Pop talent show winner gives daily concert from his balcony

With the whole of Spain in quarantine to contain the Covid-19 Coronavirus, leaving home for any reason other than to buy the essentials or to go to work – for those not working from home or whose companies have not temporarily shut – everyone is desperately seeking entertainment and some human contact, even though this cannot be in person.

Each night at 20.00, entire streets go out onto their balconies and applaud the health service for 10 minutes, some letting off fireworks from their roof terraces, playing music, whooping and cheering – and many residents say they now chat to their neighbours across their balconies whilst doing so, whereas they had barely said more than 'buenos días' to them in all the years they have been living near each other.

Iván Sánchez, from the southern Valencia-province coastal town of Tavernes de la Valldigna, has been going one step further.

Over 10 years ago, the now-defunct Valencia regional television channel Canal 9 staged a talent show, El Beso y una Flor ('A Kiss and a Flower'), the title of a song by the legendary Niño Bravo.

Contestants sang hit records from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and were voted on by the public and scored by a panel of judges.

Iván won the 2009 show, and since then has been performing gigs all over the region.

Since November he has not had any, since 'live music season' on the coast more or less shuts down for the winter – but he had been hoping for plenty of work during the Fallas fiestas and over Easter at hotels in the larger neighbouring town of Gandia.

Naturally, with the quarantine and all cultural, arts, sporting, entertainment and festive events cancelled, hotels, bars and restaurants shut, he is unable to play.

But instead, residents on his street in the Cambro neighbourhood in Tavernes – a popular holiday town for Spaniards of around 17,000 inhabitants – get a free gig every day at noon.

He sets up his sound equipment on the balcony of the apartment where he lives with his parents and, microphone in hand, regales everyone with music from yesteryear.

“I want people to see they're not alone, and to feel as though they have company,” Iván says.

“And, of course, I can fulfil my need to sing.”

Almost unanimously, residents in neighbouring blocks have been coming out onto their balconies and settling down with a drink and a snack, dancing, singing along and applauding.

“I sing between noon and 13.00, because it's a time of day which isn't going to disturb anyone,” he says.

Iván films his own balcony concerts and uploads them onto Facebook, too.

Some days he has as many as 100 spectators – at least as many as he would have at a 'real' gig in a bar.

Photograph: YouTube