Fruitful freedom
Since last June, the three people responsible for Sónar were no longer part of the company's corporate structure, but they remained co-directors. Now that they are no longer part of the company, it's a good time to reflect on those 32 years of adventure, enjoyment, and hard work that have turned the festival not only into a must-see event on the global map, but also into the realization of a dream: transforming raw materials that aren't necessarily popular into elements of enjoyment and sharing at an attractively accessible level. Not just a dream come true, but in many cases, a true miracle.
It was 32 years ago that the embryo created by Ricard Robles, Sergio Caballero, and Enric Palau (and expanded midway through by Ventura Barba as a partner) was born. It's not about awarding medals, but rather about remembering and seeing the results of a groundbreaking project in its day. And they achieved it: innovation; generating talent; a fascinating and often brilliant combination of the experimental and the playful; accommodating a very diverse range of groups of all kinds; finding, in the relatively late stage, the marriage of science and experimentation with music; and above all, the creation over three days of a shared space in which to share and enjoy experiences. It's an assessment that perhaps summarizes that Sónar, as it has been known up to this point, has been a space to celebrate creativity despite inevitable limitations such as budgetary constraints or its location.
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In this last aspect, the festival hasn't always had it easy. It's worth remembering that the festival began with the Day Festival at the CCCB (which moved to the Fira de Barcelona after a few years), and the Night Festival was born in the Apolo hall, which later moved to the Poble Espanyol, the Mar Bella, and finally to the Gran Vía 2 exhibition center in l'Hospitalet. And in all cases, the philosophy and concept of the festival, as well as its content, made these spatial changes into minor issues.
Concert and atmosphere at the Bicep DJ concert at Sónar
Pau Venteo / ShootingThe other element worth mentioning, because it's something that can only be achieved with ideas, dialogue, and a lot of hard work, is that the Festival, also initially named the Advanced Music Festival, has maintained a relationship with municipal and public institutions in general that is more positive than negative; some more sympathetic and others more neutral, though never threatening or manipulative. A good example of this is that this event is a fairly benchmark model of public-private collaboration. And this has been the setting or the foundation that has decisively helped Sónar become not only an iconic must-see on the Barcelona cultural map, but also a driving force of ideas, projects, collaborations between institutions, artists, cities, and, above all, restless wills.
The outgoing team has always conveyed the feeling and conviction that their management has been marked by freedom in the development of projects and initiatives. Many of them initially struck a chord with their originality, or with their proposed collaborations and joint ventures with artists, creators, and genres that were sometimes even antithetical. And in this sense, they have also achieved their goal: connecting talent (something that isn't always easy, nor is it obvious).
By the way, despite the extra-creative commotion and controversy, this year's edition broke a record with 161,000 attendees.
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