The Victory of the Accursed Poet (gallery)
The transcendent moment happened halfway through the show, after he again proclaimed himself 'a nomad, a madman, a night owl, and a dreamer... a vagabond.'
The shrill cries died down, and then came a pause that greatly differed from the others that had been caused by pesky technical faults all through the night.
He had skillfully dodged the other silences with funny or daring remarks. But this silence was different: words had abandoned him.
He looked at the audience and then at his musicians, and the only sign he could give of what he was feeling was to bring his hands to his eyes to hold back the tears.
Perhaps at that moment his heart finally felt victorious. That may have been what he needed to feel he had actually come back to life after one of his darkest moments.
He had already held an 'encounter' in 2012, but it had seemed more of an eulogy than a celebration. And then he had friends open their arms to help him walk. But something was still missing. The dragon still had to rise in all his majesty, extending his black, scaly wings, spitting out fire and brimstone, to prove that the most brilliant creations can be borne from the most brutal destruction.
The 'pretty' songs that are usually played at weddings were left behind. Tonight, he was meant to return to the brink of that captivating abyss, swaying in defiance between life and death. To meet again with the 'white woman', look at her, sing praises to her beauty, and to hear that she will yet again postpone his departure because it is not yet his time.
He arrived at this meeting strictly in black, like the cowboy in The Dark Tower, wearing a leather jacket to symbolize the 21 years that have passed since he unleashed his subterranean laments, deliriums, vertigo, and the fiery poetry of his witchcraft. Twenty-one years since he got drunk in misery to forget Penelope, who still drags him through the ruins of his life.
The previous night was meant for romance, the earth, family, the joy of living. Saturday night was meant for outbreaks of derangement and pugilistic spasms, like a salsa-loving Iggy Pop.
On Saturday night, the poet warrior built again a seductively unaccessible mental asylum, a home to his musical creatures that cannot live in the light... the renegades... the accursed.
Draco Rosa, the most audacious rock composer that Puerto Rico has borne, finally returned.
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Setlist:
Mama
Pasión/Lifeless Clown
Lie Without a Lover
Es la guerra
Te Fumare
María María
Que se joda el dolor
No me preguntes
Hablando del amor
Madre Tierra
Llanto subterráneo
Vagabundo
Penelope
Delirios
Para no olvidar
Blanca Mujer
Vertigo
Vivir
Brujería
La Flor del Frío
Amantes hasta el fin
Mientras Camino
Tu Cuerpo
Mad Love
Robi Draco Rosa's band for the 'Lo Maldito' concert, in celebration of the 21 years of 'Vagabundo':
Toss Panos and Andrea Alvarez - Drums
Rene Camacho and Lonnie Hillier - Bass
Josh Sonntag and Robb Torres - Electric guitar
Habish Rosario - Acoustic guitar
Alexandra Rivera Santiago - Mellotron / Chamberlains
Egui Santiago - Keyboards / Programming
Cheito Quiñones and Javier Hiram - Backing vocalists
Jan Duclerc - Trumpet
Víctor Vázquez - Trombone
Robi Draco Rosa in his show 'Lo Maldito'. (Photo provided / Coliseo de Puerto Rico / Christian Miranda / www.christianmiranda.com)
Robi Draco Rosa in his show 'Lo Maldito'. (Photo provided / Coliseo de Puerto Rico / Christian Miranda / www.christianmiranda.com)
Robi Draco Rosa in his show 'Lo Maldito'. (Photo provided / Coliseo de Puerto Rico / Christian Miranda / www.christianmiranda.com)
Robi Draco Rosa in his show 'Lo Maldito'. (Photo provided / Coliseo de Puerto Rico / Christian Miranda / www.christianmiranda.com)
Robi Draco Rosa in his show 'Lo Maldito'. (Photo provided / Coliseo de Puerto Rico / Christian Miranda / www.christianmiranda.com)