Interview. Argentina, flamenco cantaora
“I already know what’s
in store for me and what I’m getting into”
Silvia Calado. Madrid, January 2010
Argentina
came to flamenco without introductions. She made her album
début and performing it on stages was what opened
the door for her. Three years have gone by since then, enough
time to return to the recording studio and capture what
she has experienced and learned. ‘Las minas de Egipto’
is the exotic title of this album, a verse from a soleá
by Rosalía de Triana. Tributes like that to historical
sources are combined on the disc with festive cantes and,
finally, fandangos de Huelva. All of it, to the sound of
guitars like those of Diego del Morao, Juan Parrilla and
José Quevedo, who repeats as producer and lead guitarist
for the Huelva-born cantaora.
How would you size up this first
stage of your career as a cantaora?
Something that stands out to me from the
first album to this one is that I have a little bit more
knowledge regarding my work. I’m more and more confident
on stage and I feel more mature regarding my work. The new
album is also mature, made calmly, unhurriedly. That’s
how I’d size up this record and how I feel right now.
It must have been a challenge to
present yourself by performing a record, without having
done accompaniment for baile, which is what usually happens…
I wanted to learn flamenco and put it into
practice; that’s to say, by singing. But Luismi -
manager and publisher - arrived one day and, as the two
of us are a group in which he advises me and I go with the
flow, he told me there was the chance to record an album.
Something not all young people have. I have to thank the
first album for having a place on the youth scene and the
places where I’ve been, which are important. That
disc has given me a great deal in that sense, although that
wasn’t my intention. What I wanted to do was learn
and learn, work and work.
You’ve opened a lot of doors
for yourself with ‘Argentina’ and you’ve
been in a lot of festivals…
When an artist is getting started, the
doors are normally closed and it’s a little hard to
open them. But little by little, with hope and demonstrating
your work, and trying to have greater quality than the whole,
people start to realize it. Word of mouth does a lot and
I’m grateful to every place I’ve been that I’ve
been given the chance. For example, being at the Mont de
Marsan Festival last year was something special.
How did you decide to make a second
album… with the market being the way it is?
The truth is that it was time for it. I
had some songs, some others in mind, and above all, traditional
cantes. And what I was really sure of was that there had
to be fandangos de Huelva on this album; people from there
always asked me for it. After that, I wanted to do a bit
of everything and remember people I study the most; for
example, Antonio Chacón. I didn’t want to do
just a malagueña by him or the media granaína,
but rather a mixture of everything. In the bulería
‘Entre Utrera y Jerez en Casa Vela’ I do lyrics
by Fernanda de Utrera and by La Paquera, a sort of encounter.
And in general, I’m really happy with the result,
really excited, more than with the previous album. I don’t
know if it’s because I already know what’s in
store for me and what I’m getting into. Above all,
what I feel like is singing it and performing it up on stage.
What role has José Quevedo
‘Bolita’ played?
Bolita has been a really important person
and together with Luismi, he’s the one who’s
guided me on this second disc. He wanted more time to be
able to make it mature, to be able to correct it if we made
mistakes. He wanted to have all the time in the world to
say what we liked and what we didn’t. He’s important
as a producer and as a guitarist on stage; he’s the
one who helps me when I get lost at a given moment. He has
very clear, very original ideas, and it’s important
to feel that freshness on an album.
And how were the songs selected?
I trust Bolita completely, and there were
certain songs he saw straight off as really mine. I went
with the flow. Sometimes he would bring me several songs
and I’d choose one which he thought was the least
suitable for me. He decided which one suited me the most.
The truth is that I listened to him; on the other album
the exact same thing happened to me. He sees it clearly
in my voice, in my way of singing and in my way of expressing.
What was your criteria for choosing
the guitarists?
The guitarists are nearly the same ones
from the previous album: Diego del Morao, Manuel Parrilla,
Eugenio Iglesias and José Luis Rodríguez.
We chose them according to the songs, for their personality
and their way of playing. And I think we hit the nail on
the head. Manuel Parrilla plays the soleá, as flamenco
as he is. Diego del Morao does a fresher, more modern song.
Eugenio is in the bulería, which was ideal for the
rhythm he has. And José Luis Rodríguez for
the fandangos, since he has all the air of my native land
and I really wanted him to be on an album of mine.
Besides guitar, there are various
instruments and choruses. How was the album colored?
There are two songs arranged by José
Mestre, where he stuck in brass, piano, violin, drums…
The truth is that I get a little lost there because I wasn’t
present. Bolita and I are happy with the result although
I don’t know, I’d say it’s maybe... too
modern for fans. I love it, I’m an open person and
I like all kinds of music and I’m proud of the result.
May each person have his say-so.
There’s even a track which
isn’t cante, but rather a song…
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“I’m
trying to be more versatile, opening myself up to other
things”
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‘Cada vez’, which is a song
by Bolita, was going to be por tangos, normal with its clapping,
but we gave it to José Mestre and he saw it from
another perspective. He gave it that change, like a ballad.
