Benidorm presents 'De La Cala al Racó', a tribute CD to Pep 'El Carreró' with his three bands and the Colla de Xirimiters

This afternoon, the Cultural Hall of Mediterráneo Foundation hosted the presentation of the compact disc 'De la Cala al Racó. Músic per als poemes by Pep 'El Carreró', one of the most popular characters of Benidorm in the 20th century. An act that was attended by the mayor Toni Pérez, the Councilor for Culture, Jaime Jesús Pérez, members of the corporation, relatives of the honoree, and residents of the city.

The presentation has been given by three illustrious figures from Benidorm such as the director Joan Antoni Espinosa, doctor Llorca Ibi, and Mestre Pep Cano. It was Llorca Ibi who, before giving way to the reading of the poems, recounted how the compact was conceived, a project that began in 2009, although she recalled the book that was made years ago with 68 poems "of diverse themes in the ones that spoke of the Benidorm that he knew”.

The theme of the work of 'El Carreró' is traditional. In 1997, commissioned by the City Council, a compilation of his poems was published, the book 'De la Cala al Racó', the basis of the act that took place today. In 2009, the Societat Musical l'Illa de Benidorm set five of those poems to music and that same year one of the most central streets of Benidorm was labeled with his name. In 2020, coinciding with the centenary of his birth, Culture organized a composition contest, based on one of his best-known poems: 'Autopoesía'.

After making a gloss on the figure of Pep 'El Carreró', the poems that make up the CD were read, by Joan Borja, and the mezzo-soprano Concha Marcos de León, present at the event.

In the tribute it was also possible to listen to the recorded voice of Pep 'El Carreró' together with Dr. Llorca Ibi”. In a second part, documentaries with historical images of Benidorm have been projected with the music of the compact disc in the background "which has been recorded by the three bands of the city: the Musical Union, the SM l'Illa de Benidorm, and the SM La Nova and, in addition, by the Colla de Xirimiters de la Marina Baixa.
1,000 units have been made of the disc, which they say will serve "to preserve that part of our heritage that future generations also have the right to enjoy."

At the end of the act, the mayor described the work as "a great project for Benidorm" and stated that "Pep wrote the history of this town in each poem." He valued the fact that on the CD there are "the three bands of the city, the voice of Concha Marcos de León, Joan Borja or the composers".