The duo Lluerna del Sud, comprising Pau Marí and Sergio Alemán López, has emerged victorious in the first edition of the songwriter competition "Posa-li música a l'accent", held on Saturday in Tortosa. This event was part of the II Festival Posa-hi tu l'accent!, which celebrates the dialectal varieties of the Catalan language.
Both musicians are affiliated with the University of Alicante and received a prize of €1,500. Pau Marí holds a degree in Primary Education from the University of Alicante and has completed a master's in Secondary Education. He currently works as a music teacher. Sergio Alemán López is pursuing a master's in Secondary Education this year. The pair also studied at the Òscar Esplà Higher Conservatory of Music in Alicante, where they met and began performing together.
The competition was included in the festival's programme, which took place from 23 to 25 October in Tortosa. Over three days, the city hosted lectures, round tables, exhibitions, monologues, and musical performances aimed at promoting and enhancing the prestige of various dialectal forms of the Catalan language.
The University of Alicante's participation in this year's festival featured professors Vicent Beltran and Sandra Montserrat. Beltran moderated a round table with representatives from several academic institutions, including the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua, and the Academia Aragonesa de la Lengua. Montserrat contributed to a discussion on linguistic diversity in theatre and fiction.
Lluerna del Sud performed on Saturday night alongside other contest participants from Girona, Pallars, the Ebro Lands, and Mallorca. The musical programme began on Friday with a performance by Gionta from Alghero. After receiving the first prize, the duo returned to the stage on Sunday during the concluding gala, hosted by content creator Cabrafotuda from Villajoyosa, which also featured other artists.
This inaugural competition attracted 47 submissions, indicating a promising future for this initiative as a platform for promoting new voices in Catalan music. The Posa-hi tu l'accent! festival first took place in 2024 in l'Espluga de Francolí and plans to hold another event in two years in a different Catalan-speaking location.
The recognition of Lluerna del Sud adds to the duo's recent successes. In May 2026, they won the I Songwriter Competition of the University of Alicante (InteractUA), organised by the Cultural Service. Subsequently, on 11 July, they performed at the II Mediterranean Songwriters Festival "Coves del Canelobre", held in the bullring of Alicante. Their next live performance at the University of Alicante is scheduled for 19 November during the autumn gathering of the Linguistic Volunteering programme, which will welcome new members and present the activities planned for the academic year.
