boredom, the anxiety to go out, the gloomy news the TV spouts constantly have found a colossal enemy: the music of three guys (can I call´ em ´dudes´?) who are bound to fighting the bug one song at a time. At the end of each day they dive into a new style, although I must say that, as a musician who lives in Barcelona, there is something very Barcelonan about it… it´s in the tradition of Gato Pérez, the old gypsy Catalan rumba of Peret, Orquesta Platería or New Rumba like Muchachito Bombo Infierno… if you don´t know them, they are very much worth a listen. What is clear is that, as we say in Spanish, ´el que canta su mal espanta´ (singing makes evil go away) and these three guys are doing a wonderful job at it. The message they convey is clear: stay home, be responsible, do it for all- but it doesn´t mean you can´t enjoy it! At the end, music saves the day, as it always does.

To know more about these guys:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-boys-making-beautiful-quarantine-songs-on-a-barcelona-rooftop