It is natural for one of the happiest moments in the life of Spanish singer Joan Manuel Serrat to relate to music. More specifically, at the Peralada Festival, where he's performed almost continuously for the last 35 years.

At the contest, where Serrat is considered one of the most admired and respected participants, he has performed alongside Victor Manuel, Ana Belén and Miguel Ríos, performing “El Gusto es Nuestro.” He also went on stage with his soulmate Joaquín Sabina.

“I done shared shows, I played with symphony orchestras, and I performed in a group,” recalled a nostalgic Serrat.

Whether appearing alone with his guitar or with multiple and unpredictable accompaniments, the “noi del Poblesec” has maintained a romance with the festival audience.

The anecdote he remembers with special affection occurred far from the spotlight and stage. It was during a dinner with the members of the Orfeón Donostiarra, with whom he shared a performance.

Between drinks and laughter, two members of the choir got up and sang a spectacular duet. Then, on the other side of the table, eight rose and sang, and another eight rose to reply.

“It was spectacular. You dined because they stimulated your hunger and you drank because they stimulated your thirst, but the most important thing that was happening there was how a group of people expressed all the love they have for music and for singing,” he said.

For Serrat, that experience was “one of the most beautiful things that has ever happened to me in my life.”

His farewell tour El vicio de cantar 1965-2002 will have a special stop at the Peralada Festival. It will be on Saturday, July 16. For Serrat, being able to perform there is "a pleasure and a vice." 

The singer, poet and composer who influenced an entire generation in Spain and Latin America will offer his first concert in April in New York, and will close his farewell tour in Barcelona at the end of the year.

Serrat has not yet defined what the set list for his performances, which according to him will contain between 20 and 30 songs. At 78 years old, the singer explained that he wanted to “say goodbye in person” to his fans after the break forced by the pandemic.

Raised in a humble family, he was grateful for his musical career, which allowed him to discover the world and meet "magnificent people," such as the members of the Orfeón Donostiarra who marked him so much on that magic night at Peralada.