It’s also a different touch on the album, like the
lullaby. That makes it different from the previous one.
Do you feel comfortable in that
tessitura as a singer?
I think so; it’s enriching. We shouldn’t
be closed to ideas that contribute to you, respecting the
base. I’m trying to be more versatile, opening myself
up to other things.
You mentioned Chacón before,
but there’s another very clear and seldom-heard reference
in the soleá: Rosalía de Triana.
I wanted to attach importance to that soleá
and above all to her, to that cantaora who not everybody
is lucky enough to know because she left very little recorded.
To me, she’s a cantaora with an impressive timbre,
a really nice voice. Her way of expressing is impressive;
she doesn’t sound like La Niña de los Peines
or anyone else from her time… And thank God she left
something recorded and I thought those lyrics were very
original, very exotic and very different to typical flamenco
lyrics. I liked it to entitle the album. I wanted to recover
her like that and give her the importance she has.
There are other forgotten ones…
The truth is that when they ask, it seems
as if the same ones are always mentioned, but there are
many other somewhat more forgotten references, like Isabelita
de Jerez, who was also a really good cantaora. I’d
give importance to many who have it.
And through the lyrics you’ve
made a connection with the Mines of Río Tinto, a
location in the photos…
Ha ha ha. Having the title, one
night talking to a friend of ours about where to take the
photos, we thought of it. We wanted to play with the colors
that are there, with the images... We studied the territories
for some days beforehand and we liked it a lot. You really
have to see it in person, with violet, gold colors... and
it’s waste from the mine with the shapes made by water.
The stylism is unique; it has nothing
to do with typical flamenco…
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“Since
there aren’t really traditional cantes on it,
we might draw new fans”
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No. We wanted to break away from that idea
a little. When people see the album in the stores, they’re
not going to know if it’s a flamenco album or some
other kind of music. And maybe due to that intrigue they’ll
buy the disc and realize that it’s flamenco. Since
there aren’t really really traditional cantes on it,
we might draw new fans. If it were up to me, the whole world
would be flamenco and they’d love it and respect it.
Right now we young people have a different idea regarding
the outfits and those things, which I love, but I think
some modernity is needed.
It’s true that most of the
styles are lively rhythms. Why?
There’s an intention of freshness.
The alegría ‘Al aire de Cádiz’
captivated me from the moment I heard it and read the lyrics.
I like Cádiz a great deal; I’ve had the chance
to sing at the Falla. But I have to admit that I still haven’t
been to the Manteca. I think that with the selection of
styles, people are going to really enjoy it… it’s
a different way of understanding flamenco.
And you decided to self-produce
it. Is that the only way nowadays?
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“I
think that in the end, we’re all going to create
and produce our own albums”
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It is hard work, but it’s surpassed
by the excitement we had to bring out the album by ourselves
and the insistence of people who asked me for it. That scared
me, by the way… but since I’m happy with the
result, I don’t fear what they might say. I think
that in the end we’re all going to do what many of
us are doing, creating and producing our own albums; I cook
it up and I eat it. Nobody’s going to sell it better
than us, better than we live it and feel it ourselves…
In your previous interview with
Flamenco-world.com, you recognized that you didn’t
like being compared with such-and-such a cantaor. Have you
overcome that?
Yes, a little bit. It’s something
which people have highlighted, especially those from Huelva.
They now say that I’m not like Arcángel…
in some nuances, well yes, it’s logical. And they
say that I’m more mature, that my voice is more successful
and more mature. That’s what I want; to have experience,
to have knowledge, to know… and time, which is very
important, which is what tells us where we have to be at
every given moment. Right now, if you don’t get good
advice, you make mistakes. You go straight to what you like,
but that isn’t where you have to go if you want to
make a living at this. Where you have to go is to the old-timers
and when you aren’t a good fan, then you don’t
care. Little by little, I’ve become more and more
of an enthusiast, and studying is fundamental for me. And
even Enrique Morente must say that. Studying is logical.
You never stop learning; there’s always somebody who
can contribute to you. That’s why I go and see many
artists sing, in case they can contribute something to me,
some new lyrics…
Who do you usually go and see?
It depends. Today, for example, if I’d
been in Seville, I’d have gone to see La Susi. And
of the young people, I recently went to see David Palomar.
Of the latest albums I’ve bought, one is by David
Lagos, whom I love and even more so as a person. You learn
things from all of them; each one has his idea, his way
of investigating.
Is there collaboration between
you, like there is between bailaores?
I’m completely willing. I’d
love to work with other artists, but nothing has arisen
yet. I don’t know if it’s my fault for not saying
anything to anybody; I could take the first step. It might
also be because I’ve only been in this a short time;
I know there are artists who still don’t know me and
I know there are artists who I still don’t know. The
only one who’s asked me if I’d like to is Palomar
and the truth is that I’m really excited about it.
And what a good laugh you’re
going to have!
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