In desperate situations, desperate measures. Toni Clapés and his Versió RAC1 team moved yesterday, the day of Our Lady of Montserrat, to the magical mountain of Catalonia to make an urgent prayer to La Moreneta: for rain and for the drought that is affecting us to end the country and that has left the reservoirs at 25% capacity.
The special edition was broadcast live from the Santa Maria square of the Montserrat monastery. Marc Serra opened the program from there while Toni Clapés – accompanied by Txabi Franquesa, Guillem Estadella, Marta Pontnou and the technician Xavi Alujas – left Monistrol de Montserrat a little earlier to walk up to the monastery. “The Clapés expedition”, as they called it, arrived there shortly before five in the afternoon, with certain difficulties. “With the sacrifice we have made, it should rain torrentially”, exclaimed the presenter and director of Versión RAC1.
Shortly after their arrival, the expected offering of Mr. Marcel·là and Vicenç Martà to the Virgin Mary of Montserrat took place, not without first debating which of the two virgins the offering should be made to, if to the one in the cave or the one in the basilica. Finally it was decided to do it in the one in the basilica, “which is the real one”.
Received and accompanied by the rector of the sanctuary, Mr. Marcel·là and Vicenç MartÃ, overcome and moved, asked Our Lady of Montserrat: “Make it rain in abundance in the Principality, but without doing any harm”. They left him some flowers and, after realizing that they had no money, they lit a candle “and let Clapés pay for it later”.
The program was attended by, among others, Efrem de Montellà and Xavier Caballé, responsible for the school and the museum, respectively. It was also a particularly emotional moment to be reunited with Montse Llussà , one of the regular voices of the space, who had been on sick leave for a year due to cancer. To end the special, there was a performance by the musical group called Arribar i Ploure, formed by Àlex Pujols and Ricard Farré. A whole declaration of intentions that will have to be seen if it is successful in the coming days.
