Serrat returns home for Christmas. The singer-songwriter, who announced that he was retiring from the stage a year ago, has been traveling the world all this time to say goodbye to his fans. The final climax will be given this Friday, December 23 at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, his land, where the 'noi' of Poble Sec will be delivered to the public for the last time. A concert that will be remembered for its symbolism, just as the first recital he gave in his career should also be, which was in Esplugues de Llobregat, no less.
It happened on May 4, 1965 at the Center Cultural L'Avenç, in the current Joan Brillas room. A 21-year-old Serrat dressed in a suit and tie took the stage accompanied by Remei Margarit and Joan Ramón Bonet, who were part of the Els Setze Jutges collective with him. “We went up to the catafalque together, each one with his chair and his songs. It was like singing in the dining room at home for a gathering of friends”, he would remember many years later.
“Until that afternoon, I had only sung on the radio and in my house. The same day that I joined Setze Jutges, Josep Porter, who was then representing the group, told me 'on Thursday you sing in Esplugues', and that's where I went", explained the singer in an interview in the local magazine El Pont in 2009, the year in which it was awarded the city's Gold medal.
This is also remembered by Jordi Udina, who was present that day. "I remember it like it was yesterday. Serrat was not known then. It sounded familiar to some of us because that same morning he had sung on Radio Barcelona's Radioscope program, which was presented by Salvador Escamilla. In fact, the announcer was the master of ceremonies that day for the play, El senyor Perramon, which was being held at the Avenç to honor Vicens Bonet, so he asked him if he would join some of his colleagues that afternoon in Esplugues to sing in celebration He accepted”, recalls the neighbor, who on May 4 was part of the cast of actors.
At 21, in a suit and tie, the singer appeared at the venue. “I had to sing when the play finished, at the end of the party, in which the singer Maria Cinta and the actress Mercè Broquetes also participated, beyond the Setze Jutges. However, something unheard of happened and he appeared on the scene with his companions between the fifth and sixth acts, claiming that they had to go to a commitment. Apparently, we found out about this later, they had tickets to see Charles Aznavour at the Palau de la Música. So they took the stage, guitar in hand, and began to play. People were delighted."
In a local serial they commented on the performance that same week. "The only 'but' that we find is having interrupted the interpretation of El Senyor Perramon due to the urgent need of Els Setze Jutges who could not do it later because they had other obligations to fulfill." All in all, the journalist applauded his “interpretation of beautiful Catalan songs of a new style, to which we would like to return another day, so that we could enjoy his beautiful art without haste”.
The Catalan artist honored the public with songs from his first album, such as El mocador, Ella em deixa, La mort de l'avi and Una guitarra. Some songs that he would repeat on subsequent occasions in the same cultural center because, from that moment, Serrat felt somehow linked to the city. The mayoress of Esplugues, Pilar Díaz, acknowledges to La Vanguardia that she would love it if "in the future she could come back to close the circle, even if it is in a small format event, if not in Avenç itself, then in some other emblematic space such as , for example, the Espai Corberó”.
Díaz admits that if that were to happen, "it would be a real honor for the city so we will do what we can." The current president of l'Avenç, Jordi Figueras, thinks the same, although he anticipates that "it is complicated since the center is just recovering financially from some improvement works that we carried out years ago." However, he assures, "we do not close the door to anything."
Both Díaz and Figueras regret that this event is not widely known, although they insist that "we will do everything in our power to make it more known and honor him as he did us." In this sense, the mayoress explains that "from the City Council we try to contribute our grain of sand and every time there is a wedding in Esplugues some stanzas of his song Sincerely yours are played, and then we explain to them that the artist began his career here. A nice way to start a new path ”, she concludes.
