Stereotypes about Catalonia - Catalan music? "What comes to mind is cheesy salsa, passionate flamenco and Latin dancing”, says Lucy

London / Barcelona (ACN).- Catalan music “does not really arrive” to the UK. The first thing Lucy Richmond thinks of is “cheesy salsa music, a bit of passionate flamenco dancing and Latin dancing”. The singer of Els Pets, Lluís Gavaldà, responded to this. “Salsa? Lucy is not entirely misled, because here in Catalonia we have great ‘salsas’, such as romesco sauce and allioli sauce”. All jokes aside, the singer stressed that Catalonia “has a very extensive musical richness, with tradition, classical, jazz and pop music in Catalan… Here in Catalonia we are stubborn, and now, especially lately, we do not have any type of complex. So instead of singing in English, we sing in our native tongue”, said the singer.

“When asked about Catalan music, to be sincere, I do not know much. I do not think that popular music in Catalonia arrives to the UK”, said Lucy. “But I would say that what comes to mind is cheesy salsa, a bit of passionate flamenco dancing and Latin dancing. We do not have them here, and I would like to think that maybe salsa music comes from Catalonia,” she added.

“It is symptomatic that sometimes Catalan music is confused with Latin roots music”.

Despite being from Catalonia, the music of Els Pets has Anglo-Saxon influences. The band’s singer, Lluís Gavaldà, is “envious” because “if you are from Glasgow, your music can be played in any bar, in any Catalan village and in the rest of the world”. For Gavaldà, “it is symptomatic that sometimes Catalan music is confused with Latin roots music”. The singer regrets this tendency. “Catalonia has a very extensive musical richness; its musical tradition has been around for many years and is still being played by many groups. It is not necessary to talk about classical and jazz music with people like Tete Montoliu”

In addition, Gavaldà defended Catalan pop music. “Instead of singing in English, we sing in our own tongue, which is the easiest way to be honest and to transmit ideas…singing in the same language that you fall in love with, agonise with, make love with or reject with”. The ‘Els Pets’ singer sent a message out to people like Lucy who do not know much about music made in Catalonia. “If they want to come here one day, I would love to make traditional music for them that does not have anything to do with salsa and is not cheesy in the slightest bit”.