The conference ‘Human dignity in times of violence and uncertainty’ offers an essential reflection on the ethical challenges of the present in a world marked by conflict, inequality and shared fragility. From a humanistic perspective, it addresses issues such as human rights, dignity, collective responsibility and the value of kindness as a transformative attitude.

Led by Francesc Torralba and Carles Duarte, leading figures in contemporary thought, they engage in dialogue to explore the value of the individual, caring for others and the sense of ethical responsibility in turbulent times. The session opens the Mirades Blaves cycle of the Portalblau Festival, a space dedicated to the word, critical thinking and cultural commitment.

GOTA is a street performance that combines contemporary clowning and magic. Under a ceiling of clouds, a bucket collects water that no longer falls from the sky. The rain has disappeared and only its memory remains, while fiction and magic transform into a constant dripping of surprises. Imaginary drops set the pace for a choreography full of humour and fantasy: a cup appears, coins flow restlessly and spoons spring from pockets.

With object manipulation, physical theatre and poetic, playful comedy, the show invites the audience to reflect on our relationship with water and the need to care for this essential resource for the planet. Activity within the Valors i Compromís programme.

The Portalblau Festival Training Course is now in its 5th edition, a unique opportunity for young people aged 16 to 25 who are interested in cultural management and event production.

The programme offers practical tools for understanding how a festival is organised from the inside. Participants will receive training from professionals in the sector, exploring technical production, communication, artistic programming, space design and audience management. Through practical case studies, they will discover how event management generates social impact, contributes to regional development and opens up new job opportunities.

Free registration until 11 June by sending a letter of motivation to [email protected]

Limited places! Activity within the Valors y Compromís programme.

Victoria Vilalta, singer-songwriter and producer from Olot, creates her own songs that blend indie, folk and experimental styles. Her music stands out for its raw, natural and acoustic sound that authentically accompanies the message of the lyrics. She understands music as a form of emotion and connection, with the desire to generate a positive impact on those who listen to it. Her delicate and sincere voice reinforces this artistic sensibility.

She will give an intimate concert at The Portalblau Festival where she will present her debut album Out Loud Thoughts  in its entirety, with a live performance that moves from acoustic to electronic textures, inviting the audience to immerse themselves in her voice and lyrics.

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

LIFE is a participatory urban ceremony that transforms public space into a territory of ritual and liberation. Promoted by the Agency for Contemporary Artistic Rituals, it invites citizens to confront death in order to reconcile themselves with life. It is not a conventional show but a collective act that turns fear into awareness and limits into celebration.

Halfway between ritual, installation and participatory action, it challenges the audience with essential questions and opens up a space for symbolic liberation and shared reflection. Recovering rites of passage, LIFE becomes a communal gesture of presence and celebration that reconnects us with the strength and awareness of living.

Activity within the Valors i Compromís programme.

As part of the Mirades Blaves cycle at the Portalblau Festival, historian Queralt Solé will give a lecture entitled ‘Women during the Civil War: active agents’, which analyses the role of women in the conflict. The lecture will highlight their participation in political and trade union life, as well as their role in sustaining everyday life behind the front lines, emphasising that many of these experiences have been overlooked.

Based on research into repression, exile and historical memory, Solé explains how women were agents of change and, at the same time, victims of double repression – political and gender-based – and stresses the need to preserve their memory as part of the historical narrative.

Pax means peace in Latin; aras means to carve: to carve peace. Paxaras invites you on a sensory journey through the cultures of the Mediterranean. Singer-songwriter Rusó Sala and multi-instrumentalist Miriam Encinas present a live show that combines traditional music and sound experimentation, creating an intimate altar that speaks to the heart and soul. Inspired by the flight of birds – paxaro in Sephardic – and migration without borders.

Paxaras is a sound stained glass window born from the remains of al-Andalus and Sepharad, scattered but alive within Mediterranean cultures. Music becomes a meeting point, a reflection on freedom of movement and an intimate and universal journey.

Singer-songwriter Anna d'Ivori comes to the Portalblau Festival to present and share her latest album, Eclipse, in a duet format. A concert in which we will discover live the songs that shape this new studio album, the result of the Tarragona-born singer-songwriter's reflection on light, shadows and the apparent antagonism (or not) that may exist between the two.

