Juanjo Bona takes flight at the rhythm of folklore
Coming out from the famous Spanish reality show Operación Triunfo (OT), Juanjo Bona had the challenge to conquer the industry with his first album. He became the last Spanish sensation with a unique formula: mixing pop with Jota, the folklore music of his land, Aragon. Released on March 7, the name of the album is, in fact, a typical nickname from his village to call joyful kids who like to sing, just like little Juanjo. Actually, in the fairytale-like overture, the bird’s tweets mix with Juanjo’s lullaby, which takes you through his roots with sounds from his village, Magallón (Zaragoza).
The album is divided into different eras, with the first one narrating Juanjo’s childhood in Magallón and the nostalgia of growing up in the Spanish countryside. The first track, “Moncayo,” pictures the big mountain that little Juanjo sees from the window, and becomes his shelter whenever he feels down.
“Villano” (Villain) is Juanjo’s favorite song, as it has the most raw Jota part in the whole album. It responds to how people have portrayed him due to his fiery temper. Because of that, he was targeted as OT’s villain while he struggled to find his place in the contest.
Juanjo not only talks about himself in the album but also shows us his traditional folklore. He dedicated a song to the Virgin Patron of Magallón, putting lyrics and music to the legend of how the Virgin ran away after a bloody battle of opposing families took place at her altar.
“Golondrinas” (Swallows) separates the childhood part of the album to introduce us to Juanjo’s era in Madrid in college. This transition fuses the yearning to get out of the village to explore the world and learn from his past to become a better person. The Madrid era brings a youthful sound with “Me Sabe Mal” (I feel bad), a hymn to forget his problems through the support of his friends. In “Mis Tías” (My Aunts), Juanjo pays tribute to the eight women who worked as staff in his residence. These women not only helped him to find his new home in Madrid but also to find his way in the music industry, as this was the first single that Juanjo released with the Jota inspiration.
The last era represents Juanjo’s present after OT, dealing with fame and public exposure. “La Plaza y el Río” (The Square and the River) is one of the fan favorites, as it is dedicated to his boyfriend Martin Urrutia. They began dating during the show, and their love story trespassed the screens. They were each other’s support in the reality show, and when they had to confront their new lives together. Their history continues with “Nuestra forma de hablar” (Our way of talking), which shows the ups and downs of a relationship born under the cameras. Since day one, the relationship was under the pressure and expectations of the media. Therefore, Juanjo doesn’t hide the angsty feeling of being apart from his lover; he will keep “their way of talking” with him.
At the end of the album, Juanjo includes La Magallonera, a famous jota from his hometown known as his signature go-to song to cover. According to him, this version is his definite cover of the song of his life. In the album’s epilogue Últimamente (Lately), he looks back to “everything he is and was, everything he pursued and everything he will miss.”
Juanjo embraced his Zaragozan roots through the folklore of jota songs mixed with pop, instead of going the easy way of commercial urban pop. He’s now touring throughout Spain with almost all the tickets sold out, showing that folklore has never gone out of style.
Listen now to Recardelino and check here the English translations of Recardelino to become immersed in Juanjo’s personal fairytale.