Les Nits del Art, EL PAÍS, AS and Los 40 team up to host a charity concert for Mexico earthquake victims

Just as well there are plenty of dressing rooms at Madrid’s WiZink Center, because last night every inch was needed. Thirty six music performers, from a  range of genres and generations, came together for the charity concert “Mexico. Es que me acuerdo”, the proceeds of which are to go to the reconstruction of homes damaged by the deadly earthquakes that shook Chiapas and Puebla in September and which claimed 472 lives. Those who claim the current generation of young people are apt to show little solidarity for others were happily proved to be wrong, as nearly 4,000 young fans queued up, waved their mobile phones and cheered on the almost four hours of live music.

Among the performers was Mikel Erentxun, who recalled: "Just six days ago I experienced, in Mexico City, a 7.5-magnitude quake. I think a song will come out of that. When the ground shook, birds stopped singing; it was like a Stephen King movie." Backstage, Miguel Rios remembered discovering Enrique Guzman and the Teen Tops, back in 1960. "The album La Plaga was on sale in the shops in Los Olmedo and I fell in love with this guy, an Elvis in Spanish. And then I got to work with him while filming a movie with Rocio Durcal: he was a wonderful stray bullet." Álvaro Urquijo (Los Secretos) excitedly remembered Manuel, his maternal grandfather, and a big fan of Maria Dolores Pradera, "The Mexican influence on my brother Enrique came from there." And Shuarma (Elephants) recalled his first Mexican performance (2000), at the Teatro Metropolitan, opening for Bunbury. "We were scared shitless, but the people went crazy ... and the idyll has lasted until today."

There were so many performers that they could only play one song apiece. "Another, another!" yelled the fans from the front row after listening to Rozalén’s Girasoles, which was followed by Funambulista, and then David Otero, Jorge Marazu, Marlango (who did a José Alfredo Jiménez cover), El Kanka Jacobo Serra (with Besame Mucho), Marwan and Arkano, Zahara and a long list of other stars. "Girasoles was born as an ode to good people and Mexico is a great example of brotherhood, of being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes," said Rozalén. "For interviews I have a body double,” she joked backstage.

Nearby was Txetxu Altube, who wasn’t feeling well, though just half an hour later, one would never have known when he rocked the stage with Compas de espera. Rebeca Jiménez, meanwhile, gave a rendition of the ranchera that closes her latest album. Pedro Pastor gave fans a guaguancó rhythm he’d picked up on his recent four-month Latin American tour. Arnau Griso sang of cynical posturing on social networks and Miguel Campello gave fans his song La Espina. "I still live in Aguilas, in a natural setting without electricity or phone coverage, and I enjoy these occasions because I get to talk face to face, not on WhatsApp," he said.

Distinguished guests

The event was organized by Les Nits del Art, EL PAÍS, AS and Los 40. Distinguished guests included Roberta Lajous Vargas, ambassador of Mexico in Spain, who said she was "moved by the vitality of civil society" and was touched that Spanish music lovers feel such appreciation for the music of her country. "The quake last September 19 was like revisiting a nightmare for me: I lived through the earthquake of September 19, 1985 in Mexico City," she said.

The Secretary of State for Cooperation, Fernando Garcia Casas, had been at a meeting of Ibero-American foreign ministers in New York when the quakes hit and coordinated from there the mobilization of the Emergency Military Unit. "Mexico is a friend, partner and ally, and we must always be by their side," said the minister, revealing he was a fan of Serrat and Sabina and was eager to get acquainted with a new generation of singer-songwriters. And to proclaim his faith in youth: "I know volunteers and aid workers first hand, and both their preparation and their spirit of solidarity are evident". It was enough to look around the WiZink Center, if corroboration were needed, as the event closed with all 36 stars on stage, singing Pero sigo siendo el rey.

Source: El País