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Interview with Estrella Morente,
cantaora:
"More than success, what matters to me
is that my work is respected"
Silvia Calado Olivo. La Unión, August 2003
Photos: Daniel Muñoz
The beautiful star shines brightly, seemingly unaware of the relentless
pursuit of cameramen and reporters. Everybody smiles in her presence, as if enchanted
by some mysterious spell. Estrella
Morente divides the few minutes of time she can spare during the soundcheck
to respond to a mixed bag of questions... current issues, her private life and,
fortunately, flamenco. The vocalist from Granada, daughter of Enrique Morente,
is ready to give her all to an audience which tonight will fill La Unión's
former market building to overflowing. For just as La Niña de los Peines
was in days gone by, Estrella is now a cantaora-cum-media figure, with astounding
popularity. Just two years have passed since she made her début, taking
the flamenco industry by storm with 'Mi cante y un poema' and 'Calle del aire',
though she confirms that respect is more important to her than success. Since
then she's had time to be a wife, a mother and a star; she's had time for reflection,
time to mature, and time to sow the seeds of a third disc, to be released at the
end of the year, a project exploring the relationship between classicism and 'Morentism'.
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Estrella Morente
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Are you working on a forthcoming album? How far advanced is the project?
Preparations for this third album are in full swing. Right now we're drawing
up an outline, sketching out the direction we want to go in. In general, as is
usually the case with me, the foundations will be classical flamenco, 'flamenco
jondo', but there's always room for surprises and new things… In any case
it'll be based around what I normally do at my shows, what I do all the time,
which is to sing flamenco and to truly feel like a cantaora. I'll use that as
a starting point and try to find the right directions for the third disc.
When is the release date planned for this project?
I want to get down to recording at the end of the summer and release the album
at Christmas, more or less.
What influences or inspirations are guiding you right now?
Wow! A lot I think. I think life is a matter of looking for inspiration everywhere,
in each moment, each sensation. I think it's really good to possess that inner
magic, to know how to fill your soul with something, because sadly there are a
lot of people who don't know how to see that. And I'm talking about simple things
like being at one with yourself, being able to enjoy nature, your family, your
friends, your music, your career... That's what really fills your soul, love and
affection.
How would you rate the period since the release of the two first albums?
It's been a quite natural, quite normal time. Well, I'm very young to have
made two albums. More than their success, what matters to me is that they're respected.
I approached both projects with respect and tried to be coherent, and that's how
my colleagues in the profession and my people see them too. I think it's fine
if someone wants to take time out or to have a short break to think again about
what it is you really want to do, to value the things you have, and to stop and
look at what's happening in your life. That's the only way to keep on enjoying
yourself, to keep on giving…
Out of curiosity, don't you think it's a little strange that the new wave
of cantaores are producing work which you might call neoclassical, while Enrique
Morente continues to be considered a paradigm of experimental flamenco?
It's odd... and all the more so when you look at the fact that the most classical
people around, those of us who depend on the love of classicism, are all descendents,
admirers and disciples of Enrique Morente. Arcángel, Miguel Poveda, Mayte
Martín - I refer to them because I'm totally sure - but there are others
too… and myself, we're crazy about Enrique
Morente.
Estrella Morente
revista@flamenco-world.com
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