Culture
musician
Culture
UK’s Huddersfield festival highlights Catalan contemporary music
Culture
Singer-songwriter Raimon celebrates his 50th anniversary on stage with a retrospective exhibition
Raimon is one of the most important artists in the Catalan language, and is part of the group of singer-songwriters of the ‘Nova Cançó’. Raimon’s protest songs became true popular anthems against Franco’s dictatorship, with titles such as ‘Al vent’, ‘Jo vinc d’un silenci’ and ‘D'un temps d'un país’. His songs and concerts were often censored. With a style combining simple musical guitar arrangements with literary and direct texts, influenced by the French Chanson, Raimon highlighted the value of the Catalan language, as it was being persecuted. Born in Xàtiva, in Valencia, he has also defended the unity of the Catalan language. The exhibition shows a wide range of documents from the artist’s personal archives. It is complemented with films, conferences and a concert at the Liceu theatre.
Society
Germany offers a haven to Catalan musician
Maria Busqué decided to move to Berlin so that she could live off a musician's income, something she found almost impossible in Catalonia. This is a story from the new Catalan emigration.