Joan Manuel Serrat fled to Mexico when Franco ordered his persecution. In Argentina and Chile, his commitment against military regimes is still remembered. Joaquín Sabina arrived later. His poetry bewitched the audience. In Argentina, he is a tango singer as much as a rocker; in Mexico, the mariachis sing their songs. The former is a symbol, a venerated figure; the latter is a “cuate,” as they say in Mexico, a buddy with whom you can always count.

An intimate portrait of Spanish singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina without his signature bowler hat, at night and with malice aforethought. Rugged, direct, and unflinching, director Fernando León de Aranoa captures Sabina’s hidden side over 13 years of filming, where the artist steps off the stage to reveal stories of misfortune, comedy, inspiration, and of pain.