“The people of the city, I don’t know how they do it / the things there don’t satisfy me,” sings Rodrigo Cuevas in ‘Allá arribita’, one of the songs included on his new album, ‘Manual de Romería’. Cuevas, who lives in an Asturian village, has always defended the advantages of living in the countryside instead of in the city. “The place for the elderly should be the city and the place for the young should be the countryside” is one of the most memorable statements that he has left in the media.
In ‘Allá arribita’, Cuevas offers an ode to the countryside. Living in it is equated to the feeling of freedom. “Love always accompanies me, so I sing to the rivers and the mountains” is one of the rhymes left in the lyrics. In the chorus, Cuevas, “up there”, on the mountain, “throws a tune into the air”, lets out “a scream” and sees the “more beautiful” world.
In the lyrics, Cuevas cites several towns that he sees from his own, from La Peruyal to El Curbezu, “places that so many voices once named” but that “the mouths of now forgot.”
Cuevas’ message is accompanied by an outstanding composition, one of the best in ‘Manual de Romería’ and in his entire career, but at the moment it does not have its own video clip.
Inspired by the Spanish pop of the 70s, specifically the work of Vainica Doble, ‘Allá arribita’ is reminiscent of the “new song” of that time, and with guitars and mandolins, it decorates a beautiful melody, set to a rhythm trotter that makes him look like a troubadour of our time. The recent National Prize for Current Music is a modern poet.
