Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso triumph with irony and romanticism

BarcelonaSince they performed at the Cara B Festival, each Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso concert has managed to attract fans to one of the most unique offerings in Argentine music. Catriel Guerreiro and Ulises Guerriero have the soul of rhapsodes and a heart that pumps to the rhythm of hip-hop, and they knew how to take advantage of the aesthetic moment of trap, but what truly makes them stand out in Argentina is the skill with which they incorporate colors with more than half a century of history, such as funk. In fact, for a good part of Tuesday's concert at the Sant Jordi Club, they seemed simultaneously heirs to Prince and Luis Alberto Spinetta. And it's not just the sound, but also the stage layout. They hit the right note.

They began the performance with Dumbai, one of the funk bombs they played in that concert on the program Tiny Desk so memorable and that they have included on the album Papota (2025). On stage were a dozen musicians, including a percussionist, two backing vocalists, and a brass section. The concert, sometimes opening the door to keyboard arrangements that would make Stevie Wonder smile knowingly, other times ironically removing the sensual romanticism of pieces like My goddess and My wish, and occasionally making explicit funk proclamations, like the riffs of guitar with which Ca7riel adorns Impostor either Bad bitch. Jamaican grafts don't flow as well, but the melodies that live in Latin pop do work, and above all, the songs in which charisma rules are unbeatable, as occurs in Pirlo"It's the saddest song we have," they declared before booing the audience so everyone would turn on their phone lights. It's also the song with the ultimate romantic-football metaphor: "Without you, I'm like Italy without Pirlo."

Charismatic and mocking

Freed from the stools, the second part of the concert had less sonic unity. There was room for Ca7riel's diabolical dark hip-hop antics, and, without musicians on stage but with a profusion of green lasers, it was time for electronic music. It was like going from a performance at the Mas i Mas Festival to a show at Sónar by Night, and everyone was happy; an audience of several generations, by the way.

Funk reappeared in the final section, when the irony with which the Argentine duo takes music, especially the expectations of the music industry, became more explicit. They speak in Baby gangsta, which sounded at the beginning of the concert, but even more so in Tits, one of the songs of Papota, which ends with a bitter realization: "if you want to be someone, you can't be you; you must be someone who is not you, and if you want to be you, you will be nobody." Needless to say, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso are somebody.