Back in 2016, we had the incredibly good fortune to go to a concert the awesome Bruce Springsteen gave in San Sebastian. Before entering the venue, if we’d been asked if we thought that concert and its star would be giving us material for an entry, we would’ve said no. We would’ve been wrong.
This is because, as soon as we entered, we could see two flags flying over the stage. One was that of the singer’s home country, the US; the other was that of the Basque Country. And this was right in the middle of the 2016 Eurovision controversy which had banned the Ikurriña, among other flags during the contest. At his concert in Barcelona, he also waved the Senyera.
So, this inspired us to write another entry on our thoughts about the paradox this produces.
Bruce Springsteen does like the Basque flag and gives it a place of honor
Today, again, we speak about Bruce Springsteen and how he knows where he is.
At his first concert in Barcelona (where he’s putting on two; the second will be happening right as we write this article), where he brought along some of his best friends, the Obamas, he’s gone and done the same thing: waving the Stars and Stripes and the Senyera. What’s more, he started with a “Hola Barcelona, hola Catalunya;” later on, he addressed the audience by saying “Catalunya, Barcelona, molt estimats, molt estimats, molt estimats” (in Catalan); and when comments or lyrics were subtitled, it was into Catalan, the country he was playing in.
And this has once again shown how capable some Spanish media are of making fools of themselves when “reporting” on these matters. We found a Twitter thread showing how the Spanish state broadcaster “translated” Springsteen’s first comments into “Hello Spain, hello Catalonia,” without even blushing. Later on, as commented on in the thread, his other comments are muted, to avoid any embarrassment.
The Boss is a very special person. Not only is he a great musician, he’s also very committed to social causes, the defense of democracy and civil rights, and to standing up to totalitarians who seek to take over the US. His friendship with the Obamas is a “statement of principles.” After all, they are some of the “most hated” people by those on the far right, who do whatever they can to discredit and villify them, always with “fake news,” (a term we never needed so greatly before Trump). Trump gave us such gems as Obama wasn’t actually born in the US to his wife is actually trans.
There’s only one complaint we have about Bruce, and that is that he didn’t come to the Basque Country. He’s always had a close connection to it, ever since he heard “Agur Jaunak” for the first time on the steps of Notre Dame in Paris.
On when Bruce Springsteen fell in love with “Agur Jaunak” in front of Notre Dame
Besides, it might have done some good to the Obamas. Back in 2011, when the President was speaking about clean energy, he visited a factory in Philadelphia that was, at the time, owned by the Basque firm Gamesa (we’ll save the process of moving decision-making centers of Basque companies outside the Basque Country for another day).
For this, we’re not Basque. Obama visits the Gamesa factory in Pennsylvania
We’ll leave our readers with the Twitter thread that mentions the “creative translation” made by the opinion makers in Spain. The comments are definitely worth reading.
We’ll also leave you with a video of the full concert The Boss gave in Barcelona, Catalonia, especially where his sensitivity of where he is can be seen, especially his “Catalunya, Barcelona, molt estimats, molt estimats, molt estimats,” which can be heard at 1:02:25.
¡Qué mentirosos son en @rtve!
Lo que dice Bruce The Boss no es lo que cuenta la locutora.
Mentirosos, manipuladores pic.twitter.com/gGA0nOX4YR— Chema Clavero (@jm_clavero) April 30, 2023
(What liars on @rtve! What Bruce The Boss says is not the reporter repeats. Liars, manipulators)
Menuda suerte tenemos en EspaÑa que los medios informan verazmente de tod,¿eh?😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/XtvLxpX5sg
— VIQUI ||☆|| (@viquirepublica) April 30, 2023
(“How lucky we are in Spain that the media report everything truthfully”)
Last Updated on Dec 3, 2023 by About Basque Country
