The confessions, from Saint Augustine to Rosalía

The line of continuity, uncomfortable and fascinating, between the Christian confessional and Rosalía's confessional reveals the profound mutation of a cultural and religious instrument. The confessional has been central in Christian tradition, not only as a sacramental practice, but as a self-technology. The Church not only listened, but controlled and regulated consciences, behaviors, and narratives. Since the Middle Ages, confessing implies a precise dramaturgy, a delimited space, a voice that is exposed (the sinner) and an authority that listens (the priest) and absolves in the name of Christ. Furthermore, the seal of confession guarantees that what is said remains protected, reinforcing trust but also consolidating institutional power over intimate and non-transferable discourse. The undisputed intellectual reference for confession is the philosopher Augustine of Hippo and his Confessions, which inaugurate modern interiority. Without Saint Augustine, there would be no culture of introspection or moral economy of confession.The reappearance of this structure in the Lux Tour is surprising. In the concert, imitating being in a confessional, Rosalía takes the place of the listener and, symbolically, absolves. But the content changes radically, since those who confess (fans, influencers or artists) do not admit any guilt nor ask for forgiveness, but rather explain curious situations or romantic disappointments experienced. The victim, in fact, is not the one speaking, but the one who is spoken ill of: the ex-partner, "the narcissist", "the absent", turned into a narrative object, the so-called "gem". The confession thus shifts from individual moral examination to a satirical emotional exhibition shared with thousands of people.This moment in the confessional, located just before the song La perlaThis moment in the confessional, situated just before the topic In short, all this responds to a profound change in the concert model. We no longer just attend musical performances, but to the production of content in which attendees get involved, in one way or another, so that the public becomes another part of a spectacular gear that not only fills venues with its presence but also co-creates a new digital viral device.Saint Augustine sought God in inwardness; Rosalía turns this inwardness into a shareable spectacle. The question is no longer who listens to us and who absolves our sins, but who will share it. Perhaps in a future Lux Tour, as a new marketing resource, we will be able to consume a consecrated host by Rosalía.