Emotion and great performances in honor of Joan Ramon Bonet

IncaA serene emotion, great performances, and the desire to stand firm against cultural destruction and wars characterized the tribute he received. Joan Ramon Bonet Saturday at the Teatro Principal in Inca. "It was very exciting and I had a great time," Bonet said in a brief press conference after the event, seated between Maria del Mar Bonet, his younger sister, and Joan Manuel Serrat, a friend since the days of Setze Jutges.

"Life has been kind enough to give me this friendship. Thank you so much for this gift," Serrat had said shortly before, just at the end of a concert with artistic direction by Borja Penalba The event flowed with elegance and provided ample space for political and cultural commentary in the interventions of the musicians and guests such as Francina Armengol, former president of the Balearic government and current president of the Spanish Congress of Deputies. "Today we remember those brave people who fought for freedom," stated Armengol, who, referring to the policies of the PP and Vox parties against democratic memory and the Catalan language, added: "They will not succeed in making our people forget where we come from. As María del Mar Bonet sang, language is the soul of the people, and the soul of the people."

A singer in his youth, the first Mallorcan of the Setze Jutges, and always an excellent photographer, Joan Ramon Bonet saw friends and admirers parade across the stage, all summoned to a tribute organized by Barnasants, which was fitting because last year he turned sixty. Lost loveOne of the gems from a songwriter whose brief but intense and quite influential catalog resonated with young singer-songwriters in the mid-sixties. "But there came a point when you either turned professional to improve or you just let it go," he says. He left music, and a great photographer was born. "And his photographs maintain that intensity, that poetry of the songs," his sister affirms.

Serrat and Miquela Lladó (who played together in Mallorca in the 1960s), and Meritxell Gené, Miquel Gil, Borja Penalba, and Tilda Espluga, as well as pianists Antoni Parera Fons and Toni Olaf, violinist Benjamín Salom, cellist Carmela Font, and guitarist Toni Pastor. Also performing was Maria del Mar Bonet. Each singer performed two songs: one by Joan Ramon Bonet and another of their own or by a singer associated with the composer. Lost loveFor example, Miquela Lladó, a true icon of Mallorcan folk music. —whom Maria Jaume has just included on the album San Domingo forever (2026)—, sang the beautiful Souvenir vendors and the Jota of the villageaccompanied by Pastor. Meritxell Gené performed a moving version of the song. Don't bury me He then paid tribute to Guillermina Motta, of the Sixteen Judges, like Bonet, with Toni Olaf accompanying him on piano. Forming a super-energizing duo, Miquel Gil and Borja Penalba delivered two extraordinary, sensitive, and volcanic versions of the Bonet brothers' songs. Within your eyes and Mercedeswhich were among the most applauded by the audience that filled the theater, among whom was Biel Mesquida, Honorary Prize for Catalan Letters 2026.

Borja Penalba and ferocity

Penalba, alone, scored Lost love With heart in his voice and ferocity in his guitar; he accompanied Tilda Espluga to We will not be moved and Serrat in I'm going on foot and New song of lost loveAnd, of course, she teamed up with Maria del Mar Bonet, who chose His seagull to pay homage to his brother (with Benjamin Salom's violin enriching its color) and he also performed the majestic There's always wind.Pere Camps (founder of Barnasants), Miquel Àngel Sancho (founder of the Blau record label), Yanni Munujos (manager of Maria del Bar Bonet), journalist Pere Sánchez, and historian Fanny Tur also spoke about the figure and the civic and artistic legacy of Joan Ramon Bonet. His sister, recalling childhood memories, painted a vivid picture of the honoree: "When we played, he was often the captain and I the obedient army. I didn't want to miss anything he organized. He was the most beloved teacher." And on Saturday, after thanking everyone for the tribute, the maestro shouted, "No to war!"