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

VilafrancaOne of the successes of neofestas 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 by a group of young people who barricaded themselves in a bar to not consider the Festes de la Beata over, the celebration continues to make "banter" and social criticism its main driving force.

Under the alias of "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 idiosyncrasy of Vilafranca.

"La Casita" by Son Pere Jaume

In his new track, 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 highlights is the nod to themes like "La Casita", adapting the urban imaginary to the architectural and historical origin of the municipality: the Son Pere Jaume cottage, traditionally considered the first building in the village.

Through a continuous contrast between elements of contemporary urban music and Mallorcan tradition —where there are no lack of references to melons, the guitarró, the ball de bot, or Penya, "who when he sings it rains"—, the song invites to a party with choruses that celebrate that "La Vila is the best" and mention the upcoming August 2nd at Cas Senyoret. But they also refer to the Much and Muca of Sineu or the Cosso of 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 holiday model, and the proliferation of posh or gentrifying profiles that threaten the essence of the towns in 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 hinting at this critical view of present-day Mallorca. The images showed how the character is condemned to wander like any other tourist through the streets that saw 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 gentrification landscape, where the Vilafranca devil "finds neither place nor land", "the rebels and the rebels" appear, determined to "set a table for everyone" and to make Vilafranca "raise its head again and look with pride" at a spirit that, 36 years later, "turns, and turns, and turns".Sa Revolta consolidates itself, one more year, as the dean of the Pla's neofestivals, demonstrating that living popular culture is not at odds with new global music trends. Next Sunday, one more year, when the party ends, everything will begin again.