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A YOUNG
AND WELL-TEMPERED VOICE
Fátima Yráyzoz
Her
name is joining the list of a new generation of privileged flamenco singers. All
of them are demonstrating that being young is not synonymous with lack of experience.
Such is the case of Marina Heredia, from Granada, daughter of the cantaor Jaime
"El Parrón". She is as wise as she is tall, something which adds
to the impact of her beauty.
This
gypsy girl had the honor of participating in the concert which was held in the
Isla of San Fernando in 2000 in honor of Camarón, when she was signed up
by the multinational Universal. "I would always have gone, no matter what,
because for me Camarón wasn't the only one, but he was a fundamental influence
in my learning" reveals Marina.
This
girl has a solid background. She was only thirteen when she started out, and she
dared to go into a recording studio to take part in a children's record made in
Paris. Just two years later she began to be the talk at flamenco cuadros, first
among dancers such as "La China", and later on with guitarists like
Miguel Angel Cortés. She sat in for Carmen Linares in one of the shows
of the Festival de Danza de Granada.
The
amazing thing is how in such a short time she has already made her mark in such
unaccustomed areas for flamenco singers: she collaborated with José María
Gallardo on the record "Maestranza", performing in rock festivals such
as El Espárrago and sang in the opera "Amore" of Mauricio Sotelo.
At
the age of 20, and being from the city of the Alhambra, she couldn't have any
better playmate and singing mate than Estrella Morente. "We sing together
whenever we can and we're feeling good" she tells me smiling. Just a few
weeks after the big splash made by her countrywoman Estrella, she offers up her
first work "Me duele me duele", under the direction of the producer
from Algeciras. Pepe de Lucía, and the technician Pepe Ortega who is owner
of the studio. After seven months of recording in the mountains of Cádiz,
Marina does justice to the extreme perfectionism of her producer: "For the
voice, Pepe is the biggest stickler in the world, nothing could sound off or he
would make me repeat the whole thing. But that doesn't mean that I've had plenty
of freedom in choosing the numbers, and putting forth ideas, and I've tried, at
all times, to leave my mark".
With
this work Marina wanted to pay tribute to someone who was very important for her,
the singer from Jerez, Luis de la Pica, to whom the bulerías is dedicated:
"In the final days before his death he was in my house and that made quite
an impression on me. I didn't know how to do it. By the same token, I think that
he continues to be apart from the mainstream. What better opportunity to honor
him than with my record".
And
in the same line of first-borns, it's interesting to note that the the ten numbers
which make up the record are the work of the young composer Luis Carrasco, son
of Niño Jero, who at 17 is author of the tangos "Me duele, Me duele",
as well as the ballads "Loca" and "Sueños imaginados".
The alegrías "Caí Alberti" are from the son of Pepe de
Lucía. A theme from Federico García Lorca closes the record which
includes the voices of Enrique Soto, Herminia and her daughter la Tana, and Nono,
a brother of Luis Carrasco, all with the playing of Cañizares.
Marina,
I know that you wanted Morente to collaborate on this work. Why didn't it work
out that way?
Well,
he had his hands too full with Estrella to get involved with me... if he had done
it he would have gone mad. But it's something I still have in mind.
Something
few people know is that you've sung opera in German.
Well,
it was a libretto proposed by Maurizio Sotelo, who I'd heard very good things
about. It was a fandango of Morente's which we put in German, and believe me,
it was really hard... they gave us a teacher and everything!
You've
also worked with some prestigious musicians like Howie B., who produces U2 among
others.
He
sent me a master and it was a saeta of Mairena's accompanied by him. I loved it
because it was true to the saeta, with only the accompaniment changed, and this
was what convinced me to take part.
And
with Elkie Brooks?
Well,
that was for the same recording company, they sent me a number which they said
was a hymn of black slaves. I identified with that because of the similarities
with the gypsies. And that became a siguiriya.
Your
voice, like that of Estrella and Arcángel, tends to be in the high range,
but perhaps you sound more gypsy than them. Do you think that's true?
Look,
that stuff about gypsy or non-gypsy, it doesn't make any sense to me in this day
and age. You're flamenco, you sing good or bad, you have a thinner or thicker
voice, it's not a question of race as far as I'm concerned. And I'll tell you
something else, the biggest gypsy in the world might sing so badly you wish someone
would gag him, so what are we supposed to do? Put up with him because he's a gypsy?
No. What you have to do is sing well. That's the kind of voice I have, and I like
the way I sound in the high tones better.
What
other kinds of music do you want to investigate?
I'd
like to record a ballad some day, a bolero or "canción española".
I love the lyrics, especially of the classics, Juanita Reina was too much, don't
you think?
You've
got two brothers. Has either of them followed in your footsteps?
Well,
I don't really know, perhaps the younger one is showing promise, he's nine years
old and he's dancing. He's got a good ear and he knows all my songs, which I like...
Is
flamenco a way of life?
To
a certain extent it is, but not one hundred percent. I never liked to study, and
it reached the point that I couldn't manage both things. And so far, thank god,
I haven't had to go back to studying. What I would like to do later on is learn
a little English.
Fátima
Yráyzoz
Translation: Estela Zatania.
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