Homenaje musical a Damián Barreiro en la Casa de Cultura

The Casa de Cultura in Avilés will host this event on Friday, May 2nd (7:30 p.m.), as a tribute to the journalist Damián Barreiro, a reference in Asturian culture who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 40 on February 5th. The event, organized by the Avilés City Council and the Xunta pola Defensa de la Llingua Asturiana (XDLA), the organization he belonged to, was announced this morning by Xosé Candel, spokesperson for XDLA, and by the councilor for Linguistic Normalization, Ana Solís.

Under the title ‘Universu Damián’, artists and personalities who well represent the world the journalist wrote about will be present, including the folk agitator Rodrigo Cuevas; the singer Mariluz Cristóbal Caunedo; the electronic DJ Fruela 757; the fusion traditional music group Algaire; the bagpiper Llorián García Flórez; and the accordionist and singer Beatriz. Actress Natalia Suárez Ríos will also be there. Admission is free until full capacity is reached.

This Friday’s event will be a rendezvous with pop and folk culture, transgression, identity, fun, and country, to remember a person who embodied all these elements in his DNA and for whom this tribute is organized out of friendship.

Graduated in Journalism from the University of the Basque Country, Damián Barreiro was one of the leading journalists in Asturian media, as well as a recognized essayist, specializing in issues related to Asturian culture. He worked as a journalist in Asturies.com, in Les Noticies, and for years in Europa Press. He was a member of the editorial board of the Anuariu de la Música Asturiana and collaborated with Musicasturiana.com, among other media outlets.

He was the creator of the YouTube channel Horros y Frixuelos, where he analyzed Asturian culture from his unique pop perspective, adding significant value to studies on the country’s identity. Concepts currently used, such as pop llariegu, are his creation.

As an essayist, he won the Premiu Máximo Fuertes Acevedo d’Ensayu three times, awarded by the Principality of Asturias for works such as ‘Asturploitation’; ‘Caleya Sésamu: el papel de la televisión na tresmisión interxeneracional de la llingua’; and ‘Asturianía kitsch: decálogu de la cultura pop astur’.

He also won the Premiu d’ensayu Fierro Botas awarded by the Xixón City Council with ‘L’espeyu onde miranos. Televisiones de proximidá n’Europa Occidental y procesos de recuperación identitaria’. Additionally, he published the book ‘Yo la to llingua’, a review of the history of Asturian language written for a young audience.

Apart from his significant work as a journalist and analyst of Asturian culture from a much-needed perspective, Damián also had a great personality and human warmth that endeared him to many. Next Friday, at the Casa de la Cultura in Avilés, all these qualities will be showcased, honoring everything that Damián was, is, and will continue to be.