In the midst of the streaming era and omnipresent screens, a growing segment of youth is looking back. Vinyl records, cassettes, film cameras, or VHS tapes, formats that just a few years ago seemed doomed to disappear, are circulating again among young people as objects of cultural consumption and symbols of identity. Far from being a fleeting trend, the phenomenon reflects an increasingly complex relationship between the digital generation and the technology that dominates their daily lives.

Just as tourists climbing the shady Carrer de la Força in Girona for the first time are dazzled when the imposing cathedral appears before them with the scenic power of its baroque staircase, the audience and musicians entering the Las Vegas concert hall in Sant Feliu de Guíxols for the first time can hardly imagine that behind a modest facade will emerge a venue of retro majesty that will transport them to the 80s, with three well-stocked bars, tables and chairs with gold finishes arranged in an amphitheater, two indoor stages, and a pleasant terrace, all with a capacity for almost 900 people. Perhaps Luz de Gas (slightly smaller) is one of the few comparable venues, although due to its long history, some compare Las Vegas to Sala Apolo or La Paloma. The venue was built in 1962, but its origins date back to an open-air terrace dedicated to shows for the first tourists, which began operating in 1958 under the same name. The current director, Marc Recolons, goes even further back, explaining that his great-great-grandfather was a true pioneer of cinema in the Girona region, who in the early 20th century began showing silent films in a circus tent in Llagostera, with a projector bought from the Lumière brothers at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. The grandfather and two brothers later managed cinemas in various towns, including Calonge, Palamós, Palafrugell, and Figueres (here also named Las Vegas).

Antoni Gorgues was still living at home with his parents when he decided to make a radical change in his life. He was 24 years old and had been working as an accountant for a company in Lleida for some time when, in 1996, he decided to leave it all behind to dedicate himself to his great passion: music. Exactly thirty years ago, from his teenage bedroom, he founded Guerssen, an exclusive label now known for reissuing psychedelic rarities. "It all started with few resources, simply with a lot of enthusiasm and little knowledge," recalls Gorgues himself, who is now immersed in the commemorative events, which have kicked off with the release of a collection of fifteen limited and numbered singles, featuring garage, psychedelic, and other sounds and bands. freakbeat and hard rock, mainly from the sixties, with some surprises from the eighties such as the two singles featuring the earliest demos by Los Negativos, never before released on vinyl. On March 28th, the Morera Museum in Lleida will host a talk about the history of Guerssen, featuring Antoni Gorgues himself along with some of his collaborators: Álex Carretero, Marc Argenter (the label's designer), and journalist Àlex Oró. Following the talk, the documentary will be screened. The Negatives: Graduated from Underground (Víctor Carrey, 2024) on the history of the group. Also at the Museu Morera, a small exhibition on the history of Guerssen will be on display, featuring records and memorabilia. Finally, the Café del Teatro will host a performance by Los Negativos with a lineup that includes two founding members of the band, Carles Estrada and Robert Grima, along with a string section, performing the entire album. Kaleidoscopic Piknik as never before.

The bakery, the only establishment open at the intersection where I'll be picked up in the early hours, has a Catalan name that suggests tradition. The young, uniformed, Latina workers speak Spanish. Many of the customers do too. To avoid the cold from the automatic glass door, which opens and stays open, I stand at the back of the establishment. The speaker with the music is above me. Reggaeton songs play nonstop, and I understand that it's more for the enjoyment of the workers than the customers. I can do nothing but pry.

Italian music has just lost one of its most outstanding, prolific, and veteran voices, that of Gino Paoli, who died at the age of 91 in Genoa, the city where he had lived for decades. The long career of the musician and singer-songwriter, born on September 23, 1934, in Monfalcone—in the Friuli region—began in the late 1950s with a simple, elegant, and autobiographical song. The cat

The story of the Urgell Canal, one of the most crucial hydraulic infrastructures for the development of contemporary Catalonia, will once again be brought to life through music and theater with the return ofOpera in the veinsA stage and musical production will arrive next April at two emblematic venues. The show will premiere again on April 19 at the Teatre de la Lonja in Lleida, and the following day, April 20, it will move to the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, ​​in a double performance that will conclude the tour begun last year.

