This year at Eurovision there are two Spanish contestants: the duo Nebulossa for Spain, and the Madrid rock band Megara, for San Marino. La Serenísima República has opted for this group with a powerful and unclassifiable style with its song 11:11, sung in Spanish. “We make fucksia-rock, we have invented this concept; Among our influences there are hard rock, heavy metal and electronic music, but also pop and glam, and we take it to the staging, our corporate colors are black and fuchsia,” summarizes guitarist Roberto La Lueta Ruiz (Rober), in conversation with La Vanguardia.
The band, veterans of Benidorm Fest, are spending their time these days in Malmö, the Swedish city that hosts the festival. “The song conveys a message about all those people who do not accept us as we are, so if someone does not like you, you should not care too much, that is, you continue your path, do not let yourself be crushed by destructive criticism” , continues Rober as spokesperson for the group. In the lyrics they have inserted (adapted) a verse from the children’s song El patio de mi casa: “If you don’t love me, other people will love me.”
Megara, founded in 2015, decided to be named after the wife of the Greek hero Heracles, at the suggestion of the vocalist, Sara Jiménez Moral (Kenzy Loevett), very fond of mythology. Since then the group has released one mini-album and four albums. They competed at the 2023 Benidorm Fest with the song Arcadia and came fourth in the final.
“This year Kenzy and I composed 11:11 also thinking about the Benidorm Fest, but they didn’t select us, so we presented it to San Marino, and there we did enter the preselection and then we won,” Rober reconstructs. The quartet is completed by Vitti (bass) and Ra Tache (drums), although for scheduling reasons Kat Almagro replaces the latter at Eurovision.
Their prospects are not promising: bettors place them in penultimate place. “We are not very aware of that, although we are aware that it may influence the fact that San Marino historically has not had great results, or that people have not yet become well-addicted to the song,” reasons Rober. The staging influences; What the viewer sees later in Malmö is quite decisive when deciding their vote.”
Megara performs in the second semifinal, this Thursday, May 9, fighting to qualify for the grand final on Saturday the 11th. “We have to perform in tenth place, and just before that it is Nebulossa’s turn, so there will be two Spanish performances in a row,” Rober jokes. The difference is that Megara is playing for a place in the final, while Nebulossa is assured of it because Spain is one of the Big Five, the five countries that automatically qualify for their financial contribution. “We are going to give it our all, and whoever likes it, we are there,” says Rober. Our goal now is to go to the final; This is what that’s about”.
