Mishima and poetic friendships celebrate Saint George's Day

The Mishimas completed their first Olympic cycle of La Nit de les Roses this Wednesday. They have already In times of fear for the future of Catalan, David Carabén sent an optimistic message: “Our language is in good enough shape that we had to go over it a few times these days to select authors”. The lineup was certainly a luxury. Opening the proceedings was the latest recipient of the Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes, the poet Biel Mesquida, who torrentially recited the last three pieces from his latest book, Trast

. He spoke of earthquakes, hammer-quakes, and letter-quakes and recalled the unjust imprisonment of rapper Pablo Hasél, a mention that received great applause.

Another award winner followed, in this case with Anagrama: Carlota Gurt. Els erms is a book about disillusionment and the author read a caustic passage about the abyss between who we are and who we would like to be, expressed in terms of a meager ejaculation. Eva Baltasar offered a passage from her fifth novel, Els peixos, about a painfully asymmetrical love story in which one woman lives it from dismemberment and the other from hedonism. The literary part was closed by Pol Guasch, who chose not to read from his latest book, Relíquia (which narrates his father's suicide), and opted to present a new text composed from some of Mishima's most famous verses and reflect on them about love. “Having arrived here, knowing we have to leave, if you could escape do you know where I would go?”, he concluded with a delicate voice, moments before receiving one of the ovations of the night.

The Night of the Roses is also a charitable event. Part of the ticket price goes to the Arrels foundation, which looks after the homeless. Like Víctor, who came on stage to explain how he had overcome his situation after five years living on the street. “The problem of being on the street is mental health,” he recalled, referring to the consequences it has on people who cannot have a home.

Once this generous and brilliant first half was over, it was time for a concert by a triumphant Mishima, who were playing at home. The audience sang along to everything – more so the women than the men – and a carefree and joyful atmosphere reigned, even during the most melancholic songs.

A micro-tradition within this neo-tradition is the live premiere of the latest band version, which this year corresponds to Només amics, the adaptation of Back to friends by Sombr. The song came after a string of chained covers that began with El llibre de l’amor (Peter Gabriel) and continued with the covers from previous editions of this pre-Sant Jordi festival: Roses (by Miley Cyrus), La diablessa (by Xavi), and HdHFMD (by Bad Bunny). The festival ended with two of their own classics: Un tros de fang and Tot torna a començar.