As dusk began to fall, the Passeig de s'Alamera was transformed into an unexpected stage in Santa Eulària. Neighbours and tourists strolling by stopped curiously to watch the Santa Eulària Municipal Band finalise the details before their big event at Disneyland Paris. This Friday, the 78 members, including musicians and crew, will set off for the French capital to take part in the park's parade, and the dress rehearsal in the town centre served as a preview.
With the flags of Spain, the Balearic Islands and Ibiza at the front and the instruments tuned, the parade began to take shape. First came the percussionists, followed by the brass players with their trumpets and saxophones, then the woodwind players with their clarinets and flutes. The young people laughed nervously while the more experienced musicians repeatedly checked their scores. Frank K. Cogollos, the municipal band's director, reminded them of the instructions: 'Always look at the row in front and the row to the side. When we're not playing, we have to keep in step. Always keep the strong beat on the left and adjust the short or long step according to the curve when we turn." This was the final rehearsal before they performed on one of the world's most visited stages.
When he raised his hands and lowered them, silence fell and immediately the promenade was filled with music. With the first bars of «Paquito el chocolatero», the birds fluttered out of the trees as if they were also part of the rehearsal. Then came pieces such as «Camino de Rosas» and «Educandos de Benejúzar», classics from the repertoire that will accompany the band in Paris. There was also a preview of the pasodoble «Santa Eulària des Riu», composed by Frank himself on commission from the Town Council, which will have its official premiere in November.
The parade travelled along the entire promenade to the fountain, on a route that combined practice with excitement. ‘We're nervous because we don't usually parade that much, normally only in processions,’ confessed the conductor before starting. Clarinettist Vicent Ferrer commented that ‘it's an unbeatable way to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary’.
The logistics of moving so many people has not been easy. Flights, accommodation, instruments and intensive rehearsals have all been part of the countdown. Marilina Yern, the school's director, explained frankly that ‘it's not like moving a football team, we are 72 musicians and that complicates everything, but enthusiasm can overcome anything’.
On Saturday September 13th, the Santa Eulària Municipal Band will open the parade at Disneyland Paris. The rehearsal on the promenade was just a preview of a trip that will go down in the history of the municipality.