Silvio Rodríguez’s concert in Seville this weekend once again deeply moved the audience — numbering around 3,500 people across Friday and Saturday — at the FIBES Congress and Exhibition Palace. For Antonio Garrido, it was a powerful encounter that reaffirmed the Cuban *trovador*’s status as one of the greatest creative figures in Latin American and global culture.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, still overcome with emotion, Antonio gave an exclusive statement to the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
“This was his second concert in Seville, and it is truly striking how he manages to bring together different generations and resonate across different eras and historical moments. The audience was completely moved and captivated, fully engaged, and—I believe—clearly aware that they were in the presence of a legend,” he said in an audio recording.
The audience views Silvio as a talent of enduring brilliance—inexhaustible in his creativity—yet also as a symbol embodying a specific ethic and aesthetic, linked to values that have transcended the Cuban Revolution, remarked the concertgoer who joined the rest of the FIBES audience in a standing ovation. “It is difficult to evaluate the concert; he could sing so many absolutely classic, brilliant, and profound songs that stir the emotions—though, obviously, the concert would then last fifteen days. When he sings *El necio*, *La era está pariendo un corazón*, or *Te doy una canción*, you perceive that the work itself transcends him; he is speaking of his soul, but also of an era, a people, and a collective endeavor. In every song, in every verse, there is a profound, poetic message—of love, peace, principles, beauty, and honesty—that truly… well, in these dark times we live in, he embodies that yearning he sings of in *Venga la esperanza*,” remarked Antonio Garrido.
The Spanish tour by the founder of Cuba’s *Nueva Trova* movement began on September 1st in Barcelona. According to online sources, he had not visited Seville in twenty years; consequently, anticipation grew, and over the weekend, the FIBES venue became a gathering place for multiple generations eager to sing along to the iconic songs of the man who wrote *Ojalá*.
“It is a luxury, a pleasure, and an honor to have had him here in Andalusia—specifically in Seville—and I hope he returns many times. His work certainly transcends him; it is as closely linked to his persona as it is to the collective work of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban people, and, indeed, all of Latin America. He is a universal figure across Latin America and beyond. So, you should be very proud and happy to have produced—so to speak—an artist of such stature.”
The Andalusian’s final comments came later, delivered with an infectious vocal intensity that demonstrates how Silvio unites people who love peace and justice worldwide:
“When he reads the poem *Halt* by Luis Rogelio Nogueras and then sings *La era está pariendo un corazón*, it ignites a fire in people’s hearts and minds.” He stands as a standard-bearer for two universal causes: the cause of Cuba facing empire and relentless harassment, and now, too, the cause of the Palestinian people—a cause perhaps even more universal, much like Vietnam or the Spanish Republic were in their day.
“And, well, there is that ethical capacity to also become a spokesperson and champion for the cause of the Palestinian people—a cause as universal as that of the Cuban people against imperialism, colonialism, and the domination of the world’s powerful. I believe these are the two most universal causes of this historical era—causes marked by great suffering, yet also by great dignity.”
Murcia and Madrid now await the troubadour on a tour that has taken him to major venues across the Iberian Peninsula and reunited him with an audience that always awaits him—and that, like Antonio, sings for life.
IMAGE CREDIT: Bárbara Vasallo | Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
