ACTIVITIES: "Art Means People and People mean Andorra"

My public activities throughout the residency included a talk at the Colegio San Ermengol and an audiovisual presentation via the Jambo festival.  It was an absolute joy to share my work with Andorrans, but also get immediate and helpful feedback from the audience and students. My thoughts after both events were that "creativity is universal" and it should be encouraged during these times. Many thanks to Anna Müller Mas and Oriol Vilella i Sala for helping me navigate the events. 

Alongside these 2 projects, I met with an enormous amount of professionals in the field, not exclusively musical. My work includes research in ethnomusicology, anthropology, psychology, and language studies, and I was fortunate enough to make acquaintance with alike.

Musicians Landry Riba and Lluís Casahuga, both shared their practices and studios. Despite us all being different musical entities, we had a lot in common, from the desire to explore, preserve what is important and share the finds with the community. I also had the pleasure to see these artists perform, and even have an improvised little session in the studio, which is a great way to learn about each other's musical universe. 

Writer and researcher Albert Villaró whom I had the luck to meet and talk about Andorran history and musical instruments of the region. His expertise and point of view were not only riveting but also inspiring to dig more into the subjects I came to explore. 

Alfons Valdés, who is also the resident at Tallers d'art de la Massana, showed me around the working space he currently creates and explained his approach. 

Robert Lizarte offered a generous tour de force of the country, from music to history elements that completed much of the Andorran puzzle for me. His drive and passion are infectious and offer so much data that every professional or enthusiast should seek. 

During our two days together and also thanks to the wonderful and knowledgeable people like Domènec Bascompte Grau and Jordi Pasques Canut who are a joy to talk with, I had access to incredible places and archives that in my work are absolutely precious. 

Extremely appreciated were visits to La Seu d'Urgell Cathedral and Arsèguel. 

An incredible honor was spending time with Artur Blasco i Giné, whose research and contribution to the preservation of Catalan, Andorran, and Pyrenees art and tradition is monumental. I've learned about the signature instruments from the region and offered a demonstration of many. After this personal meeting, I'm motivated to continue my studies of music and tradition in mentioned areas.

Significantly, coming from a family of accordionists, this experience was very rewarding and memorable. 

In addition, I'm thankful to the Ministry of Culture for being as kind as to make these experiences possible; Meritxell Blanco Lara, Joan-Marc Joval, and finally, Isabel Delaparte, who found time to meet me and have a talk on matters I came to research in Andorra. I received many helpful references and recommendations that will expand my project and also granted access to the archives in my field. 

On the recording side, I came across unique geographical places with a special sound palette, and some I discovered quite randomly while hiking or going places around the country. My personal favorites are rivers, which offer a calming effect and a clean state of mind, which I intend to use for new installations. 

All 3 directions I take in my current work, such as field recording, ethnomusicology, and psychology were ignited during my residency, and the material was collected to enrich my research and expand my artistic machinery. 

I am also very much inspired to continue my exploration of regional art, culture, and tradition. My aspiration is to find the DNA of this unique place on the map at some point.