C. Tangana's latest tour proves it: alcohol unites almost as much as music

When I bought the tickets for the C. Tangana concert I couldn't imagine the pull I would feel.

A pull, for those more lay in the matter, is what we rehabilitated addicts call the desire to consume, the famous

.

How is it possible that it happened to me after fifteen years without tasting a drop of alcohol?

El Madrileño is on tour with an impressive show.

In addition to his songs, of which I am a devotee, the singer devised a staging that recreated the typical after-meal conversation in which a drink and chat are shared while generating a most attractive climate of camaraderie.

Tangana, like a good host, served his guests again and again different types of alcohol.

The lighting filtered behind the glass of the glasses and the bottles.

The entire aesthetic was exquisite.

Even the character who played the classic suit and posh club drunk looked good.

In the Navarra Arena it was hot, the excitement grew to the rhythm of the songs of the good Antón and his constant toasts with the public.

People raised their beer in a plastic cup over and over again.

We all vibrated to the sound of the

letters and held our cell phones with the flashlights on like a great connected mass.

Like a swarm of bees or a squad of worker ants watching her queen.

There was no doubt, the scene represented our social nature fabled.

Do you know that only ecstasy beats alcohol when it comes to generating a greater feeling of sociability?

"It fills you with energy and optimism as much as cocaine and makes you as affectionate as ecstasy", defines David Nutt, author of the book

some of the effects of alcohol.

"We could say that alcohol provides the perfect drug cocktail for socializing."

In fact, there is increasing evidence that all societies throughout history have invented their own methods of making alcohol and using it in rituals or special events.

On the other hand, it is the easiest drug to prepare, all you need is rotten fruit.

Vulgar, but effective.

In recent decades, as I'm sure you know, much research has been done to examine the harmful effects of alcohol, but not as much to examine its purported benefits.

One of them, which was not financed by the industry, was carried out by a group of French researchers and their results highlighted six types of benefits that alcohol seemed to provide compared to other drugs.

Some were of the hedonistic type (we are pleasure

!) and others had more to do with group cohesion, or with the advantages that consumption brings when it comes to relieving discomfort.

"In general, the reason people give for why they drink is that they 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 things deteriorated.

Pebble, the famous smartwatch of yesteryear, launched a survey in which he asked people to self-rate their level of happiness and to explain the activity they had done in the previous hour.

The drink was the one that got the highest score, followed by yoga, sports, social relationships, meditation, food and caffeine.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the 11,800 people who filled the venue for the concert experienced a certain pleasure in seeing and sharing a drink with Tangana.

In fact, some research suggests that group drinking amplifies positive emotions to the point of euphoria.

In this context, and if we apply the statistics that analyze the prevalence of consumption in this country, 63% of the entire public consumed an alcoholic beverage.

That figure, in another order of things -and in addition to the general good vibes-, results in 7,434 plastic cups, almost nothing.

“People like to drink while socializing, but they are at risk of overdrinking.

And once we have used alcohol as an escape valve, that behavior ends up being integrated”, says the author.

There is no doubt, we have all seen how a colleague has transformed after several drinks, going from angry to crying or "I love you so much, man" (remember Big Brother?).

"It may be because the disinhibiting effect of alcohol is allowing repressed emotions to surface."

!

_

That was the key to my pull.

The need to vent, to connect with the other, not to be left out of the happiness of the herd, to let myself go and release all the stress that I accumulate in my day to day.

Yes, that was it.

Although I also don't want to ignore the pull effect caused by seeing alcohol presented as something glamorous and stimulating.

Drinks of all colors, glasses of different shapes, attractive labels on the bottles, in short, a

most competent.

In fact, when I got home after the concert, I checked the regulations on advertising and alcohol and the downturn was tremendous knowing that the new General Audiovisual Law, which came into force on July 8, has taken a small step backwards by allowing return of advertising for high-proof alcoholic beverages on television.

Prohibited, by the way, since 1988 by the General Advertising Law.

As a final reminder to whom it may concern (and assuming my role as teetotaler or

): 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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