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Two don't fight if one doesn't want to. Although old, the saying is applicable to marriages, friendships, co-workers and even musical bands. When the foundations of the conflict are laid by one party, the other may try to emerge from it with clean hands or prepare its fists for combat. If not, tell it to Mocedades or La Oreja de Van Gogh. The members of the group Cinco Estaciones, Pablo Domínguez, Sven Martín and Karito Volpe, are clear that, in the face of a painful breakup, "the best remedy will always be the songs". It's the only thing that lasts. And all that matters. "We don't feel comfortable in the middle of a war," they say.

The name of the formation, Cinco Estaciones, evokes the homonymous song released by La Quinta Estación in 2002 as part of their debut album, Primera toma. It is not something casual: Martín and Domínguez were two of the founding members of the group that achieved international success in the dawn of the 2000s with songs like Me muero, El sol no regresa and Tu peor error, of which they are co-writers.

Actually, the two are celebrating with Karito the good reception of their first single, Why I insist on loving you, whose video exceeds 400,000 views on YouTube in just two weeks. It has caused a furor in the networks, they receive hundreds of messages daily from all over the world and has been a redemptive opportunity for Karito, an Argentine singer who had already thought about leaving music because "everything is very hard there". Receiving a Messenger message with Pablo and Sven's proposal on their birthday was "beautiful, like a gift from heaven." Anyone would say that it was a poisoned gift, because the reason why Five Seasons accumulates headlines since last month is quite another.

Natalia Jiménez, former vocalist of La Quinta Estación, denounced on February 26 the "illicit use of her past in the band" as a promotional weapon. He did so through a statement addressed to his fans on Instagram and Twitter, where he showed a document from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. This, he alleged, served as proof that Martín and Domínguez had recently requested ownership of the name La Quinta Estación, in a new attempt to take it after the dissolution of the group in 2010.

The Madrilenian warned, very angry, that the new formation was trying to confuse "both businessmen and the public, posing as La Quinta Estación". He also complained in the video that the "fraudulent promotional strategy" of Cinco Estaciones had boycotted the surprise of his return to the stage with guitarist Ángel Reyero in 2024. "We are the sole owners of the brand and the name of La Quinta, and we will be back with you next year," he announced.

Natalia Jiménez, former vocalist of the group La Quinta Estación.MUNDO

As Natalia Jiménez recalled, it is not the first time that the matter of the La Quinta Estación brand reaches the courts, although Martín prefers not to talk about the subject. "It's a closed chapter. Justice will know what it has to do." In 2009, the guitarist filed a lawsuit against Jimenez and Reyero for using the group's trademark, which he had registered in his name, but lost the lawsuit. "It's amazing how low people fall for money," Jimenez said at the time. Now, the singer's complaint comes to them like a boomerang. She is touring the United States and Latin America with her tour Anthology: 20 years, and her management team has decided that the best thing for her at this time is to focus on her career and not grant interviews in Europe.

Domínguez, Martín and Volpe, on the other hand, are grateful that the media give them a voice to explain their version. They say that they have received hatred and threats from strangers on social networks after the "bad publicity" generated by the "attack" of Jiménez, which managed to divide even the former followers of the group. Their families, explains the bassist, "have come to have a really bad time, when all we want is to enjoy the new project."

Tour of Spain and Latin America, summer performances and a first album on the horizon with which they seek to strengthen their brand in the Hispanic music scene. They will continue to play all the hits of La Quinta, original songs of Cinco Estaciones and versions of other artists, in order to reach an intergenerational audience. "This has started very well despite everything, but we don't know how it will continue," says Martin. They, for now, have the hatchet well buried.

Born in Madrid as a sextet, only Domínguez (bass) and Martín (guitar) remained at La Quinta Estación before signing Natalia Jiménez (vocals) and Ángel Reyero (guitar). Their chemistry and talent soon landed them a contract with a multinational in Mexico that boosted their future as a group. After the abrupt departure of Martín and Domínguez in 2003 and 2008, respectively, they dedicated themselves to hospitality and amateur production, without ever losing their link with music. The first "was forced to abandon the train at the first stop," he laughs; the second did it later, when the album El mundo se equivoca had already garnered some other Latin Grammys.

Two decades later, the components of La Quinta Estación are divided by controversy. Both parties defend their 50 percent of the name and brand. "There is room for everyone, at no time did we think this could be so problematic. We just want to make music, without abandoning our rock essence with mariachi sounds," says Martín. The music industry has evolved in the last 15 years and its themes have acquired maturity and depth. They intend to prove it with what is to come. Although Por qué me insisto en quererte sounds, and a lot, to La Quinta brought to 2023, something is very clear in his speech: Karito joins as a vocalist, not as a substitute. "I'm not a new signing nor do I think there is room for comparisons," Volpe said, still smiling.

Before creating Cinco Estaciones, the bassist contacted his former bandmates several times to propose the return of La Quinta Estación. The last one, in the middle of the pandemic. But the answers were always negative, even though the label, Sony, continued to reissue compilation albums with the image of Pablo Domínguez and Sven Martínez, without ever requesting their permission.

"We are original members of La Quinta, it is a fact, we cannot erase it from our resumes nor do we want to. But this is a completely new project in which we have been working with Karito for more than a year, and we are not tarot readers or fortune tellers to intuit what they were dealing with," explains Domínguez. The Argentine insists all the time that it is "something created from love, with zero bad vibes." "We don't live in the conflict, but in our rehearsal room, in our recording studio. We hope to overcome something so harmful and absurd as soon as possible," summarizes the bassist.

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