Laura del Pino: "Jamaican music was my gateway to the songs of the sixties"

Initially, it might seem impossible to make music from the sixties having been born in the nineties. Or, at least, that you are destined to scratch its surface, creating one imitation after another of what was to be this style in the past. Well, Laura del Pino (Sant Boi de Llobregat, 1996), singer of the group La Rauxa, is living proof that new generations can not only transmit the festive and wild essence of this genre, but also carry its history on their shoulders and connect it with today's political and social problems. "It's a festive genre with a lot of energy, music for building community, and for dancing with neighbors in the square or in the old marquees," the singer summarizes.

Del Pino believes that this style remained "on the sidelines" in Catalonia because it coincided with the birth of artistic movements like La Nova Cançó, at the end of Francoism. "It was what was appropriate for the historical moment and struggle we were in, but there were also many people who were making music in Catalan and advocating for free time and parties," the singer emphasizes. "For me, this was also a necessary struggle that was never put at the forefront, and that we – La Rauxa – have always really liked to champion," she insists.

Both the singer and the nine new members of La Rauxa do not hesitate to embrace the most playful side of the music of the sixties and exploit it on stage, but always with Catalan as the unifying axis, with a class perspective and reclaiming the great personalities of Catalan literature. "We do it this way because we also have a political stance; we want to offer a space for dissemination on stage to reclaim figures like Pau Riba, Jaume Sisa, or Maria Aurèlia Capmany, who often inspire the lyrics of our songs," she states.

The singer's love for the genre doesn't come from nowhere. Del Pino entered the music world thanks to her parents, who taught her the first guitar chords and enrolled her at the Sant Boi Municipal Music School to learn to play the violin. But, above all, they encouraged her to dedicate herself to the music sector without prejudice or prohibitions. “They are my first role models, because they have always accompanied me and never stopped me from studying music,” says the Sant Boi native.

Del Pino laid the foundations of her musical education between scores and notes of the classical genre, but soon began to experiment with other styles far from the public eye, such as Jamaican music. “This was my first contact with underground music, and it was my gateway to the songs of the sixties,” she emphasizes. Since then, she has not stopped researching with the help of some of its current chroniclers, such as the journalist Òscar Dalmau – with the edition of the albums Pop a la Catalana–, the accordionist and activist of Catalan folk and pop Carles Belda, or the musician Pau Llop, who often vindicates the image and sound of Catalan music from that decade.

The singer's and La Rauxa's contribution to the genre is to create music that remains faithful to its origins and does not end up becoming a “product” nor does it have to “fit the canons”. One of La Rauxa's objectives is, in fact, to be a meeting place for everyone, both for the “purists” of the genre and for those who discover it for the first time. “The more people come to have a good time, the better,” she concludes.