(Z)one Bridges, heritage that sounds

BridgesThe (Z)ona Ponts festival consolidates this summer its commitment to turning Ponts' heritage into a vibrant cultural stage with a second edition that, until September 4th, offers five music and performing arts proposals in emblematic spaces of the municipality. After the good reception of the first edition, launched following the millennium of Sant Pere, the festival reaffirms a small-format model that seeks to create artistic experiences linked to each place.

The program opened on June 26th inside Sant Pere with the concert Descasada by Magalí Sare, a show that revisits songs from different eras and cultures about women and marriage from a feminist perspective.

The next event will be on July 17th with the show Venus, by pianist Laura Andrés and violinist Roser Loscos from Agramunt, at the Pati de la Verge of the Municipal Nursery, one of the two new venues incorporated by the festival this year. On August 8th, Santa Cecília de Torreblanca, the other new stage, will host a double program with the reading Thoreau: la vida als boscos, by Carlos Cuevas, followed by a concert by Alosa, who will present El primer cant del matí. On August 22nd, it will be the turn of Encambra't in front of Sant Isidre del Canal, with a repertoire of Catalan and universal classics that will commemorate the 150th anniversary of Pau Casals' birth. The closing will take place on September 4th, with a free concert by El Petit de Cal Eril on the esplanade of the castle of Ponts.

One of the main novelties of this edition is the incorporation of the artist and sculptor Erik Schmitz as the person responsible for the artistic intervention of the spaces. He himself acknowledges that the challenge is to "dress these spaces" and bring "another perspective" so that the public can rediscover the heritage from a contemporary point of view. He also claims the cultural value of Ponent and is delighted to be able to work in the territory.

The mayor of Ponts, Josep Tàpies, highlights that the festival is part of the municipal commitment to culture and heritage, and emphasizes the desire to make known often unknown corners of the municipality. "We are looking for and highlighting these spaces with music and arts," he summarizes.

For their part, the artistic coordinator, Rut Martínez Ribot, recalls that the project was born with the intention of turning heritage into a "vertebrating" element of the community. She advocates for a "small-format" festival, where artistic proposals are as important as the spaces that host them, and emphasizes the combination of established names with local talent.

Organized by the Ponts City Council, through the Municipal Board of Local Initiatives, (Z)ona Ponts has the support of various institutions, entities, and companies in the area and is consolidating itself as one of the cultural events of the summer in the lands of Ponent.