RIANXEIRA

La Solfónica is a choir based in Madrid, which grew out of the protests at Puerta del Sol on May 15, 2011, the day after which the “15-M” movement is named. Formed in the run-up to regional elections, its members, inspired by the Arab Spring, demanded change in a system dominated by the conservative People's Party and the center-left Socialist Workers' Party, which was in power at the time. Performing classical music at demonstrations, the choir follows the tradition of composers like Giuseppe Verdi, who in the opera Nabucco propagated the liberation of northern Italy from Austria. This opera was written in 1841 and became closely linked with the Italian unification movement. David Alegre, conductor of La Solfónica, says the same message still resonates today in Spain, more than 170 years later. At that time he says, “it was a political military occupation but today the occupations are economic and ideological. We apparently have a democracy in Spain but they repress democratic features that allow citizens to participate and really change things”. Rianxeira is a film about collective resonance and dissonance as dissidence.

Camera: Francisca Valenzuela Moguillansky & Karl Ingar Røys
Postproduction: Karl Ingar Røys
Music: Pau Casals: Song of the Birds, La Solfónica
Voiceover: David Alegre (Conductor), Elena Merayo (Vocal Coach) og Ana Olmos (Solo Singer)
Translator: Francisca Valenzuela Moguillansky