‘Euphoric’ post-pandemic Cruïlla closes to the sound of Latin beats

Cruïlla came to a close on Saturday night soundtracked by Latin beats, folk-pop, and dancehall, as headliners Rubén Blades, Juan Luís Guerra, Seeed brought the party to an end. 

Around 72,000 people attended the music festival in its first edition without pandemic restrictions, hitting pre-pandemic levels once again and prompting festival director Jordi Herreruela to dub the success of this year’s event “euphoric.”

Veteran Panamanian jazz and Latin pop star Rubén Blades was one of the main headlines on Saturday, as was the hugely charismatic Juan Luís Guerra. Latin music always features prominently at the festival, and this year saw a lineup packed with other stars such as Residente and Molotov. 

International artists were equally on the agenda, with Germans Seeed and the New Zealanders Fat Freddys' Drop delighting the crowds. The local lineup included bands such as Els Catarres, Buhos, The Tyets, Ginestà, and Queralt Lahoz, while Rozalén and Galicians Tanxuguerias some of the biggest names from elsewhere in Spain performing on closing night.

Rubén Blades, the Panamanian patriarch of salsa, traveled to Barcelona with the Big Band led by Roberto Delgado, an immense orchestra of twenty musicians who have accompanied Blades for a decade.

Winner of Latin Grammy Awards for best album in both 2017 and 2021, Blades’ mixture of swing and salsa gave the Cruïlla crowd an unforgettable night of dancing.  His performance was even given an extra special two-hour long set, something quite exceptional at large festivals such as this.

Dominican Juan Luis Guerra, with a career spanning some 30 years, gave the crowd some of his most popular hits such as 'La bilirrubina' and 'Ojalá que llueva café'. With more than ten musicians on stage, the singer delighted the Cruïlla audience with bachata rhythms.

‘Euphoric’ success

The director of the festival, Jordi Herreruela, said that organizers were feeling "euphoric" after seeing the success of this year after two years of doubts over whether people would return to festivals in the same way as before the health crisis.

Herreruela says despite the good turnout, they are not looking to break records. Rather, Cruïlla’s aim is to position itself as a large but friendly festival – not the biggest, but “the best” – with its own style of artist programming.

The head organizer of the festival is also concerned about the sustainability of such events. "It's how big festivals are, and we have to work to reduce [the ecological impact,]” he said, before giving details about the demographics of the audience. Around 95% of the crowd over the four days were from Catalonia and the rest of the State.