After two lovers argue loudly on a beach at sunset, a ghost named Analphabet appears over the sea to tell his story and sing songs to the couple. Alberto Cortés, a revelation in the art landscape, calls himself a marica andaluza ('Andalusian faggot'), highlighting the off-centre perspective that has allowed him to develop a singular language. Invited to open the festival, he presents Analphabet, the story of a ghost who roams cruising spots, the outdoor spaces for sexual encounters between men.

With haunting prose, Cortés crafts a character born to heal toxic relationships, partially reflecting his experience of being called 'irrational', a label he defiantly reclaims with this piece. Inspired by José Bergamín’s La decadencia del analfabetismo, Cortés criticises a society that sacrifices poetry for rational order, where everything must be organised, legible, and fixed, like the alphabet.

On stage, accompanied by violinist Luz Prado, Cortés is magnetic; his body vibrates as if words flow through him like blood, like lines in a poem, like men in the woods at night. Cruising and poetry: Analphabet clings to a world perpetually threatened by too much daylight. Perhaps there are no words, or enough letters, for a night beyond description and that promises to be an unforgettable experience.