They are ten girls from different parts of Catalonia who play reggae, classic ska, and rocksteady. Five years ago, they were brought together by Joan Corrades square in the Bordeta neighborhood of Barcelona, to which they often return. They are Les Testarudes, a group formed in May 2022 by young people under thirty who have just presented their first album, Ai, Mare! at Ultra Local Records, the emblematic vinyl store in the Poblenou neighborhood. They are Judit Gisbert, guitar, Júlia Soler, trombonist, Sílvia Antón (keyboard), Jana Blanco (electric bass), Maria Antònia Gili (trumpet), Amaia Hermoso (alto sax), Cristina Miguel (tenor sax), Laia Perdeño (drums), Núria Pino (lead vocals and also a member of La Rauxa), Flor Paredes (sound technician), Berta Péres (lighting technician) and Dri Oriol (road manager). Most of them live in Barcelona and the group rehearses in various venues in the city.
Les Testarudes started when Núria Pino and a former member created a musical project five years ago with a clear objective: to bring Jamaican-rooted music to Catalonia, in reference to the militancy in the skinhead style. To begin, the group spread the word among students of the Liceu and ESMUC, where the first members studied music and, little by little, they expanded the band. “We jumped into the pool of friendship and music, because we didn’t know each other or the genre,” explain the musicians, both former ESMUC students.
Thus, in 2025 they released their first EP of six songs, La Prèvia. “Now we watch videos of the first rehearsals and say ‘oh my goodness’,” say Gisber and Soler, laughing. “There came a time when we were doing more concerts than rehearsals and we wanted to polish the details,” they add. You can listen to it here.
A countercultural group?
The name Les Testarudes is the Catalan version of the concept rude boy or rude girl, which in English means cheeky boy or girl and which, as the band points out, is used in Jamaican subculture. And what makes them cheeky or, even, countercultural, as some media have categorized them along with bands like Fetus and La Rauxa? On the one hand, that the group is made up only of women. In the middle of 2026, it probably shouldn't be surprising that there are groups made up only of girls, but unfortunately music is still a masculinized sector and that is why Les Testarudes still break stereotypes. "Our companions created Les Testarudes out of the need to occupy the musical space just like boys, without being consumers or their companions. It was a generalized need," they remark.
But, above all, what makes them feel part of some countercultural movement is the way they approach the group's day-to-day life from a political perspective, as some are members of the Sindicat de Músics Activistes de Catalunya. Soler, in this sense, is clear about the benefits of her militancy in the group: "It provides us with great tools for extra-musical issues. It is a consultation and network tool. I believe it makes us have a more collective vision of music, which is always experienced in a very individual way." Her colleague, Gisbert, who will soon join the union, shares this: "We are a very precarious sector and, if there is always so much complaint, I believe it must be channeled in some way," she reflects.
Upcoming performances
The group's political awareness has also led them to be selective when accepting performances. "We are not afraid to say no to concerts where we don't feel comfortable," they comment. As an example, they are clear that they will never perform at a macro festival: "We will not act as a Trojan horse at Cruïlla and no door will be closed to us for not doing so." On the contrary, they say that this allows them to remain in a niche where they feel very comfortable.
Since they released their album at the Paral·lel 62 venue in Poble-sec, Barcelona, last May, the band has not stopped performing. Until September they have concerts in Catalonia, Euskadi and Galicia and it is clear that they are dying to play. "We have been half a year without playing and, moreover, since many girls have joined this year, we want to hit the road with them," they conclude.
