The Princess of Asturias Awards They recognized this Wednesday the “civic reference” of the Spanish artist and universal singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat and author of songs like ‘Mediterráneo’ or ‘Penelope’, by being awarded an award in the Arts category in 2024.
Serrat (Barcelona, 1943), with more than 50 years of career behind him, has recorded more than 500 songs, more than 40 albums and has set music to the verses of the greatest poets in Spanish, such as Antonio Machado, Miguel Hernández, Neruda, Benedetti, Alberti, Lorca or León Felipe.
The jury of the awards has highlighted Serrat, whose candidacy was proposed by the former general secretary of the Comisiones Obreras union Antonio Gutiérrez, that he is a “civic reference”, defender of dialogue in the face of tension and an exponent of his inalienable vocation to build bridges between countries and generations.
Author of hits such as ‘Mediterráneo’, ‘Penelope’, ‘Palabras de amor’ or ‘Cada loco con su tema’, Serrat At the age of 77, he announced his retirement from the stage in 2021 with the ‘El vice de canto 1965-2022’ tour, which closed with a memorable performance at the Palau San Jordi in Barcelona on December 23, 2022.
A Latin American from Barcelona
Born in Barcelona on December 27, 1943 – he defines himself as a “Latin American from Barcelona” – he has a degree in Agricultural Technical Engineering and began have greater contact with the world of music during their university years.
In 1964 he appeared on the Radio Barcelona program ‘Radioscope’ for young talents, and was able to record his first single album with the small Edigsa record label, ‘A guitar’ (1965)with four songs, including ‘She em deixa’, her first composition.
That same year he joined the group Els setze jutges (The Sixteen Judges), who defended his right to sing in Catalanthen prohibited by the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975).
He soon became one of the pioneers of the Catalan Nova Cançó, an artistic movement that promoted music sung in Catalan with a spirit of protest during the Franco dictatorship, but it was 1967 when he gained considerable recognition with his album ‘Ara que tinc vint anys’.
In 1968 he was chosen to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest with ‘La, la, la’, the winning song, but with Massiel, since Serrat rejected the offer amid great controversy by not allowing him to sing in Catalan.
That rudeness earned him being vetoed in Spanish Television until 1974, when he returned to acting, in Spanish, and obtained his first gold record.
She released her first LP in Spanish in 1969, ‘La paloma’, and won the Rio de Janeiro World Song Festival with her unforgettable ‘Penelope’.
When he published ‘Mediterráneo’ in 1971, it had already become a symbol of freedom in Spain and Latin America.
In 1975, following statements from Mexico condemning the latest Franco executions, he remained in exile in Latin America and some of his albums were removed and the radio broadcasting of all his songs was prohibited and a search warrant was even issued against him.
After the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, he returned to Spain in 1976 and, in democracy, published ‘El transit’ and ‘Cada loco con su tema’ and He toured Latin America, except for Chile., where it was still censored by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Ana Belén, Víctor Manuel, Miguel Ríos, Sabina…
The artist, who overcame bladder cancer in 2004 and has suffered two more lung cancers, formed a successful quartet with Ana Belén, Víctor Manuel and Miguel Ríos and also performed a duet with his friend Joaquin Sabina the ‘Two birds with one stone’ tour, with whom he also published the album ‘The Titanic orchestra’.
Serrat, who celebrated his 50 years on stage with ‘Antología disordered’ (2014), dedicated a special tribute to Antonio Machado in 2019 on the 80th anniversary of his death, and in 2020 to Mario Benedetti on the centenary of his birth.
His farewell has been accompanied by multiple awards: the Council of Ministers awarded him the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise and he obtained the Medal of Honor from the SGAE.
Honorary Doctor from several Spanish and Latin American universities, he also has numerous awards: Gold Medal in Fine Arts and Merit in Work, an honorary Latin Grammy, the National Prize for Current Music and an Honorary Award from the Music Awards.
Serrat had been proposed on many occasions for the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, an award that last year went to the American actress Meryl Streep.
