It is a pleasure for me to address you with a few words on the occasion of the celebration of the International Music Band Contest "City of Valencia". A contest with a long tradition in our city (its 135 editions guarantee it) and that, over the years, has become an essential date with culture and a reference within our national and international musical scene.
The French playwright and novelist Victor Hugo said that "music expresses everything that cannot be said in words and that cannot remain silent". A silence that I am sure these days will be flooded by the talent and virtuosity of the twenty-six musical groups participating in this edition, to whom I want to wish the greatest success. An edition that will also have a special memory for the Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla, whose death is commemorated this year on its centenary.
A fundamental part of the DNA of Valencian people is music, which also constitutes a fundamental element of the structuring of our territory, with music bands being the main cultural agent in our region and one of our most outstanding hallmarks of identity. Not in vain, 50% of the musical societies of our country are found precisely in the Valencian Community, being present in practically all the municipalities of our geography.
I would not like to say goodbye without first having a heartfelt memory of Mr. Ángel Asunción Rubio, founder and honorary president of the Federació de Societats Musicals de la Comunitat Valenciana, who passed away on June 18. Those who knew him say that Asunción was, above all, a lover of Valencia and a firm defender of the band tradition in our land. Not by chance, the Federació currently groups 550 entities and has more than 47,000 musicians and more than 60,000 students. Serve this edition of the International Contest of Music Bands "City of Valencia" as a tribute to his figure.
Kind regards,