25 years distributing Estopa

To hear "Fui a la orilla del río" and from there, the only way is up. Even more so if that night marks, exactly, 25 years since everything began for Estopa. It was on October 18, 1999, when their first album was released, breaking records no one would have imagined in Cornellà, and there couldn't have been a better date to close the celebration tour that the duo from Baix Llobregat has been immersed in since last April, based on sold outs and selling out all tickets in a few hours.

"Those fists to the sky of Barcelona," the Muñoz brothers proclaimed as soon as they stepped onto the Palau Sant Jordi stage, undoubtedly, emotional as always, but calmer than a few months ago, when they became the first Spanish group to fill the Lluís Companys Stadium with more than 60,000 people singing their hearts out. And they didn't make us wait as long as the other time. Among the audience this Friday, there were those who missed out on tickets for the July date, but there were also those who were doing a double header and were grateful that this time they didn't have to work the next day, as one already knows how to approach one of their concerts.

"You can't imagine what we feel when we return to Palau Sant Jordi and find all of you, all of you, and all of you. Who would have told us 25 years ago that today we would be here," they began. David says that back then he saw himself more as a video store clerk than filling stadiums. "Well, neither video store nor anything, we're going to try to put on the best concert of our lives," they warned.

The party began with Tu calorro, the first song from Estopa ---they already showed promise in naming and hadn't even started with Paint yet---, but there was no time to lose with such an infinite list of great songs that have marked very diverse generations. With Cacho a cacho, they continued with that first album that recovered many of the songs that were part of the mythical demo, the one that circulated on eMule ---this is almost like saying dinosaur--- and with which one had to start smuggling CDs.

All this, with their Cornellà in the background, proudly showing those landscapes where they grew up, with the blocks and industrial estates as a symbol of where they came from and where they still belong. Hence, when they start with Vacaciones, that neighborhood character that David and José have had from the beginning already oozes, without putting on airs, because there are things that are simply true if you know them well, as also happens with a Pastillas de freno that made many blush.

Lest it be unclear, they top it off with the most recent Somos de barrio, with the rapper El Momo even participating on stage. "The subway didn't reach my neighborhood before the 80s, San Ildefonso is what represents us," they start to say, even getting into free markets and Adam Smith's invisible hand, which "doesn't pay off" for them. In their protest facet, always unpredictable but effective, this time they haven't started singing to Lamine Yamal, but they have started defending waiters, which is something they know in the family, with years behind the bar of La Española in Cornellà. Oh, and they have formally asked people to stop saying holi, amigui, or guapi. "What mierdi is esi?" said a truly indignant David.

Of course, calmly, Estopa are not about rallies and if they say something it's because they feel like it and that's it, quickly moving on to another classic, which is what people came for. Yes, Por la raja de tu falda, Cuando amanece, Partiendo la pana, Los Chichos, Malabares or Fuente de energía, with light bracelets starting with Tragicomedia to give the full experience. And with a tribute included to Serrat with Me'n vaig a peu after he himself congratulated them for "25 years distributing Estopa." Either they get into a Seat Panda or a tuned STOP sign spins around with a rumba because what matters are the laughs and with them the joke never ends. The Muñoz brothers want to impress their audience, thank them for everything they can, and they have put together an audiovisual and artistic display to make this like going to see Coldplay, being, without a doubt, much more authentic and 100% local product. You have to put on a good show because paying for a concert costs a lot and they don't forget that.

And since they are very much into bars and beers at an Estopa concert are a given, the stage suddenly turns into a bar, regardless of whether there's a ham knife or not. "A bar from Baix Llobregat: from Sant Boi, Viladecans, Cornellà, Sant Vicenç dels Horts, although it could also be from Besòs, Badalona, Santa Coloma... Psychologically, Llobregat reaches as far as Chile," they wanted to make clear. It's time to have some beers and highlight that Conchi Heredia is back, with palms and the cajón as protagonists.

The grand finale comes with Vino tinto, Ojitos rojos, Me quedaré and Como camarón, a climax with which the decibels skyrocket. Although no one wants it, the well-deserved vacation arrives, for a while, for the duo that has grown up but still has fun like kids. "Those people who say I don't know how to do nothing, go to hell, take a nap," they said, confirming their life plan for a season. Meanwhile, we will have to wait for their posters for any significant anniversary.