I t makes sense that a Uruguayan doctor turned singer would write a song that begins: “Long live science! Long live poetry!” Guitar y Vos (Guitar and You) is also the first track that Jorge Drexler performs this afternoon at a music industry event in the basement of Madrid’s Movistar arena. The second is El Otro Lado del Rio (The Other Side of the River), which he composed for the Che Guevara road movie The Motorcycle Diaries. Drexler was still largely unknown when it won the best original song Oscar in 2005, so was not invited to perform at the ceremony. In a classy act of defiance, he delivered a short a cappella version in lieu of an acceptance speech.

That’s how he sings it today too, solo under a spotlight on the stairs, before joining his band on stage. Backed by three drummers playing in the Afro-Uruguayan candombe style, Drexler turns a corporate lunchtime gig into a midnight block party.…