folk holidays

IN BEAUTIFUL SONGS, VALERIA CASTRO CAN DROWN OUT THE ERUPTION OF A VOLCANO WITH COMPASSIONATE SILENCE

THE MOST CIVILIZED AND FRAGILE SINGER OF THE YOUNG SPANISH GENERATION

She comes from a small town on the Canary Island of La Palma, where family remains above all else and the people here are so close to each other, the traditions and the land that we can't even imagine. Of all the Spanish singers of the younger generation, twenty-five-year-old Valeria Castro therefore comes across as the most civilized, fragile and vulnerable. She is far from fashion trends and pop culture hustle and bustle. She considers herself a singer-songwriter and when asked how she would define herself, she answered with a ile: pure, sweet and folkloric.

She seems to become the song as she sings, and the occasional agonizing silence comes at moments when devastating emotions silence her. She doesn't forget the words, she just gathers the strength to continue. We know this from flamenco singers or Portuguese fadistas, who also often burst into tears. The silence in Valeria Castro's songs does not sound so fatal, we do not hear so many cries of pain in it, but it acts as a tender expression of sincere uncertainty to what extent she can let us see into her soul. At the concert, when Valeria Castro goes from seductive whispers to silence lasting literally an eternity, you feel like giving her a participatory hug, but that would only destroy the open confession of a sensitive girl. She doesn't need rescuing, as she says, she still sees herself as a chiquita, or little girl, and when she named her debut EP that in 2021, she wanted everyone to know how she felt about the first step of her musical career.

Her songwriting sound aesthetic incorporates reflections of traditional music from the Canary Islands, Spain and Latin America, soft folk-rock, electropop and many acoustic instruments, including a small island timple guitar. It is also important for her to know where she comes from and what La Palma means to her. So don't expect from her songs about unhappy love, depression, existential pain, let alone deep analyses of the troubles of a fuzzy world.

When the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on the island in September 2021 and the lava destroyed what it could, including her grandmother's ancestral home, Valerie was deeply affected. "I felt guilty and didn't know how to express myself because I was afraid of hurting someone or doing something wrong. I wanted to raise my voice without depriving those affected of it," confessed Valeria, at the time preparing her debut album, characterized by the lyrical title Con cariño y con cuidado (With love and care).

"What's done is done. And I don't plan to do anything but stay here and tend to the roots. The sun won't stop shining and the flowers won't stop blooming," Valeria sings in La raíz (The Root), a song about forgiveness and understanding that the weight of things doesn't fall on our shoulders alone. Neither does the eruption of a volcano. A song so beautiful that last year it earned her a Latin Grammy nomination and an invitation to Womex, where she literally shone with a breathtaking performance.

A photo of little Valerie sitting at the baby keys is making the rounds on the internet. Many years later, she can be heard singing covers of well-known songs on You Tube. Like the Spanish Grammy Award-winning Alejandro Sanz. He didn't hesitate to recommend the unknown Valeria on social media: "When talent and tenderness combine, things like this happen." She was signed to a major label and today her albums are produced by rock guitarist Nacho Mur of La Moda, composer Alberto Torres, hip hop trio Çantamarta and electronica artists Daniel, me estas matando from Mexico.

Alejandro Sanz concluded his recommendation with a good advice: watch Valeria Castro. And following it has paid off for every listener of modern Spanish music so far. And everyone she has sung with so far: the group Viva Suecia or the Galician trio Tanxugueiras. And when the famous Spanish rock band Vetusta Morla and director Manuel Cuencan were looking for the most apt song for the film story of the young girl Andrea's Love, they didn't think long and turned to Valeria.