The Power of (Re)Creation and Social Transformation of Binomial ‘Art-Technology’ in Times of Crisis: Musical Poetic Narrative in Rozalén’s ‘Lyric Video’ “Aves Enjauladas”

Abstract

Abstract: The epidemic outbreak of the coronavirus has meant a sudden, temporary ceasing of activities as we knew them. The health crisis has led to a social and economic crisis, and these circumstances have revealed solidarity on a global scale. In moments of separation, when culture has brought us closer together, the global phenomenon of charity songs has emerged, generating financial aid for scientific research and care for the most vulnerable people. This work focuses on a charity song turned into a hymn, a narrative poem in the first person that tells everyone's common story, “Aves enjauladas” (‘Caged Birds’) by the Spanish singer-songwriter Rozalén. This paper carries out a linguistic, stylistic and audiovisual analysis of this multimodal event, which has been transmitted through a ‘lyric video’ and spread in a vertiginous way on digital platforms and social networks, reaching millions of views. Ultimately, the paper analyses the spiritual and material impact, the body and soul of this living poem, taking a still photograph of the artistic recreations and musical, visual, pictorial and pedagogical ‘echoicities’ of this work (Balsera & López, 2015), as well as appreciating its material socio-economic repercussions in the real lives of families at risk of exclusion.