Verses that Resist: Pau Alabajos and Paz Aguado thrill with two nights of music and memory
Manacor vibrated with the music of these artists
PalmPaz Aguado's clear and warm voice opened Saturday's evening in the gardens of the Torre de los Enagistes in Manacor. Formentera native Paz Aguado offered a sincere and delicate concert, woven with words that speak of the everyday and embrace without artifice. Her way of singing—from esteem and beauty—connected directly with the audience. Accompanied by Cani Huertas (percussion) and Patricio Felip (bass and heart), the band moved naturally, following her in a repertoire withoutsetlistpre-established, like someone having a lively and shared conversation.
After this subtle and magnetic entrance, Pau Alabajos took over to offer two consecutive nights with his projectVerses in Vietnamese—a proposal that doesn't strike with noise, but with depth, sensitivity, and the ability to move. In a warm and committed format, Alabajos demonstrated his ability to contextualize each piece in the current moment, redefining songs from his repertoire. A piece written for the 2006 Valencia metro accident was now spread as a possible lament for the recent DANA catastrophe in the Valencian Country. Music thus became a bridge between memories, grief, and shared realities.
The epicenter of the show, however, was the poetry of Vicent Andrés Estellés, present in many of the pieces and championed by Alabajos as the most effective antidote to fascism. The very title of the project refers to a tool of resistance: the ORMIG mimeograph, popularly known as "Vietnamese," a hand-cranked device widely used in the 1960s to print materials outside the regime. Today, it's almost a museum piece; then, a symbol of freedom.
Alabajos peppered the repertoire with personal comments and his own pieces that added to the story, always accompanied by a compact and expressive group: Laura Navarro Garcia (violin), Adriana Valeria Sena Alcover (cello) and Enrique Jerónimo "Gus" (drums and percussion). With gestures, laughter and stage complicity, they made it clear that, more than just one side, they are a small sound community that enjoys what they do.
A weekend that left its mark, from beauty and words spoken with intention. Two nights that didn't make noise, but did make a murmur in the heart.
