The Andalusian singer Manuel Carrasco is doing especially well in his return to the stage. After a forced pandemic break that affected him on a personal and creative level, he once again regained his confidence on stage, with a willingness to tell stories and ideas clearer than ever.

On Sunday, Feb. 22, he shook the WiZink Center in Madrid, packed with 15,000 fans to ring in his return. It was an eternal wait: the attendees bought tickets more than two years ago, when coronavirus was just a footnote. Carrasco promised an eventual return of the "La Cruz del Mapa" tour, with a motto of: "you have to live in the moment."

In two consecutive nights of performances, Carrasco connected the audience with his greatest hits. The dances, smiles and emotions marked the show. Carrasco was eternally grateful to his followers, friends and family.

It was a breath of fresh air that Carrasco required, who in his recently released song “Fue,” deals with heartbreak and sadness. In an interview with the newspaper El País, he explained that “there are episodes in which life is like that. I'm also not going to write what I'm supposed to. It is a strong truth and it seemed to me something sincere and visceral.”

After a 20-year career — which he began on the popular television contest Operación Triunfo — the singer remains loyal to his values and composes all his songs alone. He wants to preserve that process: "writing is sometimes distressing, because outside you have the pressure of having to write something that is good, and that spark of a good song flourishing is complicated."

Carrasco is also a born non-conformist, and doesn’t stop with the first verse or chord.

One of the most exciting moments of his concert was when he played “Mujer de mil batallas.” He dedicated it to the young influencer Elena Huelva, a cancer patient who recently published the book Mis ganas ganan, in which she raises awareness about cancer in adolescence to help other patients.

It was also surprising that Carrasco opened the concert by playing “Hay que vivir el momento,” a song unpublished until the performance. He also paid tribute to his host city, to which he professes so much affection on "Mi Madrid."

Although he's had some doubts, he also finally included “Prisión esperanza” on his set list, a song composed amid the pandemic, which deals with the global anxiety we all experienced in quarantine, and is dedicated to all those who lost loved ones to the coronavirus.

To close the show, there was dose of love with “Qué bonito es querer,” which was accompanied by a balloon release on the stage.

"I really missed that adrenaline that you don't find anywhere else," Carrasco said about his return to live performances.

“This profession gives you a lot, but it also takes away from you. It requires sacrifice, because in the end you don't know how to separate the personal from the professional. This is 24 hours a day, especially when it's something you're passionate about, and what you're showing to people is you and it's your life."