The 101 Music Festival erupts with the lunar fire of Cruz Cafuné

Four young women are chatting animatedly while sitting on their beach chairs, surrounded by a couple of "approved" coolers, as our Dani Rovira would say. It's late June at La Malagueta; so far, so normal, of course. But it's not even ten in the morning yet. Both are also wearing identical t-shirts styled after a football club, on whose backs one can read "I Move With God". Although it might seem at least strange or suspicious, the scene was expected, at least for lovers of rap, trap, R&B, soul, and other musical tributaries of the urban scene. That's what you get when you invoke Cruzzi, the high priest of the genre.

Cruz emerges promptly on stage from a smoky atmosphere, flanked by a sort of pagan altar or temple made of mineral structures that resemble volcanic or lunar rocks. They seem to add up to eight: infinity, abundance, but also the Canary Islands and their unity. With Cruz Cafuné, these kinds of details are also expected. Carlos values religion, spirituality; and he also loves geology. Surely Roger Caillois would have dedicated an essay to him in 'Stones' (1966). "922 928. From Eight to Eight," he often claims in his songs. And last night Málaga became more island-like than ever.

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The Tenerife native maintained an unmatched delivery and connection with the audience throughout the evening, as there was not a single song during which he stopped looking at his faithful followers, a legion at both a national and Spanish-speaking level in general. Thus, his secular parishioners showed their devotion by singing and rapping every song without fail, with a level of precision and enjoyment that was astonishing: applause, cheers, dancing, group selfies, jumps, declarations of love... When talking about the party as an archetypal ritual that crosses periods, styles, and cultures, hip-hop serves as an example of creating community, of understanding art as a tool for self-knowledge, of transcendence from the earthly. Cruz, The Islands, and Andalusia also know a lot about the subject. The combination of both? Unbeatable.

"I'm the one who keeps the lights on," Cruz rapped in 'You Could Try'. Literally and metaphorically speaking, the Canarian did not stop shining nor making shine during the hour-long show, this very particular liturgy. Although it felt short, it included all the readings of the most important texts. While the bulk of the setlist was based on his latest LP 'I Move With God' (2023), it did not lack the great hits from works like his classic 'Moonlight922' (2020) or snippets of collaborations. In that sense, 'Corinthians 13:12', 'God #1', '4Pres', 'Movezz In Silence' or 'Cangrinaje' coexisted with anthems like 'Ojitos Aguaos' or 'Mina El Hammani', to name just a few examples.

Cruz's elegant and carefree presence, along with the versatility of his flow and vocal power, made everyone move with God last night. Extremely grateful for such a show of warmth, he could only congratulate the festival's organization, just started, and all of Málaga, well initiated. Amen.

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