A day of tribute and sound mourning in Parke Alcosa
Photo by Diodo Producciones O.EFirst public action of the concomitance “Structures of Affection”.”
On Friday 24 October 2025, as part of the Week of Struggle for the year of the ravine, neighbours, concomitant collectives and visitors gathered in Parke Alcosa (Alfafar, València) to pay tribute to local resilience, honour the memory of lives cut short and denounce institutional cynicism.
"Deixem-ho ja destacat
el que hui ens agermana
i dediquem la cantà
that of struggle is the week
remembering la barrancà”.”
The conference, organised by Massa Salvatge Coop.V and Kolectivo Jóvenes Parke, formed part of the concomitant process Structures of Affect and combined artistic and ritual practices.
“Escolteu este enrenou
no volem ningú fotut
perquè el Parke és viu i es mou
i este centre de joventut
per fi ha obert de nou”.”
Musical improvisation workshop
The meeting kicked off at the Youth Centre with an intimate workshop by freestyle and popular glosses, a proposal for the hybridisation of languages. The session was animated by the Sound System Rap Valencia collective, together with Neus Berenguer and Lluís Benlloch, creating a space of complicity and critical expression.
Between electronic hip hop bases, the acoustic accompaniment of guitar and flabiol, and the choral support of the group, the participants were introduced to the writing and oral improvisation of collective verses.
“Amb paraules ben rimades
la festa farà camí.
We have sung some songs
amb el rap i el garrotín
i ara toquen les albaes.”
Tour of albaes
In the evening they began to albaes, a traditional song from the Valencian huerta, characterised by the improvisation of lyrics, vocal virtuosity and the distinction of roles:
- The llistera is the person who prepares in advance the list of places and people to be honoured and designs the route. In this case, Ronald (Jóvenes) and Massa Salvatge took care of it, with the suggestions of other members of the Kolectivo.
- The versadora is a person who improvises verses based on the context that the llistera shares him along the way. For the occasion, Lluís Benlloch.
- The singers are the people who chant the instant stanzas whispered to them by the versator at each stop. In this appointment, Tatiana Prades and Toni Guzmán.
- Les dressing tables are the responsible for the musical accompaniment. For the evening, colla de dolçaina i tabal El Follet de Campanar.
Around forty people took part in the walk from the Youth Centre to the Miguel Hernández square, as well as neighbours who joined in listening and applauding from the balconies of their homes, street benches and bar terraces.
“Ja s'apropa l'afició
a esta bonica cantà,
we demand a standing ovation
i ho direm en aquesta albà
al veïnat que està al balcó”.”
“Ara que ja cau la vespra
i un encara que camina,
com ara és moment de festa
li cantem a les veïnes
enjoy the fresh air”.”
Around forty people took part in the walk from the Youth Centre to the Miguel Hernández square, as well as neighbours who joined in listening and applauding from the balconies of their homes, street benches and bar terraces.
Each station along the route was re-signified as a place of evocation, denunciation and gratitude.
“Mentres anem passejant
cantem a la nostra història.
I agafemem-se de les mans
per a fer junts memòria
dels que hui ja no estan”.”
The improvised lyrics celebrated the reopening of the Youth Centre, the origins of the Kolectivo and the mutual support networks that have risen from the mire: volunteers, the retirement home, the music society, local businesses.....
“Un local ple de colours
per un moment generós.
Oblidem ara els dolors
because the Park is proud of it
hui de tots els seus majors”.”
“Tocarem l'abecedari
i els records que vàrem tindre.
Highlighting is necessary
to all those who have come,
moltes gràcies voluntaris”.”
... and denounced public neglect in the rehabilitation of schools.
“Ara em fixe en este fons,
que no té gens de bellesa.
Li direm als barracons:
no volem ja cap promesa,
necessitem inversió.
They've gone way over the limit
i ho deixe subratllat.
I esta cantà no s'ho calla:
we reclaim dignity
per a la nostra xicalla.”
It was particularly cathartic to walk and stop on the avenue, where two neighbours drowned after spending several hours perched in a tree.
“El record volem posar
ara en la nostra cultura
that we will never forget
als nostres Aurelio i Musta
that are missing here.
As it is time to remember
i aqui ningú ningú és un marbre
we have to denounce you
que cinc hores dalt d'un arbre
Musta ell es va passar”.”
Art installation and popular dinner
The tour culminated with the presentation of The door of memory, a device produced by Tamara Sánchez and La Palo, which invited us to listen to testimonies about the moment when the alarm sounded, together with collective cartographies of the mud.
“La lluita és patrimoni
that Parke always clarifies;
denunciant aquell malsomni
are Paloma and Tamara
i ara ens ens donen testimoni”.”
The day ended with a dinner in the square, organised by Paula Petronila - a neighbourhood cook - with the support of Kolectivo Jóvenes, and the enjoyment of all generations.
Collective mourning as a space of resistance
According to the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, mourning is a wound that must be attended to conscientiously so that it can heal; otherwise, it becomes entrenched. In Valencian society we have several religious and secular rituals to sustain the mourning in community, such as la dansa del vetlatori and the coloured ribbons of the albadets. Still today, when someone dies, we say that the person «is missing», we wish them “may they rest in heaven”, and we acknowledge that the bereaved «are grieving». We also ring the bells at the funeral, at the octave, every year, and every year. We get involved, we accompany each other in feeling.
But when human negligence silences the tragedy, the wound of an unrepaired past festered in the unconscious generation after generation. Like the trauma of the great flood of 57, which was silenced by the Plan Sur of urban development. If it is not told, it is not reprimanded. If you don't talk, you don't learn. It is not for nothing that the expression “Valencia does not know how to rain” or the outsider's perception that “in Valencia four drops fall and nobody leaves the house”. Those who know the villages of l'Horta will recognise the taboo.
With this evening, Massa Salvatge wanted to contribute to the process of symbolic restoration of Parke Alcosa. To mediate structures of affection to take hold of the historical memory, denounce the facts, sublimate the pain and dignify the community. To support the active denunciation and to sing at the top of our lungs for the right to a dignified life.
“Excuse us for a moment
that we dedicate so much to the donkey,
perquè ho ho sap tota la gent
that the criminal of the Ventorro
does not deserve to be president”.”
Noise and silence. Clamour and whispering. And all the vibrations and resonances in between. Sonorous consolation that sustains the grief of the people.
“La vetllada és agraïda
but we say goodbye to you.
Ja cantem la despedida,
lluitem sempre a tot arreu,
pel Parke i per la vida”.”
Photo credits: DIODE PRODUCTIONS O.E.
