By the Zonagirante.com team @spinning zone

The Boy from Poble-Sec, The Dwarf, or, as he is known throughout the world, Joan Manuel Serrat Teresa, who turned 80 on December 27th and has said goodbye to the stage, after a legendary career spanning almost six decades around the world. Thanks to this Catalan, some of us were able to discover, apart from his great personal successes, the poetry of Miguel Hernández and Antonio Machado, so that we could later recite phrases like «"Traveler, there is no path, the path is made by walking."», either «"Except for your womb, everything is future, fleeting, past, barren, murky.". Also, on this side of the ocean, We imagine an idyllic Mediterranean Sea listening to the singer say 

If one day, to my misfortune, death comes to claim me
Push my boat out to sea with an autumnal east wind
And let the storm tear apart its white wings
And bury me without mourning.
Between the beach and the sky.

(Oh, by the way, a few years ago the Spanish version of Rolling Stone magazine chose Mediterranean as the best rock song in Iberian history).

The Nano He began touring Latin America in 1969, and until last year he came countless times., doing endless tours, either on his own or in the company of Joaquín Sabina and other artists close to his circle. It would not be inaccurate to say that he was the Spanish-passported artist who garnered the most success and affection in these lands(Surely someone will remember Raphael or Julio Iglesias, but most will prefer the Barcelonan). Serrat surely found a larger audience among those looking for songs that went beyond... «"I threw your handkerchief to see how it sank"», and that he would instead perform songs that sounded closer to the revolution (without really knowing what this thing they called "revolution" was all about).

Serrat retired, but hundreds of recordings remain available on vinyl, cassette, compact disc, videos, and streaming. He reached eighty and it was only right that he wanted to rest, It was time to continue gazing carelessly at his beloved sea from his balcony and enjoying his grandchildren. Likewise, such is the nostalgia felt by many of his fans that we have compiled a tribute featuring 11 of his songs sung by artists from this continent and, at the end, a curious, good-humored, and lesser-known version of Bad company, made alongside the group Les Luthiers, who have also announced their retirement from touring after a long time. 

We have in this playlist artists from Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and, of course, Havana and its surroundings, where they released two albums called Cuba sings to Serrat. As a fun fact, we've included Claire Delic, a singer of Dutch origin, raised between Costa Rica and Panama, and now based in Miami, who performs in perfect Spanish. Those little things. This is a sum of tango, son, pop, jazz, Andean folklore and other local species, paying tribute to a beloved man in well-deserved retirement.