The success of Rosalía's tour is a fact, as are the millions of followers she has. However, along with her applause there has also been controversy and criticism from those who disqualify her for the absence of live musicians or for the misunderstanding of some of her lyrics. Both things have something disturbing because they anticipate a future that – for some more than others – can be disturbing. That he performs without musicians and with huge screens where images are projected confirms that we live in a hybrid world, where physical and virtual presence are tied together like in a Möbius band, that topological figure in the form of a horizontal 8 in which you slide through the outside (physical) and without realizing it you are already – without interruption – inside (virtual).
The musicians are not physically there, but they are virtually with their music and together with it, the voice and bodies of Rosalía and the dancers. It is not a karaoke or a playback, tools of the 20th century, but a phygital interface (digital physical) in continuity with the spectators, who do not stop photographing the concert with their mobile, chatting and posting images on social networks without differentiating between these two realities in which they live. It is a new form of presence.
The incomprehensibility of some of his lyrics (especially those of his latest CD) can disturb those who conceive of language as a tool for communication, where the meaning of what is said must be clear and evident to the receiver. This does not happen in some songs like Abcdefg, Motomami, CUUUUuuuuuute or Saoko (to name a few) where metonymy and homophony prevail over metaphor or meaning. What counts here are the games of words and voices and there is no need to look for an ideological background or a transcendental reflection. Like the children, who enjoy playing with the language unconcerned with meaning, Rosalía makes a mix with her body (and that of the dancers), voice, music and images, which resonates in the body of each spectator. .
This nonsense is what worries some because it reminds us that in the globalized world in which we live – the use of words from other languages or dialects is constant in its lyrics – meaning is no longer guaranteed by God or science (the covid confirmed it for us). Every novelty questions what has gone before and we become distressed before it because we fear becoming obsolete. Faced with this, it is possible to resort to the past and hatred for what will not return or – more interestingly – poetic creation, art as a link that helps us get out of our bubble to share the world with others.