Is there an ideal place for music? In Rehearsal Room, Juan de la Rubia, musician and titular organist of the Sagrada Familia Basilica, and Benedetta Tagliabue, architect and designer of auditoriums and concert halls, among other projects, discuss how walls create spaces that allow us to listen to music. The work of Johann Sebastian Bach, Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor 582A cathedral-like work for organ accompanies the debate in the video podcast of the Palau de la Música Catalana: An ideal place for music

The social project "Soy clave!" (I'm Key!), promoted by the Maria Canals International Piano Competition Association, with the support of the Occidente Foundation, reinforces its commitment to offering a real opportunity to vulnerable children to engage with music through the piano. The program is part of OFF Concurs, a set of educational and outreach initiatives that aim to bring piano playing to the wider community and make it accessible beyond traditional channels. Aimed at children aged six and up, "Soy clave!" facilitates access to musical learning for children who, due to economic or social reasons, would otherwise have little contact with an instrument. The piano—traditionally associated with academic settings or certain social classes—thus becomes a tool for inclusion and discovery. The goal is to awaken vocations, but also to foster confidence, creativity, and, most importantly, to provide opportunities for those who lack them.

Turning 35 is quite a milestone. Even more so in the world of music. However, that's precisely what the Valencian folk group Urbàlia Rurana has achieved, and they will celebrate their anniversary this Saturday, March 14th, with a concert at the Palau de Les Arts in Valencia.

Cervera will once again become one of the epicenters of Catalan classical music this Easter. From March 26 to April 4, the capital of the Segarra region will host the 16th edition of the Easter Festival, a unique event within the country's musical landscape because it is the only one dedicated entirely to this repertoire. The program will include 14 concerts held in various venues throughout the city, featuring a combination of symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary music. Among the invited ensembles and performers are the Julià Carbonell Symphony Orchestra of Lleida, the Chamber Choir of the Palau de la Música Catalana, Polifemo Consorte, the Cobla Sant Jordi, and the Prysma Quartet, as well as soloists such as Marta Mathéu, Miquel Villalba, and Joel Bardolet.

When we talk about Pythagoras, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the theorem that bears his name, one of the discoveries this Greek philosopher and mathematician of the late 6th century BC made during his lifetime. But he made quite a few more. He was also the first to relate music to numbers, which led him to identify mathematical patterns in music. So, it's not so strange that these two fields are linked.

When spring filters like a secret through the mist and the light timidly lengthens, the MUD rises once more as a refuge for restless ears. Nineteen editions later, the Festival Músicas Dispersas exudes maturity and consolidates a singular perspective: understanding roots music not as a museum piece, but as living, permeable matter, capable of mutating by engaging with the present without losing the essence that anchors it. In times of algorithms and predictable programming, the festival persists in its purpose with theopen minded folkOpening up daring spaces for discovery, and connecting tradition and contemporary art without abandoning the commitment that nourishes it. From March 12 to 15, venues such as the Café del Teatro, the Enric Granados Auditorium, and the Teatro de la Lonja will host an eclectic program that will take us from the dub from South Asian influences, passing through the folk American influences leading back to the roots of Ebro tradition.

