Marc Salicrú: "We'll take the Arc de Triomphe by its columns and make it shake."

BarcelonaMarc Salicrú's (Mataró, 1993) inspiration often lights up when he's behind the wheel, traversing lonely roads and highways that transport him to imaginary worlds. "There's a kind of grandiloquence and epic effect when a brigade suddenly appears cleaning the road or paving the road. A small micro-world is generated that you don't fully understand, and then, as you drive by, it's already disappeared," explains Salicrú. His desire to capture this mysterious atmosphere has led him to create one of the most genuine and unusual shows at this year's Grec Festival. Interference 02. Brief approach to the exit from the county route through the rear arch gate. Travel at 110 bpm., by Teatres de Campanya, will be a mix of urban concert and stage act involving around 300 people at the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona on July 5 and 6 at 8:30 p.m.

How many times a day do we see people dressed in municipal brigade uniforms working in public spaces? It's difficult to give an exact answer because we often don't notice it. Salicrú seeks, precisely, to turn this fact on its head and distort everyday life. "We'll take all those everyday elements (ambulances, a neighborhood bus, jackhammers) and merge them with popular culture to create a city concert that is a hurricane, a chaos, a collapse. I want people walking around the Ciutadella with headphones on to take them out and ask themselves:" A clear disciple of La Fura dels Baus and Comediants, the show wants to be "a celebration of death in life" with the appropriation of the urban landscape. "The Arc de Triomf is very representative of theskyline But it's not particularly friendly to those of us who live in Barcelona. We'll take it by the columns and shake it with the idea that, eventually, it will become a meeting place for everyone," Salicrú emphasizes. This will be the second InterferenceThe first one was on Nova Icària beach during last year's Fiestas de la Mercè.

For the show, Salicrú has convinced organizations, artists, police officers, firefighters, TMB drivers, members of municipal brigades, and volunteers. Among those present are students from the Liceu Conservatory and the Can Fargues Municipal School, poet Núria Martínez-Vernis, musician (and campanologist) Llorenç Barber, the Tiana Giants, the Espiga de Oro Musical Society of Deltebre, and the Prat de Llobregat Music Band. "I tell everyone the same thing: they should come and do their job, what they do every day. Whoever plays an instrument, plays. Whoever drives the bus, drives," explains the artist.

A meteoric rise

Before arriving here, Salicrú has built a prolific career as a set designer and lighting designer that was preceded by his debut as a musician in The Free Fall Band and his stay at the Can Xalant contemporary art center in Mataró. Somewhat by chance, he entered the Institut del Teatre to study set design and when he was in the final stretch of his degree, he was signed by director Iván Morales. "I had entered as a meritorious All for the money, a show we were doing with La Brutal, and Morales saw me and took me to The Connemara Skull, just ten years ago. And very shortly after that I made Wasted with the Intimates", explains the artist.

The rise from then on was meteoric. The doors of the main Catalan theatres were opened to Salicrú, where he built imposing stage sets such as the immense house of Fun Home In the Condal, the baroque and mobile hall ofTime and the Conways at the TNC and the iconic grocery store The spider, also at the TNC. He has also worked with the prestigious choreographer Marcos Morau from La Veronal –has made the video animations of the shows Dresser and Totentanz–, has hosted the 2019 and 2020 Goya Awards gala and has created the stages for the tours of the 40 years of Els Pets, of the return of Antònia Font and of Jesus Christ Superstar of Rigoberta Bandini. And collaborated in the Lyceum in opera Macbeth with stage direction by Jaume Plensa.

All this has been done without leaving aside the origins. VVAA collective (the group of artists also formed by Elena Martín, Max Grosse Majench, Anna Serrano, Clara Aguilar and Laura Weissmahr), with whom in recent years he has worked on productions such as Like if Laras, This is real love and Baby no more, which was the farewell to the collective. At the same time, he has also maintained a close relationship with the company Íntimos, a key element in his early career with works such as Anorak and Pool (no water).

"All this time I've been researching how to bring the feeling of impact, mystery, and effectiveness to the theater," says Salicrú. Interferences seeks to go a step further: to ensure that even involuntary spectators are imbued with what he has created. "I want everyone to immerse themselves in this atmosphere and, whether you like it or not, the memory stays with you. My intention is that when you pass by the Arc de Triomf again, you will inevitably think about what you saw," he emphasizes.

Salicrú is restless, and his future is full of projects. After passing through the Grec, he will bring a new Interference at Fira Tàrrega—and he hopes more will follow. The artist will continue to work as a set designer and lighting designer in theaters, and he's also just earned his bell-ringing certification from the Vall d'en Bas bell-ringing school. He's also looking for ways to put it into practice and wants to revive some bell towers and their rings.