Estrella Morente, flamenco cantaora. Interview

“I'm still not even a trace of what I want to be”

Silvia Calado. Madrid, October 2005
Translation: Joseph Kopec

Estrella Morente travels in time once more to continue on her way. She now visits La Niña de los Peines in the setting of the mythical Cante Jondo Contest held in Granada at the beginning of last century. Stemming from this reminiscence is ‘Estrella 1922’. And emanating from that show, “the conclusion of my career so far”, will be the artist's third record, midway between classicism and the present. Since the release date for that new album is set for next spring, in the meantime we'll have to settle for listening to her collaboration on the record ‘Morente sueña La Alhambra’. There Estrella, turned into a Nazari princess, also dreams... in the most wonderful place she ever could have imagined for her voice.

Estrella Morente (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

When is your long-awaited third album coming out?

I have the same sensation as with the first album: I can never find the right time to sit down and record. And among other things, because I'd love my father to direct it again, in this case, he's Enrique Morente with capital letters. It's hard for us to agree on dates. I've also spent this time getting myself ready and doing new things, like the show ‘Estrella 1922’. We spent a great deal of time sizing things up and making a series of calculations that are necessary to understand; if not, you go nuts. I'm anxious to have a new record out; people ask me about it a lot; both fans and those who simply feel like hearing new things. And the thing is that you can't lag behind. You've got to be competent and consistent at all times.

Is there a date, albeit approximate, to give to those who are waiting for it?

Yeah, I intend to bring out the album next spring. I've had to spend a great deal of this time taking care of my kids. It sounds like a joke but it's not. How long? Six months at least. I might surprise you sooner; it depends on the strength I have to work.

And will it stem from that show you're presenting at the Teatro Español (Spanish Theater)?

Of course, because this show is my cante, the conclusion of my career... so far. It's the conclusion of the few things I've learned along the way, the cantes I've been able to do, the roads I've leaned towards. This is the result so far. And there's no doubt that stemming from this project will be other sensations, other collaborations, other ways of performing...

Besides the traditional repertoire, you've stuck in other new pieces in the live shows. Does the album go along those lines?

Of course. If not, you get bored. Just because the cante is classic doesn't mean it has to be boring or monotonous. It can be fun, there can be special collaboration with someone who motivates you to do things more up-to-date. Now then, always from the most natural modernism. If you strive to do modern stuff, you're wrong; you make a mess of it. On the other hand, if you feed yourself naturally, an interesting mixture might come out. I think it's better not to force things.

And Pastora Pavón always there like a spotlight shining on you...

Who else?

What does La Niña de los Peines contribute to a cantaora in the year 2005?

From then to 2005... and from 2005 onwards. I think works like that of La Niña de los Peines can never be finished and can never stop influencing, reaching into the hearts and artistic mentalities of other creators. It's impossible. Her recorded work is magnificent; it's a shame to lose it.

Estrella Morente con Dolores la Porrona
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Do you sit down and study it?

Not study it. I'm at home, and I put it on. Just like I put on Alejandro Sanz or La Barbería del Sur or Frank Sinatra or Bob Marley, I put on Pastora. It's my everyday music; it's there, they're things that feed me. You don't get the roots out of that every morning when you put on the radio. You play it because you like it and that's all. And it turns out that a really interesting mixture of music comes out by the end of the morning.

Until springtime rolls around, your voice can be heard on the album ‘Morente sueña La Alhambra’. How did you feel singing in those Arab baths?

I've always dreamt of singing in those baths at La Alhambra, a place where your voice would come out great, broad... I haven't heard the quality of the echo at La Alhambra anywhere else. The echoes there pierce your soul; it's wonderful.

	Estrella Morente (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Some time ago Enrique Morente said your voice is the closest to a bird's that he's ever heard, but on this album you've even trilled...

Yeah, ha ha ha, like Heidi's bird. The truth is that it was a really funny experience, very witty. At the same time he taught me... to do a falsetto! A new technique for me.

How would you say you've evolved artistically from ‘Mi cante y un poema’ to this stop at Madrid's Spanish Theater?

I don't really know what the people at the Spanish Theater saw in me to schedule me four days in a row. It's a real luxury for me; they've put their trust in me so spontaneously and so naturally, having so much theater know-how behind them and with the quality shows that have been there. From my record to here... what more can I ask for if I'm still not even a trace of what I want to be?

Not even a trace?

It wouldn't be healthy on my part. It's better to think that we're nobody.

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