Through subtle metaphors in her lyrics, the artist bids farewell to childhood and her early creative period, marking the transition to a new musical maturity. Accompanied on percussion by Adrià Mort, Anna d'Ivori invites us to experience a concert full of emotion, introspection, reflection and celebration of life.

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

Amaia Miranda, guitarist, composer, producer and singer-songwriter, stands out for her unique way of playing the guitar and the intimate poetry of her songs, creating music that moves and transports listeners.

Following the albums Cuando se nos mueren los amores and Mientras vivas brilla (Vida Records, 2022 and 2024), she presents Cada vez que te veo lo entiendo, born of intuition, playfulness and curiosity, marking a shift towards experimentation and freedom. With Nacho Mur at the helm of production, Amaia turns space and resonance into living instruments, celebrating trial and error and discovery as paths to her own sonic truth, in an album about love in all its forms.

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

Mezzo-soprano Helena Ressurreição and guitarist Bernardo Rambeaud present a programme that explores the musical roots of the Iberian Peninsula Cantos Ibéricos, blending popular tradition and classical music. Falla's Seven Spanish Folk Songs elevate traditional song to art without losing its essence; Halffter's Ai que linda moça brings neoclassical elegance, and Granados' Danza española no. 5 adds lyricism and Andalusian rhythm.

Rambaud's works, inspired by Pessoa, generate a profound dialogue between words and sound. The programme culminates with Portuguese fados, emblematic of a melancholy full of beauty. An encounter that unites history, emotion and the relevance of Iberian musical heritage.

Activity within the Valors i Compromís programme.

Amb tu is Roger Padrós' new tour, an acoustic trio concert with Mediterranean pop-folk arrangements. It includes songs from his first album La vida és millor (2022), such as Digue'm and Amb tu, and from his second album A Contrallum (2024), such as El Món, La Llibertat and El Temps, presented at the Benidorm Fest.

Recent songs from the EP T'hi voldries quedar (2025) will also be performed, as well as the first tracks from the new album scheduled for release in autumn 2026. With Roger Padrós, Àlex Martínez and Pau Mas, the trio offers a fresh, versatile, vibrant and emotional live performance.

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

L'arannà, a duo formed by Anna Sala and Lara Magrinyà, moves between classical music, folklore and contemporary creation to turn each piece into a bridge between past and present. With Turmarí, they explore the musical tradition of Ibiza and Formentera from a contemporary and poetic perspective.

Synthesizers and keyboards coexist with castanets, drums, espasino and flute, creating a sound universe inspired by peasant dance. Between glosses and redoubled songs —some recovered and others new— L'arannà revisits the Pitiusan legacy with a young and feminine sensibility. Turmarí revalues redoubled singing and fuses it with modern sounds to build its own vibrant and evocative repertoire that connects tradition and contemporary life. 

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

The Mediterranean Photography Competition Exhibition - MEDFOTO is now in its sixth year, establishing itself as a leading platform for photographers and lovers of the sea. It presents this year's finalist images, showing different ways of understanding the relationship between the Mediterranean and people, from everyday moments to scenes steeped in cultural significance.

The result of a collaboration between the Alive Foundation and the l'Escala Yacht Club, the exhibition promotes the Mediterranean as a living, shared space. It will be open to the public from 24 July to 15 August 2026, with free admission and available throughout the day, offering a visual journey that connects emotions, stories and experiences.

Activity within the Valors i Compromís programme.

With Jarana - Site Specific, choreographer and dancer Laia Santanach presents a vibrant piece that explores the evolution of traditional collective celebrations. The proposal reinterprets popular festivals with contemporary dance, combining movement, rhythm and interaction with the audience to create a space for encounter and participation. 

Jarana closes a trilogy on the role of dance in the construction of collective identities and the need for belonging. The show transforms the festival into choreographic language, mixing tradition and innovation, reflecting on how we celebrate, dance and relate to each other through the body and music, in an immersive and energetic production at La Riba.

Gregotechno merges the sacred modes of Gregorian chant with the vibration of electronic music, creating a live ritual combined with video art projections. The show Ubi est deus offers a multisensory, transcendent and festive experience that builds bridges between past and future, between body and sound. This festive transcendence becomes a meeting place where the hypnotic repetition of Gregorian modes, the cyclical pulses of electronic music and the dynamic structures of both microscopic forms and Romanesque architecture converge.

