The first semifinal of the Benidorm Fest aired in just 40 minutes the six performances in a correct gala and without fanfare that ended up marked by the strange vote of the professional jury, which left the Galician trio out before the popular vote put things in their site
The festival of San Remo It shows us the way. The historic appointment italian melodic songborn in 1951, was the inspiration for the then mayor of benidorm, Pedro Zaragoza Orts, to organize, in 1959, a musical contest that, in the end, would serve to promote the coastal town as an international tourist destination. The initiative, of course, was an outstanding success, because on the stage of the Manila Park, later known as Las Palmeras Auditorium, emerging figures of the Spanish light song participated as Raphael, Julio Iglesias, Bruno Lomas or Dynamic Duoalthough well into the 70s it fell into a sad and inexorable decline, until its silent disappearance in 2006.
Today, six decades after that first edition in which the stupendous ‘A telegram’, by the Chilean Monna Bell, the San Remo festival has once again been the mirror in which Radio Televisión Española intends to reflect itself when choosing its candidate to participate in Eurovision and reverse the sad dynamics of recent decades. If San Remo has been, originally and later, from 2011, the platform for the selection and launch of the Italian representative in Eurovision, the same function now acquires the benidorm festreincarnation of the ancient national contest from which the RTVE contender must come out this Saturday at the Eurovision event in Turin.
Those responsible for the public entity wanted Spain to rejoin Eurovision after long years of failed presence of former contestants of ‘Operación Triunfo’ and satellites, when not dangerous approaches to parodic freakism like Rodolfo Chikilicuatre. In 2021 he hit rock bottom after, with only 6 points in the final, the mellifluous Blas Cantó finished in 24th and penultimate positionwhich aroused a feeling of national opprobrium that forced RTVE to admit that this far we had come and that something had to be done to return Spain to the place that, as the festival’s illustrious Big Five, should never have left.
unexpected final emotion
A painful contrast with the tremendous performance, seasoned with pyrotechnics and tattooed torsos, of Måneskin and the irresistible rock power of his song ‘Zitti e buoni’. From those dusts come these muds, and, finally, from that ignominy arises the slight ray of celestial light that we have been able to see tonight, in its first chapter, in the Palau l’Illa of the Alicante vacation city. Without going crazy, this, hey, is starting to be something else. And, on top of that, with unexpected emotion due to the strange vote of the professional jury, which for a while left the big favorites out of the final, Tanxungueiras. would have to come the common people to leave things in their place.
At 10:40 p.m., with necessarily European punctuality, the gala began, presented by Máximo (formerly Màxim) Huerta, Alaska and the lawyer, comedian and ‘influencer’ Inés Hernand. “It is the festival that we were all waiting for & rdquor ;, exclaimed the former Minister of Culture, visibly overreacted. The gala, itself, did not have much history: the six participants (Varry Brava, Azúcar Moreno, Blanca Paloma, Unique, Tanxungueiras and Chanel, in this order) were presented to the public before their respective performances, with no notable surprises or failures. Everything in order, fast, with a performance without fanfare but correct, with hardly any pauses, just a few disjointed, and lacking in grace, dialogues between the trio of presenters as a link between song and song.
Salvador Sobral, out of script
In just 40 minutes, the six performances had aired, giving way to the always exciting moment of voting, after visiting, as a guest artist, Salvador Sobral, winner in Eurovision-2017. “I’m going with the Galicians, long live the Galicians & rdquor ;, shouted the formidable Portuguese musician, in an off-script comment that, without a doubt, confused the presenters.
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Sobral went with the Galicians, yes, but the professional jury did not. Adding the set of votes, which accounted for 50% of the total, Chanel, Azúcar Moreno, Blanca Paloma and Varry Brava went to the final. Tanxungueiras and his tribal ‘Terra’ were left out, which caused the booing of the audience attending the gala. The demoscopic vote, or what is the same, 350 people chosen “conscientiously as a sample of the Spanish population & rdquor ;, which represented 25% of the total, came to put a little order. And finally, the open vote of the public, which added up to the remaining 25%, relieved the large legion of fans of the Galician trio, allowing them access to the final on Saturday with 93 votes, behind the 110 of the surprising Chanel, with the perreo of his vibrant ‘SloMo’“ready to break hips, break hearts” & rdquor ;, and ahead of the 79 of ‘Secret Water’ Blanca Paloma and her poetic new age depth; and the 74 of the brilliant disco tribute to Carrà de ‘Raffaella’ by Varry Brava. Left out, without discussion, Azúcar Moreno and Unique, stone guests despite their good will to a party with brilliant and varied musical proposals that will have its second semifinal on Thursday night at the same time: 10:40 p.m.