PUJOL UNIVERSE 2025 | The Garrigues Guitarfest strengthens its guitar milestone as an international musical benchmark, fulfilling the dream of maestro Emili Pujol
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The Garrigues Guitar Festival – Emili Pujol Memorial has concluded a new edition marked by sonic diversity, heritage discovery, and the participation of young talents and established figures from the national and international guitar scene.
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Between 4 July and 23 August, the festival offered more than twenty activities including concerts, guided tours, tastings, and interdisciplinary proposals, turning villages, churches, wineries and archaeological sites throughout the region into unique stages.
Les Garrigues | 26 August 2025 | 4.00 p.m.
A beginning full of sensitivity and rootedness
The festival opened on 4 July in El Soleràs with the Duo Martí & Martínez, who offered a recital of Catalan folk songs with original arrangements for soprano and guitar. The emblematic Fadrins de Sant Boi, Rossinyol and El mariner, together with the street songs by Enric Morera based on texts by Josep Maria de Sagarra, kicked off an edition deeply connected to tradition. The following day, at Celler Mas Blanch i Jové, guitarist Emma Campàs presented Arrels after a visit to the Vinya dels Artistes and a wine tasting. Her proposal —moving between classical and flamenco— stood out for its closeness and versatility.
A celebration of youth talent and Pujol’s legacy
La Granadella became one of the epicentres of the festival. On 10 July, the Church of Mare de Déu de Gràcia hosted the encounter between the Orchestre de Jeunes Guitarles Acadèmie, conducted by Sylvie Dagnac, and the Orfeó Lleidatà Guitar Ensemble, led by Mario Peña y Lillo. The next day, at the Centre de la Cultura de l’Oli, Cuban guitarist Josué Fonseca, Audience Award winner of the Pujol Competition 2024, offered a musical journey through Bach, Aguado, Tárrega, Llobet and classics of Cuban tradition. On the morning of 12 July, the preliminary rounds of the Pujol Competition were held, and in the afternoon, the Dagnac & Cardoso duo moved the audience with a programme dedicated to oral tradition and folklore; then, on 13 July, the Orfeó Lleidatà Guitar Ensemble once again filled the auditorium with a varied and educational repertoire. Afterwards, we enjoyed the awards ceremony of the fourth edition of the Pujol Competition, which this year granted first prize to young Japanese guitarist Ayaka Mukaiyama.
Masters, memory and heritage
The festival continued on 16 July in Torrebesses with maestro Carles Trepat, a key figure in the recovery of the 19th-century guitar, who offered the recital The Sound of the Guitar. The following day, at the Espai Macià in les Borges Blanques, the trio Mnemòsine presented La presó de Lleida, an arrangement project by Dani Jané dedicated to reviving essential songs of Catalan heritage. The traditional Oil and Guitar Route, held on 18 July at Molí del Bep de Canut, combined heritage, olive-oil tasting and a concert starring the young participants of the Pujol Campus 2025, with a short-lived ensemble that concluded with diploma presentations. On 25 July, Granyena de les Garrigues welcomed the duo Gascón & Nicolet, who fused crystal flute and romantic guitar in a delicately aesthetic proposal deeply connected to early Romanticism.
New languages and immersive experiences
August began in El Cogul with a visit to the prehistoric cave paintings and the concert El desig d’enfonsar murs by the group Athanagia, which brought a contemporary sound with popular and experimental influences. On 2 August, Goat Milk Shots filled Juneda with rural blues, gospel and ragtime, radiating vibrant and festive energy. In Torrebesses, on 8 August, Japanese guitarist Sohta Nakabayashi, winner of the Llobet Competition, inaugurated the traditional Guitar Triptych, captivating the audience with a refined and emotional style. The following day, in Vinaixa, the Duo Herraiz —father and son— offered a journey through the Colours of the World, with works ranging from Bach to Dominiconi and including Villa-Lobos. On 15 August, Cuban guitarist Darío González, continuing the triptych, presented La Habana de Barcelona, demonstrating his early talent at just 18 years of age. On 16 August, Bellaguarda hosted the duo Astrolabi, specialising in Baroque music performed with historical criteria, offering the audience a virtuosic dialogue between cello, theorbo and Baroque guitar. On 19 August, Espluga Calba experienced an immersion into the medieval world with Ensamble Musicantes, who performed European repertoire on reproductions of historical instruments. Finally, on 22 August, Bulgarian guitarist Stoyan Paskov closed the triptych in Torrebesses with an intense and versatile recital, and on 23 August, Vinya els Vilars d’Arbeca concluded the festival with the concert Bésame mucho by the Pedro Martínez Trio, following a winery visit and a wine tasting that paired perfectly with the music.
An edition that reaffirms the musical identity of Les Garrigues
With exceptional natural and heritage settings, internationally renowned artists and the active participation of local audiences and visitors, the Garrigues Guitar Festival 2025 strengthens the legacy of Emili Pujol and reaffirms the region’s role as a global reference in the guitar world.
