The poster for the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona seemed to have an easter egg. Among names like Lana del Rey, Troye Sivan, SZA, Pulp or P.J. Harvey, the name Stella Maris was sneaking in. The reflex action was to wonder if, apart from the Catholic pop group La Mesías, there was another band with the same name. But, as has been reported from the official account of the until now fictitious group, they are: “Dear believer. Dear followed. Hello! “Stella Maris will debut on the stages of Primavera Sound 2024.”
The Stella Maris, until now, were the Puig Baró sisters from the series created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi: five girls who, after being isolated from society by a mother who claims to speak directly with God, become viral thanks to the help of the internet, through an account controlled by his father. In reality, however, there are five singers and actresses who were also brought together by the authors of Veneno or Paquita Salas.
The best known and most well-known in the media is Amaia Romero, who coincided with the Javis in the OT 2017 edition and who wrote a role for her to take advantage of her artistic sensitivity, this time transferring it to audiovisual interpretation. It is not the only departure from Operation Triumph. Cristina Rueda, who plays the role of the older sister of the Stella Maris, had participated at the age of 16 in the 2009 edition, in which Noemí Galera and Risto Mejide were part of the jury.
Then there is also another stage performer: Mabel Olea, who became a well-known face for accompanying Rigoberta Bandini in the performances of Mamá at the Benidorm Fest. Finally, the minor Stella Maris are the actresses Valeria Collado, who made her acting debut with The Messiah, Anna Guijarro, who this week premieres the series The Other Side by Berto Romero, and Sara Roch, who worked under Paco Plaza in Hermana muerte and is the daughter of film producer Edmon Roch (Biutiful, Tadeo Jones).
The music of the Stella Maris was composed by Genís Segarra and Carlos Ballesteros, the musical duo Hidrogenesse, for La Mesías, who conceived songs such as Stella Maris, The Culvert, Jesus Christ Where Are You, The House Smells of Glory and Christ for You I Exist. The flowers of my garden, the song sung by the patriarch Puig Baró, was performed by Albert Pla, who brings the character to life.
With this appearance of the fake Christian pop group scheduled between May 29 and June 2, when the new edition of Primavera Sound will be held, doubts arise. Who had the idea of turning Stella Maris into a reality? Will Hidrogenesse or the Javis take the stage? Does it mean that Albert Pla could make an appearance to sing The Flowers of My Garden? And could there be an official Stella Maris tour or even transcend The Messiah to become something more than an anecdote?
