The Bad Boio of Vilafranca sings against tourism in 'the little house' of Son Pere Jaume

VilafrancaOne of the successes of neo-festivals in maintaining vitality lies in their capacity for reinvention and their spirit of irreverence. This is, once again this year, the case of Sa Revolta in Vilafranca de Bonany. This year, the collective has once again shaken up social networks and the town with the release of a promotional video clip that directly parodies the figure and style of urban superstar Bad Bunny.

Born in the early morning of a summer in 1990, hand in hand with a group of young people who barricaded themselves in a bar so as not to end the Beata festivals, the celebration continues to make jokes and social criticism its main driving force.

Under the alias Bad Boio – in reference to the mythical Boio or Dimoni Revolter, the emblem of the festival – the song La ViLa reinterprets the rhythms and aesthetics of the trap and reggaeton of the Puerto Rican singer, adapting them to the language, geography, and idiosyncrasies of Vilafranca.

'La casita' of Son Pere Jaume

In his new song, Bad Boio doesn't limit himself to a simple musical parody, but loads the lyrics with strong local identity content. One of the videoclip's standout moments is the nod to songs like La casita, adapting the urban imaginary to the architectural and historical origin of the municipality: the caseta of Son Pere Jaume, traditionally considered the first building in the town.

Through a continuous contrast between the elements of contemporary urban music and Mallorcan tradition – where there are no shortages of references to melons, guitarró, ball de bot, and to Penya, "who when he sings it rains" – the song invites to a party with choruses that celebrate that "The Town is the better" and they cite next August 2nd in Cas Senyoret. But they also refer to the Much and the Muca from Sineu and the Cosso from Felanitx.

Critique of touristification

Beyond the festive tone, the song maintains the critical spirit that has characterized Sa Revolta since its origins. Between verses of revelry, the lyrics launch satirical darts against mass tourism, the Airbnb vacation model, and the proliferation of presumptuous or gentrifying profiles that threaten the essence of the towns of Pla de Mallorca, while claiming Vilafranca as a "land of welcome", but with its own personality and memory.

A few days ago, on his Instagram profile, Boio was already advancing this critical look at Mallorca today. The images showed how the character is condemned to wander like any other tourist through the streets that have seen him grow up, without being recognized or understood by his neighbors, in a town full of "houses sold to the rich and outsiders, closed shutters and stalled businesses" or reconverted to satisfy visitors.

But, as the music video shows, amidst this landscape of gentrification, where the Vilafranca devil "finds neither place nor land", "the rebels and the rebels" appear, determined to "set the table for everyone" and to make Vilafranca "raise its head again and look with pride" at a spirit that, 36 years later, "goes round and round and round".

Sa Revolta consolidates itself, one more year, as the doyen of the Pla's neo-festivals and demonstrates that living popular culture is not at odds with new global music trends. Next Sunday, one more year, when the festival ends, everything will begin again.