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Among the skyscrapers of Times Square and next to a neon American flag, the giant face of Rigoberta Bandini appears: she wears a

souvenir

of the Sagrada Familia on her Russian hat,

kitsch

plastic necklaces

and a fuchsia pink T-shirt dedicated to

Marisol

( he likes to sing the Happy Heart in his live shows). "He is very strong, very strong ...", says Rigoberta on the phone, at his home in Barcelona. Spotify has selected the artist - with more than 800,000 monthly listens - in the framework of its Equal campaign, which promotes equality with playlists of singers from around the world and a window in Times Square.

The Rigoberta Bandini thing is very strong, in general. It is the latest musical phenomenon

made in Spain

: it has hung the sold out sign in almost all its concerts, it has been the star of the summer festivals and today it inaugurates the musical season of the Condeduque de Madrid, where it sold out in less than 24 hours .

"I understand music as a celebration of life", that is his declaration of principles. «My references are very canís: Albano and Romina, Cecilia, Jeannette, Rocío Jurado, Roberto Carlos, Julio Iglesias ... But also Daft Punk or Gigi D'Agostini's 90s eurodance. I take the melodies from one side to the other and leave them as I like them to sound.

I'm not afraid of being tacky

because I like tacky music, I mean all the songs of the summer ...

El Venao freaks

me out », he continues. From that uncomplicated mix between fun and deep verses, songs that have become instant hits are born, songs like his first

single Too Many Drugs,

a lysergic ode but with a spiritual component that he launched in full confinement (and pregnancy).

This summer it has become The Anthem of festivals.

«Yes, at festivals it takes on another dimension, something very epic.

It brings people together, it is very cathartic, ”he acknowledges.

The

catharsis Rigoberta

moves both

Jordi Évole,

who described his concert at the Forum as the "dream of a summer night", with the staff dancing and the full moon over the sea, as well as the municipal leader of the PP,

Josep Bou

, who She gave it her all dancing

Bitch

at the Pride day concert.

Bitch

is one of those double-edged songs, a feminist plea to jump to the cry of I want to be a bitch.

«The first thing I wanted to do with Bitch was to give us back the feminine of things, that is not pejorative. There is a basic intention of equality in the names. On the other hand, the song tries to turn around what might sound like an insult ... I take over the word and give it another meaning, it doesn't have to have sexual connotations ... I empower myself with this song, because

I I want to be a bitch and be free in my life,

"she claims. Something similar to what they already did with the

bitch

(bitch, in English)

Meredith Brooks, Madonna or Nicky Minaj.

Hers is the antithesis of the new single by reggaeton

artist

J. Balvin

and Dominican rapper

Tokischa

(

Rosalía's

partner

in Linda): her

Perra

is canonically erotic and has already raised criticism for being macho. At La Rigo concerts, as her fans call her, even the boys (also heterosexual) shout "I want to be a bitch": "There are guys who ask me 'what am I?' Well, you're a bitch too! We are all bitches, no matter our sexual identity, genitalia ... Bitch is a lifestyle, it goes further », says the singer.

If Perra is a lifestyle,

In Spain we Call it Soledad

is

its particular patriotic song

, as if a Spaniard (see

Pedro Sánchez

) were telling a foreigner (see

Ursula Von der Leyen

) what things are said here, with meaningful verses like

In Spain we say: it's bitterness

or

In Spain we say: oh, I'm bleeding!

». The song includes a

wild tribute to Mónica Naranjo

and made Pedro Sánchez become a

trending topic

when he tried to explain to the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council that Spain responds in bad times: «In Spain we say: we are at the hard times and the mature ones ".

Rigoberta Bandini does not come out of nowhere: she is the alter ego of

Paula Ribó

, who both writes poems or a novel (

Vertigo

) and directs a play or

voices Emma Stone, Dakota Fanning or Elle Fanning,

among others (she began at the age of seven voicing Caillou and has also participated in 'Spirited Away' or 'Brave'). «Like Paula Ribó I have worked a lot in many areas in a discreet way and breaking stone. And Rigoberta has entered through a large door and Paula is freaking out. Paula and Rigoberta are the same ”, explains Paula / Rigoberta, who had also been part of two bands, The Kardoshians and The Mamzelles.

«When they ask me the secret of my success I always say: visualization and meditation.

And I suppose there will be a percentage of artistic talent.

But I think it has a lot to do with starting to understand that we are more creators of our life than we think.

Meditation helps me a lot, it is a tool, it makes me understand everything and reconnect ... I think it

is thanks to meditation that Rigoberta exists

», she admits.

Rigoberta Bandini -

a tribute to the writer John Fante and his character Arturo Bandin

i- you are in no rush to release a disc. «I like to work the singles little by little. The next one will be out in a month. If there is a record, it will be after all this ..., the same in 2024, but with new songs, it will be another movie. For me all this is already an album but I am presenting it as singles, also for a practical matter, because I have a child and I cannot shut myself up to compose, "he explains. Rigoberta Bandini's success came practically with the birth of Nico, to whom he dedicates the song 'When you are born'. Is it symptomatic that in most interviews you are specifically asked about motherhood? «If I were a man they wouldn't ask me, maybe the first month, but then not anymore. It doesn't bother me either. It is important that other women who are considering being a mother and have an artistic project see what can be done.But it is true that it is symptomatic that they only ask us ”.

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