23 Nov Canciones para no olvidar: Joaquín Sabina, nos sobran los motivos

On Friday, 28 November 2025 at 6:00 pm, ELE USAL Strasbourg will host the closing event of its series on 50 years of democracy in Spain.

Under the title “Canciones para no olvidar: Joaquín Sabina, nos sobran los motivos”, this talk will explore the political songs of Spanish singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina. From the Spanish Civil War to the democratic Transition, Sabina has portrayed everyday life in Spain through intimate details and small scenes, giving a voice to those who experienced internal and external exile and, more broadly, to the forgotten people of our time.

Through listening to and analysing selected songs, the speakers will address themes such as:

– memory of war and dictatorship,

– experiences of exile and migration,

– hopes, wounds and disillusions of democracy,

– how poetry and song can tell history from the perspective of ordinary people.

The speakers will be:

– Maxime Haesen, third-year LLCER student in Spanish and Portuguese;

– David Gondar, lecturer and researcher at the University of Strasbourg (CHER Laboratory), specializing in contemporary Hispanic poetry.

Live music with La Paloma

After the talk, we are delighted to welcome back La Paloma, the trio that has already performed at our school with a programme of Spanish revolutionary songs. This musical project, created in 2022, revisits songs composed during or related to the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship, combining polyphonic voices, guitars and sometimes percussion to bring to life songs of resistance, freedom and hope.

It will be a unique opportunity to continue reflecting on historical memory through live music, in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Practical information

Conference in Spanish

📍 Venue : ELE USAL Strasbourg

📅 Date: Friday, 28 November 2025

🕕 Time: 6:00 pm (talk), followed by La Paloma’s concert

📩 Booking (limited seats): info@strasbourg-eleusal.com