Silvio Rodríguez

For nearly two hours at Roig Arena, Silvio Rodríguez opened up a catalogue spanning more than five decades, moving between early compositions, enduring classics and newer material without treating the past as a museum piece. At 79, the Cuban singer-songwriter remains an artist whose songs are driven by words, melody and the emotional weight of ideas, and Valencia gave those songs plenty of room to breathe.

The early years were represented by ‘Sueño con serpientes’, ‘Pequeña serenata diurna’ and ‘Quién fuera’, before Rodríguez moved into songs that helped cement his place among the most important figures in Cuban songwriting, including ‘Escaramujo’ and ‘Ala de colibrí’. Each carried its own history, but the performance never felt like a simple run through the archives.

One of the strongest stretches came with ‘Eva’, ‘El necio’ and ‘La belleza’, three songs that reveal different sides of Rodríguez's writing. ‘El necio’, in particular, remains one of his most recognisable declarations of personal conviction, while ‘La belleza’ became an especially intimate moment when Rodríguez performed it alongside his wife, musician Niurka González, and their daughter Malva Rodríguez.

There was also plenty of evidence that Rodríguez is still looking forward rather than simply revisiting his past. ‘Historia de las sillas’, ‘Noche sin fin y mar’, ‘Viene la cosa’ and ‘Nuestro después’ brought more recent songwriting into the set, demonstrating the breadth of an artist whose career has continued to evolve across generations.

Literature has always occupied a natural space alongside Rodríguez's music, and that relationship was reflected in the performance when he recited ‘Halt!’ by Cuban poet Luis Rogelio Nogueras. It was a reminder that his work has never been solely about melody; language, poetry and the exploration of ideas are fundamental to the world he creates.

By the final stretch, the anticipation around two particular songs was impossible to miss. ‘Ojalá’, arguably the song most closely associated with Rodríguez beyond the Spanish-speaking world, provided one of the evening's defining moments, before ‘Por quien merece amor’ brought the concert to its conclusion.

Five decades is a long time for any songwriter to remain relevant, but Rodríguez's catalogue has the advantage of being rooted in human questions rather than a particular musical fashion. Love, freedom, conviction, doubt, beauty and the complicated business of being alive remain just as useful subjects now as they were when many of these songs were written.

At Roig Arena, Valencia wasn't simply hearing old songs brought back to life. It was hearing a body of work that has travelled across generations and still has plenty to say.