#nacho cano

Sorry for the quality, this was the only video of the full performance I could find. Also for some reason there are 3 - 4 seconds halfway through the video it just gets stuck, don’t worry it’s not a glitch or anything lol.

So, apparently (I just found out this morning tbh) yesterday, on New Years Eve, Nacho Cano (I’ll talk about him in a bit don’t worry) performed “Un Año Más” in the Puerta del Sol. For what I’ve seen this was very controversial, as it was planned by the Madrid town hall and thus was only shown in full in Telemadrid, which is the autonomical TV station, in the national TV was only shown partly or just not at all. I haven’t been a fan of the Madrid town hall or the Madrid government in general this year, but this was a good idea. Just ignore the pandering video at the beggining (with the fucking cops, the same ones that were charging against Vallekas protesters while escorting the far-right protesters in Salamanca; and of course the fucking flag) and in the middle too, just focus on the song and the performance itself please.

So, a bit of background. First of all, I already made a whole ass post about this song in case you want to know more about Mecano, NYE in Spain, and the original song (which has more lyrics than this version). Nacho Cano (the pianist here) is the original composer of the song, which was performed by Mecano (one of the biggest Spanish groups ever, for me they are the Spanish ABBA, they even have a musical). I don’t know who the girl who sings is, but she does it wonderfully, she’s no Ana Torroja (the original singer) but she makes it sound really pretty. About the song, “Un Año Más” means “One Year More”, and it talks about NYE in Spain, in fact, there are some families that sing this song right before the “campanadas” (”bell rings”). What are the “campanadas”? Well, in the nutshell, there are 12 bell rings that announce the last 12 seconds of the year, and for each second, it’s traditional to eat a grape. After those, it’s officially the new year. Those bell rings sound from the clocktower in Puerta del Sol (literally “Door of the Sun”), the neuralgic point of Madrid, kinda like Times Square, or Piccadilly Circus. It is retransmitted in all television stations, and it’s kinda like a unifying moment, everybody sees the same clock, eats the grapes at the same time, and celebrates at the exact same moment. That’s what the song talks about.

But this was played in 2020. And we all know how 2020 has been. Let me tell you that Spain has been one of the European countries most harshly struck from the Pandemic, it’s been a really fucking hard year, I’m sure everybody knows at least one people that either died or was really ill due to COVID, and yeah, it’s been fucking rough. So they sung this song, in an empty Plaza de Sol (it usually is filled to the brim with people celebrating) which was already devastating, and then the lyrics hit so fucking hard and different, just fuck, I can’t stop crying now everytime I watch the performance.

As an example, here’s the Puerta del Sol in NYE normally:

vs last night:

So yeah. As if the campanadas weren’t depressing enough, with everyone talking about the pandemic, this performance was just the icing of the cake.

Here are the English lyrics:

In the Puerta del Sol

Like the year that passed

Again, the champagne, and the grapes

And the tar, they are as a carpet

The firecrackers that erase yesterday’s sounds

And cheer up the spirits

To accept that another one has gone by

And in the clock of yesteryear

Like every year

Five more minutes to the countdown

We do balance of the good and the bad

Five more minutes to the countdown

Sailors, soldiers, singles, married

Lovers, walkers, and the occasional

Clueless priest.

Between screams and whistles the Spaniards

Huge ones, short ones, we do for once

Something at the same time.

And in the clock of yesteryear

Like every year

Five more minutes to the countdown

We do balance of the good and the bad

Five more minutes to the countdown

And even if there are new faces with the grapes

We’ll miss those who are no longer here (in case you weren’t crying by now, there you go)

And may those of us who are alive get a grip

And in the next year may we laugh

1, 2, 3 and 4, and it starts again

The fifth is the one

And the sixth is the two

And like that seven is three*

[here the video gets stuck and skips part of the song]

And let’s see if next year

Instead of one

It could be two million (they’re talking about the lottery)

In the Puerta del Sol

Like the year that passed

Again, the champagne, and the grapes

And the tar, they are as a carpet

n the Puerta del Sol

Like the year that passed

Sailors, soldiers, singles, married

Lovers, walkers, and the occasional

Clueless priest.