Bunbury makes “the immortal city” fly on a magical night of finals

Some had been waiting in line for hours longer than they could count. Others had been caught in a downpour and had come from far, far away to see him . And all of them didn’t care at all because the result of that journey was him, their idol, their legend, the genius of geniuses: Enrique Bunbury. With his characteristic aviator glasses, a “total black” and a touch of red with a scarf around his neck, Bunbury came out on stage at a Romareda that was saying goodbye and that welcomed him as if he had never left. Because he knows it and his fans know it: Bunbury is Zaragoza. And “the immortal city”, as he himself said, suddenly became the cradle of 80s rock and roll in front of almost 30,000 people (not a “sold out”, but almost) who attended a concert of biblical dimensions.

Not literally speaking, since only Bunbury and his ever faithful Santos Inocentes were needed on stage, but because of what this last dance meant . After seven years without setting foot in his home and 17 after doing so for the last time at La Romareda, the artist closed this Saturday his “mini-tour” of eleven shows on this and the other side of the pond without being able to promise his legion of fans if he would ever return. “Two years ago I thought that this would not happen again, that I would not be able to sing to you again. I cannot guarantee that this will not be the first of many, but what I can say is that, for the moment, it is the last concert,” the singer opened up to a packed Romareda.

But the show was not for melancholy, at least not at that moment. To the surprise of no one (or almost no one) the concert started the same as the previous ones. And that didn’t matter in the least. “Nuestros mundos obeyen a tus mapa”, “Cuna de Caín”, “El rescate” … The chords were electrifying before an audience that responded (and very well) to each one of the vocalist’s songs. With “Hombre de acción”, Bunbury took the microphone and the world stopped in that packed La Romareda Stadium.

“Good evening, Zaragoza! What a great pleasure to be here, at the La Romareda stadium, knowing that this Monday will never be the same. For me it is an honour to do my last concert here. This show is coming to an end. There have been 11 unique shows in different cities and countries and where better to close this show than in the immortal city.” Between the shouts and the applause it was difficult to hear him, but as soon as the guitar sounded the public could only let the maestro work his magic to make them fly with his songs.

La Romareda was in a state of almost ecstasy in which it seemed impossible to decipher which song was the one that made the audience vibrate. “Infinito”, “De todo el mundo”, “El extraño”, “Lady blue…”. But then “Entre dos tierras” came on and that’s when La Romareda really fell apart. Whistles, applause, shouts, smiles that couldn’t be helped, eyes filled with tears. Suddenly, Juan Valdivia, Joaquín Cardiel and Pedro Andreu were also on stage . Suddenly, the audience travelled back in time and the Héroes del Silencio were there again. “Entre dos tierras estás. Y no deja aire que respirar. Entre dos tierras estás. Y no deja aire que respirar”. Air was what was almost missing for those who today, surely, have a certain aphonia judging by the state of almost ecstasy with which they interpreted the mythical song word by word.

The dream of many was fading away little by little as the clock ticked down and the night was getting darker. With ” Apuesta por el rock and roll” by Más Birras, the audience was moved, even more so when Bunbury dedicated it to his friend Fernando Rutia, who had recently passed away, and with “Maldito duende”, the almost 30,000 souls vibrated and gave their all because, indeed, the two shortest hours of their lives had ended. Never had a “Hasta pronto” hurt so much, especially for the people of Zaragoza who saw one of their own say goodbye. Who knows if he will appear again…

Romareda was also saying goodbye, and today some seats and a few metres of grass are missing, because after the fireworks that ended the concert, some people did not hesitate to take them as a souvenir. Although last night was one of those that will remain forever.