The word “anthem” is always used far too lightly. Although these chants have always been tied to gods, heroes, saints, and leaders, journalists tend to use them to describe a song that can trigger collective euphoria, or simply to talk about a great song. The RAE explains that an anthem can be understood as a “symbolic musical composition of a collectivity” capable of “uniting those who perform it,” so we’re not completely off course. Yesterday, that collectivity was the entire people of Aranda de Duero.
The line between Sonorama Ribera and Aranda has now blurred completely. The weekend arrival, drawing thousands more than on the preceding days, helps explain part of it, but it’s impossible to speak of what happens at night without mentioning where everything is cooked from early in the morning. Modern and nostalgic anthems, from ‘SUPERESTRELLA’ to ‘Un beso y una flor,’ followed one another in the Casita Mahou had installed in Aranda’s Plaza Mayor, packed and blasting from the first hour.
Shortly after, weaving through the village streets in a suede-toned shirt every three steps, Arde Bogotá surprised the more than 5,000 people who knew the edition’s worst-kept secret: their return to the iconic Plaza del Trigo. ‘La Torre Picasso’ or ‘Qué Vida Tan Dura,’ transformed into mass anthems.
Love Of Lesbian had every chance to be Friday’s main act, given the affection they’ve always received at Sonorama, but that’s the beauty of big festival days. They always bring surprises. With anthems capable of crossing generations of listeners, Santi Balmes’s necessary statements and a band that never put a foot wrong, the Catalan group also delivered a show worthy of their career. This one was dedicated “to all those deniers of climate change,” to whom Balmes invited to return to Sonorama to see for themselves (“We used to go around in little cardigans”); to the “too many influencers and too few readers”; and to anyone who understands the difference between intelligence, honesty, and fascism: “Three things that are incompatible,” declared the vocalist.
There are so many anthems in their repertoire that they also had to borrow a few in the middle of ‘Los toros en la Wii (Fantástico)’, such as ‘Lobo-hombre en París’ or ‘Ritmo de la noche,’ rechristened as “lesbianos en la noche.” All of them, an inexhaustible source of nostalgia for a large portion of the attendees. Perhaps in the future the Sexy Zebras, as catchy as they are feral, will also be etched into the memory of their fans. Especially when they recall the thousands of bruises they inflicted on people for them.
I discovered the trio of Gabriel Montes, José Luna and Jesús Luna at one of SanSan’s smaller stages. Last night, they swept Sonorama from the main stage, but they had always been masters of live performance. The formula is simple: incendiary songs with a pop sensibility that can extend their life beyond the show. Beginning with slogans as potent as “tomorrow does not exist” or “death is not the end,” Sexy Zebras primes their faithful audience for the real battles of ‘Jaleo,’ ‘Charly García,’ or, of course, ‘Pogo.’ All of them, anthems that invite throwing oneself into the mud, sitting on the ground to row, or running in circles without fear of what comes next. Others, like ‘Nena’ or ‘Tonterías,’ are anthems to sing at full lungs. If you don’t know them, a listen to the first minute will do the trick to learn them.
These are the themes of Niña Polaca, who, although not as convincing as the other headliners, defended their repertoire well and demonstrated that anyone has the right to decide what is an anthem and what isn’t. Sometimes it is a personal choice. So went the audience’s delivery in ‘San Francisco el Grande,’ ‘Nora,’ or, above all, ‘Los días malos.’ Otherwise, the concert was decent. Not every show has to be a grand statement or a transcendent experience. The only thing that bothered me was the bassist smashing his instrument at the end of the performance. We’re not in the 70s, and certainly the act didn’t justify it, so it felt a bit out of place. We’re in 2026: why not gift it?
With the rock-forward, decisive drift that had been planned for the main stages, it made sense that Depresión Sonora would be relegated to one of the smaller stages, despite being one of the artists with the greatest international projection on the bill. We already know that their existential anthems are essential. At some point between rock and another altogether thing, Carlos Ares, the absolute maestro of yesterday’s day, stood out as well.
In just two years, the Galician artist has climbed the entire Sonorama Ribera social ladder, debuting at the festival in 2024 as part of the El Charco stage program. A year later, he conquered the Plaza del Trigo. Yesterday, a headliner. In this same period, he released the two albums that have completely changed his career and transformed his setlist forever.
Twenty minutes before the performance began, the crowd filled the floor as if Ares were already on stage. On that stage, eyes were drawn to the pallozas, a traditional Galician hut, placed in the middle, from which the great musicians who accompanied the Galician emerged. Risking a touch of cliché, the first thing that came to mind when he stepped onto the stage was Jesus Christ. Hear me out: it’s his hairstyle, it’s his all-white outfit, but it’s also his ability to move his followers.
“How good it feels to be hearing with healthy ears” when you’re at a concert that is a sonic delight in every sense, beyond the hit songs. Besides the technical quality, it was a pleasure to witness the attitude of everyone on the stage, fearless to roam it from one end to the other with an instrument in hand, as if it were a alpine meadow. Not much more could be asked.
Musically, Ares also exceeds. His brief cover of ‘Pájaros de barro,’ directly referenced in ‘Materia prestada,’ is flawless, as is the violin-driven finale of ‘Importante.’ You know you’re listening to true modern anthems by how they’re sung: ‘Aquí Todavía,’ ‘Días de perros,’ ‘Peregrino’… In the middle of this last one, already a celebration of its own, Sonorama still yearned to chant along to ‘La Boca del Lobo,’ and it was already the third time in the set that this happened. The band, incredibly swift, followed their fans’ wishes with their instruments. The only downside was that one of the festival’s best shows happened so early. Next time, give us more notice.
