Rigoberta Bandini is a Spanish musical act as well as the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

of its

frontwoman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, singer-songwriter Paula Ribó. Other members of the band are Ribó's partner, Esteban Navarro, and cousins, Joan Barenys and Belén Barenys (Memé), who variously provide instrumentation and vocals. Ribó and Memé sing; Barenys is a multi-instrumentalist; and Navarro plays keyboard and produces with Ribó. The act has been nominated for two

Premios Odeón The Premios Odeón (or Odeon Awards in its English interpretation) are a series of awards presented annually by the Asociación de Gestión de Derechos Intelectuales (AGEDI) in collaboration with Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE), S ...

, winning one, among other accolades.

History

In 2019, Paula Ribó, who had been a member of the Mamzelles in the 2010s and dubbed many musicals into Spanish and Catalan, launched her solo music career under the stage name of Rigoberta Bandini. The name combines those of human rights activist

Rigoberta Menchú Rigoberta Menchú Tum (; born 9 January 1959) is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after ...

and the

John Fante John Fante (April 8, 1909 – May 8, 1983) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his semi-autobiographical novel ''Ask the Dust'' (1939) about the life of Arturo Bandini, a struggling writer in Depre ...

character Arturo Bandini. Ribó began releasing music as Rigoberta Bandini in 2020, which she, Navarro, and the Barenys siblings had recorded. That year, Rigoberta Bandini (still principally identified as Ribó as a solo act) rose to prominence in Spain when the singles "Too Many Drugs" and "In Spain We Call It Soledad" went viral. The group began performing together in 2021. The first live performance as a group was a selection of their songs recorded for a live-at-home concert from the Thyssen Museum in December 2020, after which they began touring. They found further success with the song " Ay mamá", with which they competed in the inaugural Benidorm Fest.

Style

The music of Rigoberta Bandini draws on many feminist influences, heard overtly in "Perra" and "Ay mamá". Ribó has said that, in her songwriting, she enjoys lyrics that have humour and entertain her. ''Clash'' described a live set by the group as "high-energy chaos", noting that the music drew on genres including

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura an ...

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

, and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. Eurovision Song Contest music website

Wiwibloggs Wiwibloggs is a fansite and YouTube channel focusing on the Eurovision Song Contest, launched in 2009. It has a seasonal audience, peaking at 250,000 page views per day during the week of Eurovision in May 2016, based on Google Analytics data. ...

described the group's musical style as a fusion of harmonic

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

elements and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

. ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

'' compared the group's sound to

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo ...

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

and

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...

. In terms of live performance, ''Clash'' noted that the music is elevated by the energy of the group. It praised their ability to all be dancing energetically and at the same time "maintain their

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

-like harmonies". At concerts, Ribó characteristically wears her old school uniform from the Col·legi de les Teresianes, with Memé in a similar outfit and Navarro and Barenys dressed as "computer nerd cool". '' Time Out Barcelona'' described the Rigoberta Bandini performance at Primavera Sound 2022 as a

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a com ...

or a party, as space was given for Navarro to add some

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

and for Memé to take more of a spotlight.

Personnel

* Paula Ribó González – An actress and singer, Ribó is the frontwoman of the group who is also individually known as Rigoberta Bandini. She is the lead vocalist and writes, composes, and produces the songs. * Esteban Navarro Dordal – A comic actor known for and Ribó's partner, Navarro also writes, composes, and produces, and plays the keyboard and

synthesiser A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

. * Belén Barenys González ( ca, Mari Belén Barenys González, label=none, italics=no, also known by the stage name Memé) – Also an actress and singer, and Ribó's cousin, Memé has previously worked with Ribó in

dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production so ...

, including voicing the young Merida across from Ribó as the main version in the Catalan version of ''Brave''. She provides background vocals, and occasionally lead vocals alongside Ribó. * Joan Barenys González – An actor and musician, Memé's brother and Ribó's cousin, he has dubbed films with both women, including the Catalan version of ''Up'' with Memé and the Castilian version of ''Hotel for Dogs'' with Ribó. He is a multi-instrumentalist; originally a pianist, in Rigoberta Bandini performances Navarro takes the keys and Barenys provides percussion and guitar.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As featured artist

* "Se va" (2021) (with Delaporte) * "Amanecer" (2021) (with

Alizzz Cristian Quirante Catalán, better known by his stage name Alizzz, is a Spanish record producer, songwriter, and singer from Castelldefels, Catalunya. To date he has been awarded a total of 2 diamond, 35 platinum, and 6 gold certified for recor ...

)

Promotional singles

* "Fiesta" (2020) * "Cuando tú nazcas" (2020)

Awards and nominations

References

{{reflist 2021 establishments in Catalonia 2021 establishments in Spain Musical groups established in 2021 Musical groups from Catalonia Spanish dance music groups Spanish electronic music groups Spanish Eurodance groups Spanish pop music groups Female-fronted musical groups Alternative dance musical groups Dance-pop groups Electropop groups Indie pop groups Latin pop music groups Synthpop groups Benidorm Fest contestants