The Copa del América is that event that many people think they are missing but, wow, they can’t find the time to follow it. It is true that the event has not completely managed to get the label that it is an elitist and somewhat cryptic call in its development that has little to do with the interests of ordinary people, who, looking for many apartments, are not exactly for megasailboats. It is also true that the same could be said about Formula 1 and look, it is popular. Should boats have been placed on Passeig de Gràcia as was done with cars with such a good reception from the public? Maybe so, but Collboni would only have lacked that after the criticism for that. The way in which the competition has developed up to this point has not aroused the expected interest. Despite the effort (and spectacularity) of boats and crews in the preliminaries, the truth is that the decisive part, the challenge, the real challenge, begins now, on the 12th, with the New Zealand defenders of the cup (at least everyone has already learned to say he America) facing the winner of the Challenger Selection Series. The eminently musical and lighting show Barcelona, lighthouse to the world, which kicked off the final phase tonight, aspired to be that great event that would make all the eyes of the city (and, yes, the world) turn to our sea, specifically to the Bogatell beach where was celebrated.
And it has undoubtedly been great and dazzling, despite all the skepticism it may have aroused, the spectacle. With moments of astonishing beauty (also others of early Christmas lighting), such as the deployment of hundreds of drones, the best of which, which made up figures in the night sky, impressive constellations that have made Cassiopeia herself pale with envy. Highlights include the magical appearance in the sky of a giant manta ray, the Holy Family!, a giant woman, or—it could not be missed—a sailboat from the regatta, all done with drones. With Fura dels Baus touches, the show was the creation of Hansel Cereza, who promised something unique and unrepeatable, and it did not disappoint.
The center of the show was the structure mounted on the Mar Bella breakwater that, thanks to the lighting effects, has become an ephemeral Lighthouse of Alexandria with which Barcelona finally illuminates the America’s Cup. Like the legendary Egyptian Lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Barcelona lighthouse, made of the most modern technology, aims not only to cast a flash of light on sailors but also to be a commitment to culture and science twinned on the shining sea next to the port city. The structure, which at times became Gaudinian, Disneylandian or reminiscent of a Tolkien’s elf palace with mescaline, also at times presented a less pleasant image of petrochemistry, including clouds of smoke. The music created for the occasion by Albert Guinovart (with a special piece by Sílvia Pérez Cruz), performed by the Liceo Orchestra and Choir, the Escolanía de Montserrat, the soprano Sara Blanch and the tenor Arnau Tordera, and which has reached Wagnerian volumes has conjured phrases from the famous Barcelona of the Caballé and the Mercury. There have been other memories of ’92 in the show, such as the allusion to oars and oarsmen. The appearance of the Castellers de Vilafranca in the middle of the lighthouse structure has aroused spontaneous applause from the public, who have shown themselves in communion with the surprise and sense of wonder of the assembly on a night in which the moon has been eclipsed by the drones .
A real crowd followed the show both on the sand, to the edge of the sea, and on the promenade. Very diverse people, tourists and locals, elderly people and children, even a guy hugging his surfboard: you will not have found better company. The manteros and lateros unearthed their treasures. In some areas it smelled like joint. At the beginning, over the public address system, in Catalan, Spanish and English, some prior instructions were given. The sea, the wind and the sail as protagonists. The relationship of humanity with the sea, the lighthouse as a symbol of knowledge and “projection of our values to the world” as well as “visual poetry and dance of the senses.” More prosaically, safety recommendations were offered, warnings not to go into the water and to pick up trash (“please keep the beach clean”).
Ultimately Barcelona, lighthouse to the worldhas done what he had to for the Copa del América. Now everyone let’s see The force of the wind (1992), that great film about competition with Matthew Modine and the unforgettable music of Basil Poledouris that makes you want to sail and boat so much. And to watch the regatta.
