A year has passed since Blanca Paloma scored her historic “Palomazo” at the Benidorm Fest and left everyone speechless with her impeccable performance. Earning the favor of the public and the jury, the woman from Elche earned her place at Eurovision 2023. Now, it is the turn to give way to the new representative in the European contest, and the betting houses have several favorites.
Among the names most likely to win this new edition of the festival created by RTVE is Sofia Coll, a Catalan determined to make history. And if so, it would be the first song with a part in Catalan to represent Spain in Eurovision since Joan Manuel Serrat’s attempt in 1968.
“Sorry, I didn’t speak Catalan. And you don’t have to give up at home. They greet me when I walk down the street. I don’t hesitate, I say “cheese”, it’s fine (Sorry, I didn’t speak Catalan. And from home no se debe renuncia. Me saludan cuando paso por la calle. No me agobio y digo “cheese” páselo bien)”, is the fragment in question in his song Here to Stay.
She herself has made it clear that she hopes that having made this decision does not pose a problem in terms of votes. And she is very happy to be able to defend this topic in which she speaks openly about her life story, both personally and professionally.
Although the song chosen by the former contestant of Eufòria, a TV3 program, also has phrases in Spanish and English, it is Catalan that could represent an important change, since it has been tried on previous occasions, without any success.
The first time, it came from the hand of Joan Manuel Serrat, when in 1968 he was removed from the Eurovision race for wanting to perform a song entirely in Catalan. The singer-songwriter even recorded the song La, la, la in that language. A controversy that ended up leading to the singer’s withdrawal, and the arrival of Masiel, who, singing in Spanish, managed to win the contest.
“It would have been a sign to the world that Spain respected its cultural diversity, although it was a lie that it was respected, but it would have been from an intelligent government,” Serrat said decades later. And half a century had to pass for this to take place. Already at the Benidorm Fest 2023, the Siderland trio tried to bring a song entirely in Catalan, falling short of the final.
But Sofia Coll is not the only one who wants to achieve this milestone in this edition. Among the rest of this year’s participants is Roger Padrós, a young singer who is willing to give everything to win the crystal microphone with his El Temps. However, everything indicates that he will not be able to sneak into the final.
Although it could be the first time that Spain would carry a song in Catalan, Andorra has already done so on six occasions. The Principality, whenever it has participated, has always done so totally or partially in that language: Marta Roure with Jugarem a estimar-nos (2004); Marian van de Wal with The Inner Look (2005); Jenny with Sense tu (2006); Anonymous with Salvem el món (2007); Gisela with Casanova (2008); and Susanne Georgi with La teva decided (2009).
Now we just have to wait for tonight’s semi-final to find out if Sofia Coll manages to sneak into Saturday’s grand final and see, thus, if the Catalan will be able to make it to Eurovision after so long.