The second semi-final of Benidorm Fest 2024 has made what many expected a reality: a higher level than the first. This Thursday several of the edition’s big favorites face each other, including Almácor and St. Pedro. But, the one who stole all the attention at the beginning of the gala was María Peláe.
It has been the turn of the Malaga native to open this second screening, where only four will advance to the grand final on Saturday, February 3. However, and although it has not yet finished, there is no talk of anything other than the scenery chosen by the singer.
Climbing a large structure with stairs, María Peláe has demonstrated her vocal power, using, in turn, a guitar. Around it, a series of illuminated crosses, reminiscent of a cemetery, have formed a corridor to the Malaga.
Although the staging has been meticulously designed to capture the song’s message, it would not have been possible without the performance of its dancers. And they were the ones who stole all the attention in the final stretch of the performance. By jumping into the void from the structure, they have recreated what could be an execution.
This staging fits very well with the lyrics of Sender. The singer wanted to capture what the Thirteen Roses felt, which she mentions, who were a group of women shot during the Franco dictatorship. Likewise, she talks about the horror that the people of Malaga experienced during the ‘disbandá’ A harsh message that Peláe has not hesitated to bring to the present.
She herself has assured that to write the lyrics she has used exact phrases that her grandparents have transmitted to her over the years about that stage of their lives. A song that has also been composed by Alba Reig, former member of Sweet California.
“I was late, the sand was gone. I was late, and now chain,” the artist began to sing on stage. A clear reference to what happened in 1937, when many tried to seek refuge or escape across the beach. “The raised arm of your grandmothers. Two little bitches in the purse. Ration of milk, ration of sorrow,” is another of the Malaga-born allusions to tragedy.
María Peláe has always been characterized by wanting to tell stories through her songs, and as soon as she received the call from RTVE to participate in the Benidorm Fest she did not hesitate to send this song. Even so, its explicit lyrics and its staging are generating numerous comments on social networks, both positive and negative.
