As the world loosened its grip on fear and screens, a voice from a John Fante-inspired moment whispered hello. Fear rode through a country’s throat, and its anthem began to shape how people felt, a loneliness named in Spain. He understood from the start that music can make you cry and dance at once, a signature refrain that followed him.
That summer, Paula Ribó, born in Barcelona in 1990, gave life to a son and a second self. Rigoberta Bandini spread the wings of a new dream and sang to Paula that they would not leave the party. The first response was blunt, the idea of being defiant without a leash or muzzle, and soon thousands chanted a collective purge at the gates of Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona.
Perhaps they did not realize she was a rising indie diva. For listeners both worldly and spiritual, her lyrical journeys through MDMA inspired landscapes would, months later, position her among Eurovision favorites.
In Spain the question echoes, what should I do, Rigoberta would admit that Paula had told her. Yet no one can forbid a bark. Paula accepted what Rigoberta revealed.
The eruption of nudity and instinctive maternal cries came with a bold act of self-claim during the finales of Benidorm Fest. A large breast appeared on the Turin stage, a show of power and beauty of the female body in a Delacroix-inspired moment.
very pointed star
Under her own name a polygonal star took shape, ultraviolet and electric rays forming a compact constellation of infused songs that shone brightly with impact. The artist crafts her style from her own sources. The term black hype marks a rhythm of four beats per measure, a pace close to a heartbeat at 130 BPM.
Rigoberta shared this confession in her first reveal, the RigoTalk on her YouTube channel, where fellow artist C Tangana also participated, a Barcelona contemporary who helped propel the content to wider audiences. The refrain in Spain has been loneliness during those confinement days.
Yet this fluttering dance also recalls the heartbeat from the womb, the wire that binds body and mind and anchors the Bandini universe. Between ironies and electronic celebration, it feels like an innate song that honors body, freedom, and love.
Knitted style stretches the planet’s latitudes with a postmodern aesthetic that blends melancholy and perreo with echoes of Franco Battiato, the punch of Gigi D’Agostino, echoes of Abba, the classicism of Mocedades, and a nod to Monica Naranjo. It speaks to questions from all ages and all women.
Last October the artist gathered the stars in a debut album titled La Emperatriz, a title that hints at a mirrored inner empire. The project carried songs that invited wondrous reflection, from jubilant love anthems to intimate ballads, forming a fairy tale where the narrator bows as La Rigo, the trusted nun.
Her influence abroad grew through revolutionary concerts that swept across Spain in late 2022. A November stop in Fuerteventura, a stop in the Canary Islands as part of the Arena Negra Festival, and more shows at Madrid’s WiZink Center and Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi drew massive crowds.
Onstage immediacy and evolving confidence were supported by her cousin and aide Belén Barenys, known as Meme, and comedian and musician Esteban Navarro, part of a new dance troupe and chorus that completed the visual spectacle around the songs. Rigoberto and the partner in music and production joined to surround the performances with a charismatic aura.
“Some for Pussy”
Onstage the star soared, Paula drifting through clouds as the crowd felt the weight of nostalgia for beach picnics and sunlit melodies. Mirrors grew tired when distance disappeared, and the audience elevated Rigoberta to Empress status even as Paula stepped back to rest the music and its energy. She explained last summer that she needed a hiatus, not a promise of a quick return, while the songs remained a lasting beacon for feminist performances and intimate rooms alike.
Her final concert occurred recently at the Príncipe Felipe pavilion in Zaragoza, where the Empress bid farewell to this rapid and primal era. A closing song captured the moment when Rigoberta and Paula seemed to merge once more, singing that everything would be fine because it had always been good.