Julia, a 12-year-old girl, carefully places a flower at the foot of the shrine. “He transmits things to me that I cannot express,” says the child. His parents, by his side, nod and cry, of course. They have arrived from Cantabria. It is 11 in the morning and thousands of people are waiting in a long line to say goodbye to the musician at the Roberto Iniesta Conference Center in Plasencia. They want to say goodbye to the one who sang something that matches the desire of everyone present today: “And I leave the songs without ending, in case one day I want to return and nothing is true” (Interlude).
early last Wednesday. He was 63 years old and probably in the best moment of his career, judging by the quality of his last album, The air takes us awayand his subsequent tour, which was left unfinished in November 2024 due to the singer’s pulmonary thrombosis. Today, Sunday, the doors opened at 10:00. the congress palace of his city, the one where he performed his first concert leading the ephemeral Dosis Letal on the Parque de la Isla soccer field, today one of the green lungs of a town of 45,000 inhabitants. From the ashes of Dosis Letal was born, the group that so many people have tattooed in their hearts.
The bouquets of flowers are piled up next to what Robe’s widow, Bibi Vázquez, and her two children have wanted to show: the artist’s ashes in a colored urn, his classic orange wooden guitar, the open case of this instrument and a painting, a painting of Robe, his partner and their children, naked, on an island looking at the horizon, at the sea, an image of the art of DeltoyaExtremoduro album, with the incorporation of the illustration of Mayeúticahis penultimate solo album.
People, of all ages and from many parts of Spain and also other countries, sign books and leave their hearts in the form of messages. They are not brief condolences. The public wants to express the feelings of a lifetime listening to the musician. Too many things to tell: no condolence book can handle that, no matter how thick it is.
Some messages are smudged by tears shed while writing. Perhaps this would not have pleased the protagonist, who used to encourage listening to his records at full volume. But on this occasion, his music being the one that caused everything, the atmosphere was more moving with the volume attenuated.
Bea Rodriguez, Betaorganize the queue. Above all, he takes care of welcoming the children with a smile and giving them a pen. “Hello, what’s your name. Are you going to write something nice to Robe?” Raúl, that is the name of the 13-year-old boy, does not answer and takes refuge in his mother’s shoulder to cry. And what mother is not moved when she sees her child collapse.
“I’m not sure if you would have liked today’s display for your farewell, but I understand that it is your last concession to those of us who feel your songs are part of our lives.” Thus begins the rapturous long writing of Rocío Hahir, 34 years old, who has traveled 700 kilometers from San Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante), to say goodbye to the musician. After many confessions spilled, it ends like this: “What a shit, Robe, but what a big shit.”
Nacho Terrón, 45 years old, arrives with his bulldog. He wears an Extremoduro t-shirt, like many people. “”, he says before picking up a pen to have his private conversation with the musician. Because that’s what people are doing: telling vital things to their idol, whispering in their ear the shock that his music produced in them, the anguish they feel when they listen to it, the many nights of playing that they had with that soundtrack and the lessons that that poetry gave them when they needed it most.
In the background, a screen shows a beautiful drawing by the Extremaduran artist Josu Berriobeña, from El Dromedario. In it, Robe smiles and some of his poetry emerges from his hair. A text says: “See you always, see you always, always, see you always, always…”. Alternate this image with videos of Robe in concert, in the dressing room, smiling backstage, happy.
Miles of people
The formality of the first hours was lost as time went by. The volume of the music was raised a little and the organization kindly told people that they could not stay for long in front of the singer’s remains, that outside the venue the line already stretched for several kilometers and meant a four-hour wait.
In addition to his wife and two children, a good number of family members attended and stood in the stands with the musicians from Robe’s band. They hugged and listened to the music of the honoree, such as: “Holding for a moment to the tail of the wind I feel better. / I forgot to put my feet on the ground and I feel better: fly, fly.” Some featured babies, new additions to the long Iniesta family. The atmosphere in the family part was relaxing.
At 1:30 p.m., the musicians from Robe’s band took the stage and began to play a soft melody. The poet, Robe’s friend and author of the lyrics, came out to the stage and recited, with a hoarse and trembling voice, a poem that ended like this: “And I will leave and the birds will remain singing. Long live the rebellion.” A flash of emotion ran through everyone.
At the time of writing this information, public access continues unabated. Thus, until 10:00 p.m.