A total of 443 children and young people from the Segarra region are participating this year in a new edition of The Enchanted MirrorA cultural and educational project that, since 2019, has linked education, culture, and the local community through a collaborative process. The initiative connects schools, teachers, students, institutions, and cultural professionals in a program that combines artistic training, stage creation, and community participation. The project unfolds in two main phases throughout the school year. During the first term, participating students discover the string, wind, and percussion instruments that are part of the performance through instrumental discovery sessions, vocal technique training, and physical education. In the second phase, corresponding to the second term, the project focuses on musical and stage rehearsals with the aim of refining the songs and the dramatic action of the show. The Enchanted Mirror It is based on Jaume Ferran's work, *Cuaderno de música* (Music Notebook), with an adaptation of a text by Montse Pont and music by Jordi Castellà. The show combines a children's choir, soloists, narration, and an instrumental ensemble, and is created by an artistic and pedagogical team made up of professionals from the fields of music, theater, and dance who work together with the participating teachers and students. The project, organized by the Regional Council, is based on a shared creative process that understands artistic learning as a demanding and collective experience. Children and young people actively participate in all dimensions of the work and are part of a collective effort that fosters cooperation, perseverance, and commitment to the creative process. This process will culminate in five performances of The Enchanted Mirror at the Municipal Theatre Ateneo of Guissona, scheduled for March 19 and 20, 2026. In each performance, approximately one hundred students will participate on stage, with the simultaneous presence of several educational centers, in a format that combines educational vocation and public projection.

Enriching children's cognitive development with music is fundamental for both experts. Gemma Canadell, director of the Educational Service at the Palau de la Música, and Pau Llonch, musician, economist, and member of Versemblant, a cooperative with an educational project based on music and art, discuss this topic in Rehearsal Room about what music to choose for boys and girls in the Palau videopodcast Between Mozart and Bad Bunny. Rehearsal Room For this occasion, they have chosen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's KV 265 variations, probably one of the first pieces children hear at school.

The baritone Àngel Òdena is one of the members of the cast of The Mona LisaThe opera by Amilcare Ponchielli, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito, can be seen at the Gran Teatre del Liceu until March 2nd. The Tarragona native returned to the Liceu stage this past Monday after three years, when he participated in The Troubadour, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of his debut at the Barcelona theater.

My son has been creating instrumental music on the computer for a year now. It's a quantum leap compared to when I started. At 12, he's doing things I was doing when I was almost 30. The evolution is incredible. He's already listened to a lot of groundbreaking music. He pays close attention to detail, works quickly and intuitively, and focuses on choosing the right sounds to make the song sound interesting. He doesn't consider mixing as a separate element; he does it all at once. He sees it as a whole.

A musician from Lleida and, above all, a fighter. Joan Mesegué He's now 55, lives with his partner by the Utxesa reservoir, and is starting a new life. Since his twenties, he's teetered between life and death, art and madness, the deepest depressions and the most creative bursts of clarity, traveling all over Europe and returning home in frustration… Diagnosed with bipolar disorder and recently brought under control with medication, he's embarking on a tour of pubs and record labels, performing some of his new songs.

Can art change the world? The video podcast "Rehearsal Room of the Palau de la Música Catalana" delves into the courage of those who make music, exploring what it means to be a hero or heroine in the creative world. Composer Raquel García-Tomás and writer Jordi Lara discuss past labels and new ways of creating with Richard Strauss and his Hero's Life As a backdrop, a work in which the composer played with this concept, reviewing his biography with large doses of irony.

Being reborn after an accident: it sounds like a cliché, but we can't forget that clichés are often deeply ingrained truths. Or, at least, rhetorical fossils with a kernel of truth at their core. Just ask economist and writer Fernando Trias de Bes, who about a year and a half ago suffered a serious car accident that could have killed him, but from which he emerged reborn and creatively liberated.

HeHail Mary by Schubert and The song of the birds The most requested musical pieces for funerals in Catalonia are those by Pau Casals, according to a list compiled by Àltima—which manages 43 funeral homes, 14 crematoriums, and 19 cemeteries across the country. The ranking continues with A kiss and a flower, by Nino Bravo; Words of love, by Joan Manuel Serrat, and the Virolaiby Josep Rodoreda. Among the top 10 most requested songs, there is one in English (My Way, by Frank Sinatra, in ninth position) and two in Spanish (MediterraneanSerrat's song in issue number 6, and Hail Rociera, by Manuel Pareja-Obregón in 8th place). The tenth position is for theAdagio in B minor, by Albinoni. The list was compiled from the more than 16,000 funeral services performed throughout 2025 at the company's facilities.