When we proposed this report to Rigoberta Bandini and Alizzz, Amanecer –their catchy and lysergic collaboration together, included in It has to be something else, Alizzz's amazing debut album– was the song that made us dance convinced that we were before two talents with a lot of lashing to give.
weeks later we set sail together on a sailboat pushed by the tsunami very recent – three days had passed – from Ay, mama, the catchiest chorus of the last thousand decades, the one Rigoberta Bandini stayed with at the gates of the Eurovision Song Contest against all odds, alas, but raised to all possible records: more of 16 million views only on Youtube.
what a trip that of benidorm Fest. But Paula, Paula Ribó, that Rigoberta Bandini is an alter ego, clarifies that for a great trip “the one I did with my partner – Esteban Navarro, from the comedy duo Vengamonjas and also part of the Rigoberta phenomenon– shortly after being together. We went to the south of France and had dinner at the diligence, in Montpelier, that marked our lives forever: I stayed pregnant the following month, Rigoberta began to be a reality... it was all very strong, very magical. At that dinner, all the abundance that would come later was projected, not only professionally, but also of love, of family".
Rigoberta Bandini and Alizzz at The Presidential Penthouse, Hotel Arts, Barcelona
we chatted in The Presidential Penthouse, a suite – a suite falls short – of the Hotel Arts of Barcelona in which we all feel a little (more) stars of rock. 400 square meters that we quickly invaded between stylist look, makeup artist bags, continental breakfasts and photographer reels. Yes, analog camera rolls because this was the future. The clock warns that we must put us to sea, but on trips you have to go light, so in a sigh (oh) we prepare bundles with the minimum and start heading to the port, where the team This is Med awaits us in a sailboat named bare foot (barefoot in English), which, if you think about it, is more or less like being called freedom. In true Delacroix style.
Through the Mediterranean on the sailboat Barefoot, by This is Med.
Already feeling the swing del Mediterráneo, who signs these lines breaks the ice with Alizzz like a fan, fatal fan: "Hey, the other day I was in your first concert and I freaked out." After his debut in Madrid, unrestrainedly cheered by the critics, the producer and composer, author of songs for C. Tangana, Rosalia, Amaia, Becky G, Doja Cat... and now also a singer, he performed at the end of March at Razzmatazz, Barcelona, with the sold out for weeks and a final firework that shook the stage: the appearance of Rigoberta.
Alizzz smiles: “It was on stage in Madrid when i lived the moment to believe everything that is happening to me. We came out playing Fatal, one of the songs let's say 'minor' on the album, and everyone started chanting it. From then on you all kept chanting, and then I realized the real scope Of This, because at first you only see it in numbers of listeners, downloads...”.
Rigoberta Bandini and Alizzz setting the pace for the weekend.
Alizzz (Cris, Cristian Quirante) sweeps home when asked about his favorite places: “Castelldefels, where I was born and I live, which is close to The Garraf, an area not very well known but beautiful and that also has one of the coolest beaches from the outskirts of Barcelona. Also any missing points inside of cerdanya Y Minorca, which is one of the most heavenly of the world".
However, we know that save another ace on his sleeve, that of having gone on a trip with The planets. On a trip, who overcomes that: “The truth is that going to see Jota was quite magical... Granada is for me the most beautiful city in Spain, and Los Planetas, the group that has accompanied me lifetime. In addition, Jota is a host that freaks out, he showed me the city, he introduced me to his colleagues... One day we went down on a motorcycle to see the Cocoon from Jerez from his house to Sacromonte and I felt like in the song A good day. I didn't tell him, but it was a instant very special to me although it may seem silly”. It's not, no.
Rigoberta Bandini on the This is Med Barefoot sailboat wearing a Carolina Herrera total look and Jimmy Choo sunglasses.
Bandini also plays at home, that Barcelona whose silhouette we see in the distance, "although there are people who think I'm Italian, Chilean... However, Bandini is a homage to Arturo Bandini, alter ego of writer John Fante and a troublemaker. A little bukowskian, but less toxic. Maybe a little Too Many Drugs, which she sang herself when she started turning her songs into unstoppable viral.
Now it remains to put it all together disk “That will exist, but for now we are going to release more singles, a very cool collaboration with a girl I can't tell you..." And more: a book, Vertigo (Ed. Aguilar), with which Paula aka Rigo narrates the crisis of the 30 from autofiction and that she has just hit the bookstores.
Rigoberta Bandini and Alizzz at The Presidential Penthouse, Hotel Arts, Barcelona.
Already In mainland, With her feet very much on the ground, Alizzz confesses that “right now it would be crazy give up in my role as producer or artist. I have no choice but to continue with the two, destiny calls me for both and I enjoy them. I want and I must combine them with all the energy I can”.
Rigoberta, meanwhile, acknowledges that her training "It was an actress, but soon I started directing and writing. when she did castings the doors were closed, so I understood that this was not my path. Without that there would be no existed what now”. Tucked into the –piece of– bed in the suite, Alizzz and Rigo they uncork cava for the photo and also for life, because there is much to celebrate. And of course, the question to Alizzz is obvious given the name of her album: Does there have to be something else? "I wish I knew how to tell you where there has to be. I am always in those, in the infinite search”. Oh.
The Mediterranean off the coast of Barcelona.
Photography assistant: Bosch Garcia
styling assistant: Paula Cervero
Make-up & Hair: S. Schmetterling for Shiseido (Cool Productions)
Production: Paula Mobile and Clara Laguna
The Talent Group Condé Nast: Ingrid de la Puente
This report was published in the number 150 of the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (Spring 2022). Subscribe to the printed edition (€18.00, annual subscription, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The Condé Nast Traveler March 2022 issue is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device.