By Santiago Rivas @rivas_santiago Photos by Simona Malaika @simonamalaika
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My third day at Rock al Parque was a very interesting one. Very difficult to describe, because of the number of "VIPs" (as Fito Páez aptly called them) who crammed the press room. I hadn't fought for that in a long time, but this time it was a lot, really. And I must say that, at the last minute, I asked the organizers for press accreditation, because the three they gave us weren't enough. Or rather, I understand, but this time there were too many people.
I arrived late, as was my custom at this festival, only to find that the main stage was delayed. I don't know if it was planned that way, perhaps to try and concentrate everyone for the grand finale, or if it was a logistical error. Thanks to that, I was able to see a bit of The Tri. I don't like it, but it was a must-see at this year's Rock al Parque., Because a legend is a legend, it doesn't matter if it's not your favorite. Alex Lora is only a little older than when I once saw him on MTV Latino, but he's exactly the same rocker at heart. As soon as he started singing something about mothers, I ran away terrified.
Cristina Rosenvinge She's got it figured out. Crystal clear. The music she's been making for decades now is beautiful., His new songs are becoming increasingly complex, She has profound lyrics and a great angel who accompanies her when she performs live. His presentation was, to begin with, elegant. Not “elegant like glue,” but almost in its scientific sense: it lacked nothing, it had nothing superfluous; there was nothing to imagine, simply to enjoy it. Hours earlier, I dared to think that perhaps Cristina and Los Subterráneos' songs would feel old, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Once again, while listening “Tell Dad / I’m leaving town / Tell the boys / I won’t be back…” I was thinking about all the little fights that happen every day, about fantasies of freedom, and about freedom itself. She is an admirable woman. The song is that simple, and that powerful. And so are all the others.
I managed to see a little bit of Gustavo Santaolalla, before going to Tequendama. Their performance was perfectly eloquent and consistent with what they've been doing for years. Far from being an explosion and an adrenaline rush, as one might expect from a group of what parents call "heavy rock", It was a long climb, full of sounds and nuances. He sat in the middle of the stage and sang his songs at the top of his lungs. It was top-notch rock, because a musician, and especially a producer of Santaolalla's stature, isn't going to mess around. Impeccable.
Tequendama, despite being a band formed with members from other well-known bands (what is commonly known as a “supergroup”), It's refreshing for our rock scene. We appreciate you joining us, because it's true that we have a lot to do, and we tend to settle for what little we have. I don't say this because what we have isn't good, but because we need more and more. Above all, we need more anger. We're undervaluing the enormous contribution of anger to our lives and our music. In a country like ours, that deep, aggressive sound is a perfect fit. It's wonderful that all the musicians matured like this, knowing themselves and their craft so well. Congratulations.
I ran to see something Altered States, Because this was a festival very much dedicated to nostalgia, and they're never going to be out of place on a stage. I feel like they struggled to get their performance going for a couple of songs, perhaps because the cadence of their more recent work is much more relaxed, and that makes the hits lose some of their tempo, like what happens to Aterciopelados with their iconic songs. However, it didn't take long for them to become the band they always are., and they put on a beautiful show, which I abandoned to watch some Morfonia, as I had promised them.
The sound of Morphonia It's still very relevant. They created some extremely nostalgic visuals, but I feel that the songs are very fitting. Hopefully we'll have more of them for a long time, because no other band sounds like them. A complex bassline, almost in a permanent state of funk rock, never letting up, and the guitar intertwining with the drums and vocals, is a very particular combination, making it a pleasure to have grown up in the nineties. We miss you, gentlemen.
Juanes He gave a Rock al Parque performance to the letter. I'm not a Juanes fan. I don't like him, but I like him, and although I feel he belongs to a different universe, I share his joy and his nerves about finally performing at the biggest festival in his country. It's silly to say that Juanes doesn't deserve to be at Rock al Parque because what he does "isn't rock". First, because that argument hasn't worked when bands we like, but which are clearly not rock, like Buraka Som Sistema, are attacked; and second, because Juanes plays rock; he wants to play rock, and he's a rocker at heart. The fact that he's not connected to rock as the Rock al Parque audience understands it, or that we don't like him, or that he's been away from it for so long, is still not an excuse.
