Spain's Miki lifts the lid on the staging of 'La Venda'

10 May 2019 at 17:27 CEST

Spain 2019 first rehearsal Andres Putting

Spanish hopeful Miki was the third artist from the countries pre-qualified for the Grand Final to rehearse today on the Expo Tel Aviv stage in Israel. For the performance of the Spanish song 'La Venda', Miki has gone for elaborate, colourful staging to convey the message of the song: to get rid of prejudice and be yourself. Miki is accompanied on stage by 5 backing singers and dancers.

Miki will take to the stage in the Grand Final of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday 18 May at Expo Tel Aviv in Israel. This Sunday, Spain will draw a first half or second half position in the running order.

Miki had been performing live on stage for many years when he joined the academy of Operación Triunfo, Spain's talent show which served as the platform to choose their Eurovision entry again this year. On 20 January, Miki was selected by the audience as Spain's representative for 2019. His entry, La Venda (The Blindfold), is an infectious and festive number.

READ MORE: Miki's participant profile

What happens on stage?

The staging of La Venda begins inside a building that represents the daily routines in our lives. When Miki starts to sing, he wakes people up, making them feel alive again. That is when the dance begins. Midway through the song, the system reminds them that they are trapped in the kind of society that alienates them, which is represented by a giant puppet. As they make their way through the rest of the song, they hope to help the audience realize that, with only a small change, they can change their lives and enjoy them as much as they wish.

At the end of the song, they sing ‘Lo que ere’, which means 'what you really are'. Miki explained: "We use an action camera to show the audience on the backdrop screen and invite them to join us to the party". The screen shows colourful fingerprints that represent the unique identity of each person.

Did you know?

Miki recently had his heritage analyzed by our Presenting Partner MyHeritage. It may come as no surprise that the singer from Terrassa (near Barcelona) is 73.4% Iberian and 10.7% Sardinian, but get this--he's also 7.6% North African, 7.4% Scandinavian, and 0.9% Nigerian!

MyHeritage found more than 280 relatives of Miki's from 24 countries all over the world. His closest match is a first cousin twice removed or second cousin once removed. MyHeritage also found some 3rd-5th cousins currently living in Spain.