Salvador Sobral: "I want there to be a lot of research to help immunocompromised people like me."

BarcelonaThe brothers Salvador Sobral Luísa Sobral and her husband will perform on Sunday, December 21st at the Auditori in Barcelona at 7 pm. It's not a conventional performance, but a benefit concert organized by the Fight Against Infections Foundation, chaired by Bonaventura Clotet, which focuses on research to help immunocompromised people. The Portuguese musician, who has been living in Barcelona for a couple of years, speaks about it.

How did the opportunity to perform at the Fight Against Infections Foundation's benefit concert come about?

— They called me, but initially it was for me to do the concert alone. Then I thought about who could accompany me. I asked Marco Mezquida, but he couldn't make it. And thinking about Christmas and family, I thought it would be perfect to do the concert with my sister. Besides, it will be the first time we've done a concert together in Catalonia.

And did you propose it to him?

— Yes, and the foundation was thrilled. Actually, my participation in the concert is quite selfish because what I really want is for there to be a lot of research to help immunocompromised people like me, for them to reach many conclusions, and for me not to have to take so many painful medications.

Does your status as a heart transplant recipient mean you get a lot of calls to participate in charity concerts?

— In December, always. Last year we went to San Juan de Dios Hospital, because of my heart condition. It's good, because we helped and we feel more at peace with our conscience. I also just gave a concert for Palestine.

Where was the concert for Palestine held?

— In Lisbon. It was a concert to help Palestinian refugees.

And it coincided precisely with Eurovision's decision to keep Israel in the contest.

— The very day we were performing the concert on RTP, the only national television channel that broadcast a benefit concert for the Palestinians, RTP announced its participation in Eurovision. One cold day, one hot day... I was disappointed with the public broadcaster, a channel that gave me so much; I have many friends there. In fact, many RTP employees protested the channel's decision. I even made a video on social media. I will always speak out about Palestine, as I do about many other political issues. We must talk about these things because the most basic human rights are not being respected.

Talking about them doesn't mean you have to write songs about them, but it does give you the opportunity to express what you think.

— I'd also like to make more interventionist music. But until I get there, I talk about everything I can.

Going back to the L'Auditori concert... You don't perform with your sister as much as you'd like, do you?

— We're very different. We have almost opposite personalities. We couldn't do a world tour together because we'd fight and argue. We know we could do a few concerts, but not many. But I was really excited about Barcelona because I live here and she'll be here a few days early to be with Aida, my daughter. So, it's perfect. Yes, we could do more, but not that many. We're very different.

And how are you planning this concert?

— We followed a somewhat chronological order. There were songs by artists we listened to in my father's car: the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and some Portuguese musicians. And in my mother's car, Brazilian music: Maria Bethânia, Caetano Veloso... And so the journey began. In the car, my father would say, "Come on, now you, Salvador, do John Lennon's voice. And you, Luísa, do Paul McCartney's voice." Then we'd switch. "Now just sing the bottom line." It was all just for fun. Later, we each started listening to music independently, each in our own room. I remember the first record I bought Luísa was a Backstreet Boys album because I was crazy about them, even though she was already in a different phase. We also listened to Spice Girls. Later on, she went to Berklee to study music. I went to the United States for high school and only listened to rap, while she was more into jazz. Then there's Eurovision, songs she wrote for me, songs I wrote for her to sing on my album...

It's a journey through both of their memories.

— A journey full of stories. She's very funny, very sarcastic; very ironic too, like me. And we're always teasing each other on stage as well.

Where does Luisa live?

— Near Lisbon, in Sintra.

Now that you've been living in Barcelona for a while, you must already feel like a local.

— Yes, I'm in love with Barcelona. Do you know why? Because Barcelona is easy. You can cycle everywhere, it has dedicated bike lanes, and the metro works well. From an urban planning perspective, it's a very well-designed city. And another important thing is that it's child-friendlyAs the Americans say, there are so many things to do with children; many more than in Lisbon. What can you do in Barcelona with 3-year-olds? Well, the other day we went to see a puppet show at Puntual; you can go to the Fundació Miró, CosmoCaixa, the Filmoteca... there are so many things, it's incredible. And I can play football, which is a very basic thing, because there's an app that lets you get together with people to play. It's like Tinder for football. It's all very easy, at least for someone from my upper-middle-class background. Yes, rent is expensive, much more expensive than in Lisbon. But hey, for people in my financial situation and my partner's, it's a perfect city.

Musically, what are you working on? Or what project would you like to undertake in 2026?

— Right now I'm very preoccupied with many social issues, which is preventing me from creating. But the new album, which I think will be released in October 2026, will definitely have something to do with Brazil, where music was born. But for now, I think I must continue to denounce all these things that are happening... Because when people say that making music has nothing to do with politics, I disagree. I live in Barcelona, and I feel that everything is political, everything is a political decision. When I get up and go to the bakery to buy bread: do I go to the bakery in Ciutadella that was opened by a French expat who pays taxes to France, or do I go to the bakery that Mrs. Esmeralda has always run? All of this is political. If we have a public voice, we must use it now because I think the far right is losing ground, and now is the time to seize it.

Do you think it's going down?

— Yes, with what's happened in the Netherlands, for example. Although in Portugal it seems Chega might make it into the presidential elections, I have the feeling that the far-right movement is losing steam a bit. I don't know, maybe I'm too optimistic.