Roll on, roll again, and keep rolling. Regions across Spain are embracing the Itinera Festival bus stops, delivering high-quality culture to small towns facing population decline. In just three years, this touring festival has expanded to five autonomous communities, grown into a multi-region project, and sparked interest beyond borders in Italy and France, signaling a promising future. The Itinera bus keeps moving forward with no sign of slowing down.
Three years have passed since a restless and creative entrepreneur from Empordà named Marcel Marata entered the Catalunya Cultura Impulsa competition with the Itinera project. What began as a bold idea for a professional entrepreneur quickly became a thriving reality as Itinera advanced through stages and earned recognition as a leading world brand, a suggestion favored by the jury.
Three years have elapsed since Marcel boarded a bus named Itinera and began touring Catalonia with a sizeable team, bringing a culture of quality to every town with fewer than 2,000 residents. A bus worthy of its name launched a route that appears without end, as more autonomous communities and regions in Spain and Europe express interest in the project.
The first stop beyond Catalonia was the Valencian Community. There, with traveling companion Joan Benages, they ran the initial pilot in autumn 2022. Twelve concerts achieved strong critical and audience appeal, becoming the seed for a second Valencia edition. The plan for the second edition aims to deliver 100 quality concerts in small towns across the Valencian Community.
But the bus does not rest. The journey stretches to Geldo, 292 kilometers and about two hours and forty-five minutes by road from Castellón, then onward to El Hito in Castilla-La Mancha, where the first Itinera concert in La Mancha took place. A soprano and harp performance drew a full crowd and left a lasting impression, becoming a memorable tradition described by José Antonio Montero, the edition head of Itinera in Castilla La Mancha and a leader at Fundación Los Maestros, responsible for cultural programs. In its debut, Castilla-La Mancha brought Itinera to six locations: Valdemeca, Huélamo, Beamud, El Hito, Tragacete, and Cardenete, where residents of one of Europe’s least populated regions (about seven people per square kilometer) enjoyed world-class concert experiences. The standout moment was the participation by the ensemble Ronda de Motilleja, a folk group that collaborates with top artists, including Tanxugueiras, Raúl Márquez, Javier Sánchez from Melendi, Sara Baras, and Carlos Herrero. Montero notes that many artists contributed to the festival and that interest from well-known names grew rapidly.
One hallmark of Itinera since its inception is the drive to explore new territories and overcome obstacles. The festival did not hesitate to set sail toward the Balearic Islands, bringing quality culture to rural residents there. The first edition on the islands featured around ten concerts spanning Jazz, Blues, Soul, Gospel, and world music. A second edition is planned for this year, potentially delivering up to fifty performances across the Balearic archipelago. “This year we will stage concerts on four islands: Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera, and Menorca,” confirms Janira Benages, president of Itinera Balears, highlighting that the success of the initial edition on Palma de Mallorca paved the way for broader activity.
Itinera bus knows no borders and even takes to the skies, reaching Italy and France
The influence of Itinera continues to grow, with new stops planned in Castilla y León, Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia, Aragón, the Canary Islands, and the Community of Madrid. The regions most involved in the touring festival are the small towns with populations around 2,000, where enthusiasts believe quality music and culture are powerful antidotes to depopulation. Álex Rodríguez, president of Itinera Castilla y León, expresses a strong commitment to strengthening cross-regional alliances to amplify rural visibility and encourage regional support for cultural programs.
And the journey goes further still. Itinera travels by land, sea, and air, using flights to reach countries previously hosting concerts, such as Italy and France, including Occitania and Sardinia, which imparts an international flavor to the festival’s essence.
The bus moves back and forth along an endless route, but a shared purpose unites towns and regions: to democratize access to quality culture and bring it to all audiences, especially those who historically could only experience such culture far from home. In this spirit, the bus keeps rolling and the journey continues.