The underworld is the beating heart of Infierno Festival

One thing that is said a lot lately about larger festivals is how much their essence changes over the years: “It’s not what it used to be” on loop; and there is an explicit truth in that feeling of nostalgia and some indignation. As the years go by and it grows, more and more companies are willing to invest and this leads to a surplus of brands working on branded contents in relation to the festival, with more and more space allocated to luxury stays that actually complicate the chances of attendance for the true fans of those artists that make up the line up, who are actually the raison d’être of any musical event that takes place. The case of Infierno is different.

The success of Infierno, and what makes it one of the most real and pure festivals in the country, at least for the moment, has always been in staying away from the capitalist dynamics that usually surround these events, in the end managed by multinationals and with a myriad of sponsorships that contribute to the distancing of the musical experience itself, in favor of economic profitability. When Yung Beef created La Vendición Records his goal was to make it easier for artists to distribute their music without having to jump through the hoops of the major labels. An independent organization where they are free to manage themselves as they wish and do not lose ownership of their works. In short, a label by and for the street. Under that same premise, in 2022 the Infierno Festival was born, and for the third consecutive year, brings together artists in the same framework, who speak about the same suburban and peripheral reality, albeit from different generational and musical perspectives.

From the flamenco salsa of the Yakis to the return of La Mafia del Amor perreo de la muerte

“The Yakis have sponsored our adolescent parties,” María Luisa(@emedeamores) and her friends would tell me prior to the trio’s concert. “The fact that La Mafia del Amor is coming back during the festival is a great tip”, one of the attendees told me. “We came to work, but if we get Sticky M.A. to get a Tattoo it would be great”, said Pecino after his concert, who had attended along with the guys from Tattoox doing interviews with the artists participating in this year’s line-up.

This year was special because we celebrated Yung Beef’s departure from drugs. A day before the start of the festival this weekend, Fernando gave a revealing interview to El País about his personal struggle with drugs and his plans for a two-month rehab that ended just in time to attend the event. In addition to accompanying the artists throughout the weekend, and seeing him enjoying the concerts with his daughter Rosario in his arms, El Seko concluded a second day of the festival with a performance that brought together his hits from his early days in Barcelona with Kefta Boys. Thus, we saw him singing “Nike Tiburón” with Hakim, part of the tracklist of his album “Los Papasitos”, with Cookin Soul, which he sang with Pablo Chill-E and Mucho Muchacho; “Articuno” with Albany, and for the first time he and Sticky M.A. sang together live “Diablo” Remix, which has already become an anthem for all of us who have lost our souls for some love. To finish, the almost biblical experience that he gave us with the song “Ready Pa Morir”. Like Jesus Christ on the cross, Yung Beef opened his arms to an excited audience and kissed them goodbye, giving way to Soto Asa’s intergalactic concert.

Infierno is a festival of pilgrimage to the cult music of a peripheral reality in Spain, but also important for the development of its music industry. There is also room for more mainstream products such as Cruz Cafuné or Israel Fernandez, among others, who despite reaching very different audiences and being of very different musical genres – flamenco, trap, hip-hop and reggaeton – all have a common factor: purity. Nowhere on the peninsula is this escapism felt as strongly as on the beach in Granada; a completely different universe where the original spirit of La Vendicion is still thriving. Yes, on a cursed night -honoring the satanism of El Papasito- you could somehow find yourself in a hip hop master class given by Cruzzi, jumping along to the wails of Sticky M.A. or Trapani, or you could also be raving with Soto Asa and Pedro Ladroga or even in a flamenco jamboree with Israel Fernandez or Los Yakis.

Although there are still many editions left to be a festival at the level of a Riverland or a Boombastic in terms of logistics and audience, the truth is that what Infierno has created in just three years is a unique niche in the world of national festivals. And more than 12,000 people have been able to prove it this past weekend.

KALORAMA Madrid arrives at IFEMA.