Gregotechno, a collective project formed by Marc Vilajuana (vocals, percussion), Alejandro Narés (DJ, keyboards) and Xavier Arqué (production and visuals), is emerging but with international projection. Since its inception in 2024, it has experienced exponential growth, performing in several European countries and attracting more than half a million followers, celebrating corporeality and paying homage to historical memory.

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

Maria Jaume is one of the essential voices on the current Catalan music scene. The Mallorcan singer has captivated audiences with her electronic indie pop, which combines styles with elegance and naturalness. Her lyrical universe, full of irony and sensitivity, and her unmistakable voice—magnetic and intimate—leave a deep impression and establish her songs as benchmarks. 

Her latest album, Nostalgia Airlines, which won awards at the Enderrock Awards and MIN Awards, has consolidated her career. In 2026, she will present a new album Sant Domingo Forever, full of surprises and with a stage show that immerses the audience in her magical Mediterranean realism.

Maria del Mar Bonet will perform at the Portalblau Festival to present her new album L'aigua no cansa, coinciding with the celebration of 60 years of dedication to traditional Mediterranean music, poetry and song. This new studio work commemorates the anniversary and reaffirms her deep connection with the Mediterranean, the central theme of her work.

The concert will combine newly released compositions with great classics from her repertoire. She will be accompanied on stage by Toni Pastor on the lute, Marc Grasas on the guitar and Marko Lohikari on the double bass, in an emotional live performance, deeply rooted and full of complicity with her native island.

Elena Gadel & Manu Guix, two of the most renowned and beloved artists on the music scene, come together in an exclusive and unique show at the Portalblau Festival. On stage, Guix (vocals and piano) and Gadel (vocals) share their talent, sensitivity and artistic connection, turning each performance into pure emotion.

The concert covers the highlights of their careers, with songs representative of each artist and covers of great classics. It is a performance full of artistry, elegance and complicity, where the power of live music guides an unforgettable evening. Elena Gadel captivates with her imposing and nuanced voice, while Manu Guix brings his unmistakable sensitivity.

Pianist and composer Clara Peya presents Nuca, a new album that reflects on loneliness, social fragmentation and the difficulties of empathy and solidarity in today's society. The project includes collaborations with Niño de Elche, Rita Payés, Judit Neddermann, Mar Pujol and Anna Andreu.

Peya bursts onto the scene with an unlabelled personality: pianist, composer and improviser with her own unique style. Her music combines urban sensitivity and intimate power, contemporary rhythms, electronic textures and classical cadences. Each piece is an honest, visceral and coherent dialogue. At this stage, reflection becomes a creative force and a personal and transparent musical language that connects emotions and collective critical thinking.

LA FÚMIGA stops at Portalblau as part of their farewell tour, after a decade of setting the tone for the party scene and spirit of an entire generation. With millions of plays and hundreds of concerts under their belt, they will offer a very special live performance at the Fòrum Romà d'Empúries to celebrate their legacy with the anthems that have defined an entire era.

At just 19 years old, NAINA is one of the most promising voices in the Valencian Community. Following EP Atrevida, Aina Escrivà's musical project presents its first album, Vives o mortes, a work that explores the conflicts and dichotomies of her generation and expands her sound universe with new pieces and notable collaborations, such as La Fúmiga, Figa Flawas, and Ginestà. She will open the night at the Fòrum Romà d'Empúries with a performance full of strength and authenticity.

Standing concert.

‘When I sing with an orchestra, I hear my voice enveloped, elevated and magnified. It awakens my emotions and connects me with the beauty of making music, this mysterious and eternal quest. It is a sound that comes naturally to me despite its magnitude and inspires me greatly when I sing.’ 

This is the essence of the concert that Judit Neddermann will present at the Portalblau Festival, accompanied by her band and the GIO SYMPHONIA, conducted by Joan Albert Amargós. A proposal that celebrates 10 years of career. Song and orchestra dialogue with sensitivity and energy in a unique setting: the Fòrum Romà d'Empúries, which will bring a historical and emotional dimension to a profound and unforgettable musical journey.

