Plasencia mourns the lack of Robe, her prodigal son: “He left like the greats, without making a noise. He was humble and discreet” | Culture | EUROtoday

“See you always, Robe. See you always, always, always,” says the newspaper Today from Extremadura. “The rebellion and talent of Extremadura are leaving,” headlines The Extremadura Newspaper. “It seems that the day foreshadowed this very sad news,” says the mayor of Plasencia, Fernando Pizarro, of the PP, by cellphone. The folks of Placentia took out their umbrellas this morning throughout their routines. In the Plaza Mayor three flags fly at half-mast. The lack of his most illustrious neighbor, Robe Iniesta, Robeare Robehas left this metropolis of 45,000 inhabitants within the north of Cáceres baffled.

Pizarro says that he came upon at daybreak, by a WhatsApp message from a collaborator of the singer. That everybody right here knew that the chief of Extremoduro was sick. That he had retired to get better. They longed for his return to the stage. That his departure has been very surprising. That they’ve positioned a e-book of condolences in City Hall subsequent to a portray with Robe’s matted face painted by Isabel, an individual with psychological well being issues who’s a part of an affiliation that did Fine Arts work on the singer. And that Plasencia, says the mayor, had the privilege of being the place the place Robe was born. “He left like the greats, without making a noise. He was humble and discreet.”

There isn’t any different information talked about within the bars and retailers of this municipality of 45,000 residents. The tales Instagram pages are stuffed with songs from his prodigal son, the one who was born on this nook of Extremadura 63 years in the past. To perceive Robe’s affect in your metropolis, simply ask any neighbor. Almost everybody has an in depth historical past with him. Good as a result of they’ve ever seen him on its cobbled streets. Because they know his household. Because they’re associates of their kids, Nahún and Karín. Because they’ve their data. Because they’ve gone to his concert events. Because they’ve ever seen him take a dip within the Jerte River. And even leap off the bridge of the well-known Playa El Benidor, an idyllic pool just a few kilometers from the town.

Or maybe it’s also sufficient to journey to 1989, just a few months earlier than the publication of their first album, Rock transgresivo, when Robe himself requested his neighbors for 1,000 pesetas to finance it. Six years later, with out realizing it, the folks of Placentia skilled a singular and unrepeatable live performance. It occurred on October 14, 1995. “Covered in stars, the sky covered him,” stated the chronicle of the live performance in The North of Extremadura. Unintentionally, it was a farewell, an surprising goodbye. Several generations of individuals from Placentia grew up with out seeing their native idol stay for 13 years (1995-2008).

It was a narrative of disagreements with a PP mayor. “I will not make it easier for young people to drink alcohol and other narcotics,” councilor José Luis Díaz stated then, saying the ban on concert events by Extremoduro, Dover and different teams. “These types of performances involve noise and dirt before and after the performance.” EL PAÍS even made the headline: “The mayor is scared of rock.” Dover responded with “laughter and anger” to Díaz’s perspective. And they introduced that they might ship him a basket of fruits together with a case of non-alcoholic beer.

Robe, a sibylline, answered him by a letter with verses by Miguel Hernández: “We have to destroy you in your legations, in your stages, in your diplomacy. With warm machine guns and songs, we will machine gun you, prehistoric misfortunes. Because, know: we carry a lot of truth stuck inside our hearts bleeding from our mouths: and the iron youth of life will defeat you, because for so much strength so much evil is little.”

Extremoduro, of course, continued to tour Spain, but now far from its hometown. The closest was Cáceres, about 80 kilometers from his house. How can we forget that July 6, 2002 when, a few hours after the concert, Robe spoke with local television. “Here I am,” he said, “approaching the town. We are violent and we like to fuck.” At the end, perhaps in case it had not been clear before, he confessed: “I shit the mayor.”

In 2004 the socialists regained power in Plasencia. “I like the city better now, of course,” Robe slipped to The Extremadura Newspaper. And four years later he returned again. It was an anthological and apotheotic concert. On the eve of the June fairs, that May 31, 2008 came with a devilish storm. With rumors of suspension everywhere. There were no opening acts. The municipal soccer field was all mud and beers. The neighbors prayed to the Virgin of the Port, their patron saint, to stop the flood as soon as possible and, if possible, immediately.

And the rain stopped. Above the stage, three fabrics hung from the ceiling. The one on the left fell first, between chords of his Deltoya. The second fell: “The stove went out, nothing is working, where is the light? What is in your gaze?” And finally, the one in the center fell. And there was Robe, again and in a skirt: “We’re here.” Those who were in the first rows almost ended up outside the venue.

Seven years and six albums later, the popular conservatives took back the local City Council with Fernando Pizarro, who promised a street in their name. “They told me they were going to give me one and I asked them for a palace,” Robe, at 56, responded jokingly in another interview in Radio 3.

Already with the cold war finished, Robe included Plasencia in his solo tour with musicians from Extremadura and after another nine years of absence. The Youth councilor who announced it was Luis Díaz, the son of José Luis Díaz, the councilor who prohibited him from playing for 13 years. And Robe forgave the 41,000 euros of the concert to the City Council coffers popular.

Now, the news of his death has changed all the plans for 2026, when the city was finally going to honor him as he deserves. Last November all the City Council councilors (including Vox) voted in favor of naming him their favorite son.

Now, after Christmas, a rehearsal center for local groups that bears his name was going to be inaugurated. A mural painted by one of the best local graffiti artists will also be hung. For next spring, finally, it was planned to give him a plaque with the name of his street, inaugurated last August: “Avenida Roberto Iniesta Ojea, Robemusician, poet and soul of Extremoduro.” Under this signal, after all, reads a chunk of certainly one of his legendary lyrics. For some round right here, maybe the most effective: “I think it was from Plasencia.”