Blanca Paloma did not meet her objectives in Liverpool, no longer winning but scoring a notable final position (within the Top 10, at least), but, although her 17th place (out of 26 participants) is very poor, we cannot place her in the squad of the setbacks of TVE in the unfortunate (and disoriented) 2005-21 cycle, nor to relate it to the fiasco of the ‘barca’ by Remedios Amaya, that ‘zero points’ of 1983. That, of the 100 votes obtained, 95 corresponded to the juries (and only five to the devastating popular scrutiny) speaks to us of recognition of his artistic audacity and his avant-garde drive, although the song, ‘Eaea’, ended up falling short of ‘punch’ for the general public.
It was a difficult piece for the Eurovision canons and we knew it, or we could glimpse it. He opted for a song that is in tune with the innovative trends around flamenco and popular song, in that territory in which they have moved in recent years. from a Rosalía to Rocío Márquez, María José Llergo or Maria Arnal. The woman from Elche bordered on her performance, singing exquisitely and wrapping herself in a poetic staging, although the theme, with its mixture of electronic mists and that trance-like chorus supported by the palms, and its point of telluric screaming, perhaps turned out to be excessively dark or garish for audiences.
the flamenco seed
So, although the numerical balance is disappointing, the feeling is not so much of an unmitigated fiasco (as in its day with Blas Cantó, Manel Navarro, Edurne, El Sueño de Morfeo, Soraya and some others who were even worse, from 21st place down), but rather from having taken too much risk or not having honed enough. Eurovision is not a bubble disconnected from the world, and although it is governed by its own laws, the rise on a global scale of folk and roots sounds in pop culture also affects it. To think that sending a song with a flamenco ascendant to Eurovision is a passport to a debacle sounds more like a tic from the past. It may just be a matter of finding the right song. Which is not a small thing. The result was already known, Blanca Paloma spoke on TVE about her performance as “a seed & rdquor ;.
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On the other side of the Spanish performance is the victory of loreen under the swedish flag: a song, ‘Tattoo’, with a flavor of a reheated dish, predictable and inferior to that ‘Euphoria’ which, in 2012, rose as the great Eurovisual classic of the 21st century (even giving a title to a popular TV3 ‘talent show’ a decade later). So are the things.
As we look for the great victim of the night, let’s think about the role of the host country and city: after showing off his chest, enlivening the gala with songs by native pride, The Chemical Brothers, Eurythmics and Blur, and playing with the subtext of Liverpool as the birthplace of the Beatles (among others), the country that promotes pop and creator of the language used by 17 of the 21 participants ended up in penultimate position. Sometimes it’s hard to be a pioneer, and Eurovision is fucking Russian roulette.