The lineup of the last day of the festival was dominated by two totems of Latin music, such as the Dominican Juan Luis Guerra and the Panamanian Rubén Blades. Their names overshadowed the rest of a program in which there was a good representation of the local and Spanish scene, starting with Ginestà and Depedro and continuing with Rozalén, Joan Dausà, Queralt Lahoz, Els Catarres and Tanxugueiras.
Late in the afternoon it was the turn of Juan Luis Guerra who, at 65 years old three days ago, holds the category of provost of Latin music thanks to an infallible cocktail in which he mixes merengue, bachata, romantic ballad, pop and sauce. He has released 14 studio albums, the latest of which is Literal (2019), to which must be added a live album, Entre mar ypalmas, released last year and which gives his current tour its name. He appeared at the head of his inseparable group 4:40, a powerful orchestra with a populated metal section and a display of leathers that crack and knock down with colossal deliciousness.
This singer, arranger, producer and businessman with strong religious convictions, who has sold more than 70 million records, offered an overview of his career with a repertoire that included none of his greatest hits such as Rosalía – with which he began his concert–the anthem I hope it rains coffee, To ask for her hand, Like a bee to the honeycomb, El Niágara by bicycle –a criticism of public health in her country–, El farolito, El cost de la vida, Bachata rosa or La bilirrubina a grand finale mode. All of them poured between new songs, such as Pambiche de Novia , salsa and bachata medleys and a couple of nods to his Christian Collection album in the form of Para ti and Las avispas .
At the close of this edition, the performance of Rubén Blades, singer-songwriter, actor, lawyer, politician and activist, had just begun, who managed to get the festival to grant him the privilege of offering a long concert that was planned to last two and a quarter hours. After receiving a Grammy and publishing the albums Salswing! and Pasieros , in which he adapts his songs to Brazilian sounds, arrived at Cruïlla, about to turn 74, euphoric and in splendid form, starting the concert with a reminder of the friendship that unites him with Joan Manel Serrat , accompanied by several photographs that were shown on the screen. At the head of the Roberto Delgado Orchestra, which has been accompanying him for some time and with whom he understands perfectly, he was scheduled to make a detailed tour of a repertoire that is living history of popular music.
The one known as the poet of salsa does not usually forget to pay tribute to maestro Tito Puente, in the form of the initial instrumental theme Mambo Gil , after which Walking , Decisiones and Pablo Pueblo and Las calle were played, dedicated to the popular classes. He continued with the anti-racist Ligia Elena and Amor y control, praising the family in disgrace, to later attack Plantación Inside, from its golden age with Willie Colon, and Arayué, a mythical indigenous place.
It was expected that classics would also fall to the delight of a large, dedicated and dancing public. From Contraband to Looking for guayaba, Pedro Navaja, Siembra, or Juan Pachanga. Narrator and poet, he also tends to approach the standard repertoire, which can be Jerome Kern, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, or the great Héctor Lavoe, rescuing the emblematic Elcanta, a song he wrote for him. To finish off the task, there is no shortage of the conscientious Tiburón and Patria and some surprises, setting the bar and setting the bar for the festival very high.
