Jury National Current Music Award 2023: Rodrigo Cuevas as the laureate
The Jury National Current Music Award for 2023 was proposed to be given to Rodrigo Cuevas. The prize, presented annually by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, carries a value of 30,000 euros.
The jury selected the artist for this recognition due to the originality of his work, which fuses traditional folk music with contemporary popular genres. The decision highlighted his artistic project as a strong commitment to diversity and praised the intensity and deeply personal imagery found in his vibrant music.
Rodrigo Cuevas, born in Oviedo in 1985, is a multidisciplinary artist known as a singer, composer, accordionist, and percussionist. His formal training includes piano and tuba at the Oviedo Conservatory and studies in Sonology at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Cuevas has broad interests in world music and the disciplines of cabaret and circus. His artistic discovery began during a stay in a small Galician village, where he encountered the purest strands of traditional music through local tambourines, shaping his future direction.
He published a book in 2012 and released his first album, Alone: Yo soy la maga, a fusion of electronica and traditional music expressed through a disco-inspired euphoric energy. He later formed the provocative psychedelic duo Dolorosa Compañía, touring across Spain for three years before presenting his first solo show, Electrocuplé.
Early in 2016, Cuevas issued the Prince of Verdiciu EP on the Aris Música label, marking a turning point as he moved from intimate venues to a peninsula-wide tour with over 100 performances. In 2017 a third album followed, along with a tribute EP to the Asturian artist Tino Casal.
The second show, El Mundo Por Montera, arrived as part of his evolving stagecraft. In 2018 he joined La Verbena de la Paloma, directed by Maxi Rodríguez, within the Oviedo Zarzuela Season and contributed music for the play Sidra en Vena. He also participated in the musical Fear, the show that should never have been made.
Subsequently, Cuevas unveiled the new production Trópico de Covadonga, envisioned as a communal songbook. The 2019 album Manual de Cortejo, created with Raül Refree, blends Asturian rhythms with muiñeira and habaneras among other styles, continuing his exploration of regional identities through sound.
Award recipients repeatedly recognized in this field include Best World Music Album and Best Emerging Artist at the MIN Awards. In the same period, Cuevas premiered a cabaret zarzuela titled Barbián, staged at major venues and events such as the Teatro de la Zarzuela and Veranos de la Villa, with subsequent showings at stages in Prague and other venues abroad.
Asturian and Spanish roots in the artistic journey
In 2021 Cuevas received the Ojo Crítico Award and helped establish La Benéfica de Piloña in Asturias, a cultural center that supports artistic expression, community action, and the fight against rural depopulation. The following year he earned the Rainbow Award from the Ministry of Equality, underscoring his role as a cultural advocate and performer with a social dimension.
September of that year also saw the release of the third album Manual de Romería, paired with a show inspired by La romería and performed at the aPhonica Festival on June 30. Cuevas collaborates with collaborators from Girona on tours across multiple cities and plans performances through 2024 in Portugal, Belgium, France, and Mexico. His live shows rely on the songs from his albums, delivering performances in Asturian and Spanish and connecting local sounds to broader audiences.
Past winners from earlier years include Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Rozalén, Chano Domínguez, Mala Rodríguez, Christina Rosenvinge, Javier Ruibal, Martirio, Jorge Pardo, Carmen París, Luz Casal, Kiko Veneno, Santiago Auserón, Dúo Amaral, and Joan Manuel Serrat. These recognitions reflect a pattern of artists who fuse regional traditions with contemporary sensibilities, expanding the reach of modern folk and world music on national and international stages.
Rodrigo Cuevas continues to be a central figure in this landscape, advancing a program that embraces local languages, regional rhythms, and global influences. His work communicates a sense of place and community while inviting audiences to explore a broader sonic universe that transcends borders.