When I bought the tickets for C. Tangana’s concert, I could not imagine the attraction I would feel. A jerk, in layman’s terms, we rehabilitated addicts call the craving to consume, the famous craving. How is it possible that this happened to me after fifteen years without having tasted a drop of alcohol?
El Madrileño is on tour with an impressive show. In addition to his songs, of which I am a fan, the singer has developed a staging that mimics the typical after-dinner conversation, where a drink and a conversation are shared while creating an extremely attractive climate of camaraderie. Tangana, like a good host, always served guests with different types of alcohol. The light filtered behind the glass of the jars and bottles. The overall aesthetic was exquisite. Even the character who played the classic suit and got drunk in the posh club looked good.
It was hot in the Arena of Navarra, the excitement growing to the rhythm of the good Antón’s songs and his constant toasts to the audience. People kept raising their beer in a plastic cup. We all vibrated to the sound of the Machirula letters and held our cell phones with our flashlights on like a large connected mass. Like a swarm of bees or a troop of worker ants watching their queen. There was no doubt the scene represented our fabulous social nature.
Did you know that only ecstasy beats alcohol when it comes to inducing a greater sense of sociability? “It fills you with energy and optimism as much as cocaine and makes you as loving as ecstasy,” David Nutt, author of How much do you drink?, defines some of the effects of alcohol. “We could say that alcohol is the perfect drug cocktail for socializing.” In fact, there is growing evidence that all societies throughout history have invented their own methods of making alcohol and using it in rituals or special occasions. On the other hand, it is the easiest drug to prepare, all you need is rotten fruit. Vulgar but effective.
As I’m sure you know, a lot of research has been done over the past few decades to study the harmful effects of alcohol, but not as much to study its purported benefits. One of these, which was not funded by industry, was conducted by a group of French researchers, and their findings highlighted six types of benefits that alcohol appeared to offer compared to other drugs. Some were more hedonistic in nature (we’re pleasure junkies!) and others had more to do with group cohesiveness or the benefits of use when it comes to alleviating ailments.
“Generally, people say the reason they drink is to have a good time with others,” adds Nutt. But how much time do we have fun? I don’t know about you, but when I drank I enjoyed the first half hour, then it got worse. Pebble, the famous smartwatch of yesteryear, launched a poll asking people to rate their happiness level and how active they had been in the past hour. Beverage received the highest score, followed by yoga, exercise, social relationships, meditation, food, and caffeine.
It’s not surprising, then, that the 11,800 people who packed the venue for the concert took some pleasure in seeing Tangana and sharing a drink with him. In fact, some research suggests that group drinking increases positive emotions to the point of euphoria. In this regard, and if we apply the statistics that analyze the prevalence of consumption in this country, 63% of the entire population consumed an alcoholic beverage. That number, in a different order – and adding to the general good vibes – makes 7,434 plastic cups, almost nothing.
“People like to drink while socializing, but they run the risk of drinking too much. And once we’ve used alcohol as an escape valve, this behavior eventually becomes integrated,” says the author. There’s no doubt we’ve all seen a co-worker go from being angry to crying or “I love you so much man” after multiple drinks (remember Big Brother?). “It may be because alcohol’s disinhibiting effects bring suppressed emotions to the surface.”
Touch! That was the key to my move. The need to vent, to connect with the other, not to be left out of the herd bliss, to let go and release all the stress that accumulates in my everyday life. Yes that was it. Nor do I want to ignore the pull that occurs when alcohol is presented as something glamorous and stimulating. Drinks in all colors, glasses in different shapes, attractive labels on the bottles, in short: competent product placement. When I got home after the concert, I checked the regulations on advertising and alcohol, and the downturn was huge, knowing that the new general audiovisual law that came into effect on July 8 took a small step backwards by allowing the return of hard liquor advertising on television. Incidentally, it has been banned since 1988 by the General Advertising Act.
As a final reminder for whoever it may affect (and in my role as a teetotaler or misfit), alcohol is behind more than 200 diseases and disorders, and a whopping three million people die each year as a result of its consumption. To make one of those analogies that we like so much, just over three million people live in our capital.
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