Concert with unnumbered seats. Activity within the Valors i Compromís programme.

SOPA DE CABRA will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2026 with a special tour that will stop at the Portalblau Festival. Undisputed icons of Catalan rock, they have created anthems such as Camins, L'Empordà and El far del sud, which form part of the soundtrack of several generations.

At the Fòrum Romà d'Empúries, they will offer a unique evening to commemorate four decades of music, friendship and shared emotions, in an incomparable setting where their energy will once again resonate between history and the Mediterranean.

Seated concert without numbered seats.

The Escenario Portalblau Competition is now in its fourth year as a platform for promoting young musical talent in Catalonia. The selected artists will perform live in La Riba, in a free concert open to the public, with professional technical conditions.

The winner will receive a cash prize and will be part of the Portalblau Festival line-up. Since its creation, the contest has promoted the careers of artists such as Alícia Rey, Grabu, Masuno, Bivac, Santa Mandra and Emé. It's your turn to shine!

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

Send your proposal to: [email protected]

COMPETITION RULES

Enric Mont Lecocq continues to present his most personal project. After releasing his first album, Sous la Glace (2024), and the EP Volaille/Aviram (2025), in 2026 he will transform himself with Sucre, a second album where he will delve into brighter, more danceable sounds tinged with neo-soul.

The percussion will set the pace and pave the way for warm guitars, powerful bass lines and luminous synthesizers, meticulously layered. The lyrics, in Catalan and French, explore the path to adulthood: the changes in body and mind, the loss of innocence and the first desires. LECOCQ opts for a restless sound, somewhere between indie-pop, chanson and touches of electronica.

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

The conference 'Humanity and the Power of Technology: Paradise or Trap?‘ in the Mirades Blaves series of the Portalblau Festival, led by Jordi Pigem and Juan García del Muro and moderated by Ignasi Rifé, draws on Owen Barfield's reflection: ’Among all the threatening signs that surround us in the mid-20th century, perhaps the one that causes the most unease in thoughtful people is the growing and widespread sense of remaining threats. How can we explain that the more capable humans are of manipulating the world for their own benefit, the less meaning they can perceive?'

We live in an age in which artificial intelligence and algorithms shape our experience and perception of reality. The conference offers a critical look at technology, establishing ethical limits so that technology serves life and not the other way around, exploring margins for hope.

Germans Ortega is a hybrid format where words pulsate with electronic beats, creating a verse-electronic journey that catapults imaginations and emotions. A concert-recital in constant flux, it combines Eva Ortega's verses with Toni Ortega's beats: a truce in the hermitage, a toast in the festive arena.

Everyday poems take on a new dimension in electronic music: organic textures, lively or calm rhythms and sung voices amplify meanings and interverses. The performance, with irony and humour, shines thanks to the complicity between these two stage animals, who transform any space into their home.They performance with intense and intimate energy, fusing poetry, music and theatre in a unique experience.

Activity within the Espai Proa programme (Support for local and emerging talent).

How does a revolt begin? From a dissonance that grows into a collective cry. Mil Primaveres, at the Portalblau Festival, is a dance piece with roots in contemporary staging, created for public spaces. Eight performers from Esbart Manresà and live music give shape to a vibrant and physical show.

The project brings dance back to the street, where popular culture and protest meet. Traditional gestures dialogue with the spirit of revolt under the direction of Sergi Estebanell and Arantza Labuena, with original music by Marina Tomàs. A spring that is an awakening: a choreographic cry from the roots to imagine new shared forms of resistance.

Activity within the Valors i Compromís programme.

The Mirades Blaves cycle of the Portalblau Festival presents the lecture ‘Can we prevent and treat stroke? Key ideas’, on one of the leading causes of death and disability in adults, especially women. Stroke is preventable and treatable: up to 80% can be avoided with healthy habits, and early treatment improves the prognosis.

The talk will cover the warning signs, what to do if you suspect a stroke and the importance of every minute. It will also address risk factors, how to reduce them and advances in treatment and rehabilitation that promote recovery. It will be given by Dr Yolanda Silva, a neurologist specialising in stroke, head of Neurology at Dr Josep Trueta Hospital, professor at the University of Girona and head of research in cerebrovascular pathology.