I myself must admit that I felt challenged, Especially because I feel like they were using Juanes to promote their political campaign, and that bothers me., But it has nothing to do with his music. It didn't even bother me that he brought Fonseca, who does tropipop, or Cepeda, who sings ballads and boleros, onto the stage, because that's the country we live in, and it's better to accept it and have fun than to fight over nonsense with this country falling apart. In fact, at this point, we should be very clear that it's better to have a tropipop artist at Rock al Parque (Fonseca, who is such a good guy, really) than one governing (Duque, who is such a good guy, but what good is he to us?). Juanes went, he had a blast on stage, he called his friends and did a Metallica cover. There's nothing to say. Much respect, and congratulations. In fact, it was good to be reminded of what a great guitarist he is. But I wasn't going to stay for the whole concert, because Kap Bambino was starting at LAGO.
Kap Bambino It was good for a while. They have a track that ranges from danceable to complex (they're not always opposites, but that's the norm), going from electro to breakbeat, drum n' bass, even EBM. For two people on stage, one of whom does all the stage work, they are very powerful live. It proves once again that Rock al Parque is important, thanks to its ability to put two such utterly different sounds as Kap Bambino and Juanes barely 300 meters apart, or something like that. It was good, but after a while I got bored (the years, I guess) and went to see... Babasónicos.
They're still in my top 3 Spanish-language bands, not that they care. It's been a lot of fun following them since the nineties, from funk rock to psychedelic funk, to Río de la Plata surf-rock satanism, to pure satanism, to glam cynicism, to the almost mellow pop they make. It's a long history and a lot of music, many genres and phases. Now, Babasónicos is a mature band, and it shows. The visuals, the sound, the instrumentation. The perfect doses of drama and a stage presence that's flawless. The bass in its place, two guitars alternating the lead. They did some very interesting versions of old songs (the Miami (it's already 20 years old, wow) and overall they gave a good concert. It was time to see an Argentinian who was a little less multidimensional, a more down-to-earth guy.
Fito Páez He is, above all, a great showman. Among the Circo Beat and his most recent album, The liberated city, I hadn't liked anything he'd put out for a long time (not that he cared). That's exactly what I saw on the PLAZA stage, as the first closing act of Rock Al Parque: A very good show, in which I can only salvage what I liked previously. Fito Páez didn't complicate things, like Pedro Aznar, bringing a lot of new material and “being himself”, but he played all his hits without any shame, from the sweetest to City of poor hearts, Thank goodness she played it, because it's still my favorite song and I thought it was just going to be relegated to her intro theme. Thankfully it brought joy to my heart (what a terrible joke, please forgive me).
Fito Páez is such a good showman that he did an encore of about half an hour in which even Juanes played guitar solos, and not only did nobody come to remove him, Everyone kept dancing as if nothing had happened, chanting the songs, even though we all knew it was time for the Philharmonic a while ago (and also to go to sleep because, damn life, let's be honest).
The closing with the Philharmonic was very beautiful. There were memorable moments, such as Malignant with Velvety in full and Move with Elvis and an excellent version of our great national dance classic. The dagger and the heart It was excellent and Do you understand, Méndez? Very good, even though the sound wasn't ready when they started (and it continued to be unprepared, depending on the song). From what everyone said—because I can't confirm it myself—the song Pedro Aznar sang was better than his entire presentation. Kraken I've never liked it, but Crystal dress It was very good and the female voice was a real head-scratcher. Draco Rosa He sang half-heartedly and left without saying goodbye, and Mario Duarte left completely unenthusiastically, or perhaps it's a stylistic trait, a "Warholian impulse," if you will. Seriously though, it's clear he's fed up; but we should still thank him every year for being one of the creators of this festival that warms our hearts, sparks debate, and brightens the calendars of so many of us in this country. Thank you all very much.
This article was as long as Fito Páez's encore or the cover of Seek and Destroy So, I'll leave it at that, just like that. My thoughts will be in a future article, to be uploaded in just a few hours. Thank you very much for your kind patience in line, we work for your comfort.
