Mayte Martín
by Fátima Yráyzoz
(March, 2001)

This Catalonian woman can be defined in one word written in caps: ELEGANCE. Her directness is a true delight. Mayte knows what she wants and how she wants to say it. She opts for simplicity, distances herself from virtuosity, her idol is, and always will be "La niña de los Peines". At just 17 she was awarded the Lámpara Minera, just like that. For this Catalonian, flamenco doesn't belong to anyone, only to those who are given the gift, and she has shown that she is one of those.

For a while there we were worried you weren't going to record flamenco again, as you had stated that you weren't that crazy about it...

No, I never said that. I've always liked to sing boleros, but it's not true that I like flamenco less. This hiatus without recording hasn't meant that I left flamenco, but rather that I didn't have anything to say, that's all. I record when I feel I have something to say.

Mayte, when you sing there's absolute control and rationality. ¿How does spontaneity fit in with that?

I don't think you can do things without knowledge, I think that before going up on stage you have to have a clear idea of what you want to say. At least the structure.

Like Miguel Poveda, your cante is very pure, but you always have to deal with the prejudice of a sector of the public which doesn't understand that flamenco singers may conceiveably be neither Andalusian nor gypsy.

Flamenco isn't exclusive to any race, nor any place in particular. The thing is, in Andalusia there are many people who are accustomed to hearing flamenco and everyone thinks this is enough to be able to sing it. They're wrong. In order to sing well you have to have talent, and that hasn't got anything to do with whether or not you're gypsy, or where you happen to be from.

But Mayte, how did you get into flamenco cante in your hometown of Barcelona?

Well, I was listening to it since I was a little girl, like others, thanks to recordings. The first singer I heard was Juan Valderrama, and afterwards I began to find out about more people and to investigate.

In your record "Querencia" you sing a Vidalita, a fairly unusual style, and you dedicate it to Valderrama. Don't you think his name is underestimated in flamenco singing due to his career in a more popular vein?

Yes, I dedicated it to Juan. His name isn't as prestigious as it should be, which is ridiculous, because Valderrama has always been one great singer. Also, he's one of the few who has recorded an anthology with all the known flamenco forms. The problem is, people are very prejudiced when someone dares to be different...

When you get into serious cante, in the deepest styles I mean, what are you thinking about, and which do you prefer?

It all depends on the moment, I like them all. But I don't think about anything in particular. I'll tell you something else, flamenco music transports you, it opens something up and moves you, I just concentrate and go with the flow.

The bulería which opens the record, "Ten Cuidao" is adapted from a popular song.

It's from Rafael de León. In general, I like 'la copla', and all the versions there are of Rafael de León. But I really think that song is nice.

In this hermetic world of flamenco you have dared to trade in the polkadot dress for a jacket. Have you been criticized for this?

Well, I've had it all, sure, those prejudices about image exist, but most of that tends to fade away when they've heard me sing. What else can they do?

Your singing is reminiscent of the oldtimers. Who have you followed?

Well, I'll tell you the truth, and it's that I like very few people. The one I like most, and by a wide margin, living or dead, is without a doubt, La Niña de los Peines, she's the one I like best and the one I'll always like. There are times when you have to learn certain things and you discover them in one or another singer, but then I lose interest. Without a doubt, the only one who continues to hold my interest is Pastora, and also Caracol.

What's your opinion about the state of flamenco today?

It's hard to say, in addition to being an observer, I'm also involved in this. But I can tell you that in view of the conflicts one thing is clear: flamenco, if you do it in a traditional vein, if you present it naturally, you're communicating in a different way. For me it can never be the same, even though I wish it could, the esthetics are altered, the guitar doesn't sound the same either. But the most important thing is, it has to be good. The basis has nothing to do with the form. Nowadays, without a doubt, they're calling everything flamenco.

Do you think most of the young people sound like Camarón?

Yes, beyond any doubt. I think that thanks to him a lot of young people got involved in flamenco, but they've forgotten something very important, which is, the cante which went before. I've drunk from those sources, such as Pastora and Caracol.

Is too little importance being given to the verses?

There's this ridiculous urge to modernize, which I think is stupid, when you can't improve what we already have. That's why I go for verses that already exist, which are very pretty, classic. When something is beautiful and well done, it never goes out of style! To tell you the truth, I don't really understand the modern verses, I can't get what they're trying to say, no poetry, it doesn't do anything to me. I think simplicity is underrated, which is absurd.

Are you always searching for simplicity?

It's not exactly that I'm searching for it, but if it appears, of course I latch on to it. People are getting all balled up, and when you come down to it, the results don't seem worthwhile to me.

That simplicity, you transmit it in the production of the record.

It's what I like. It seems to me things have to be moving.

Do you record at one sitting?

No, you never do it at one go. It's impossible and absurd since you have a whole laboratory to make the most of it. If you want to take chances, there's always live performance! In the studio you have to take advantage to get the most out of yourself.

Do you think there's an obsession with technique which creates a vacuous dialog?

Yes, but perhaps it's because it's the only thing there can be. I think that people who are overly concerned with technique, it's because they've got nothing else to say. Not everyone has something to say. Deep down, when someone goes in for that stuff, it's because they haven't got anything to say.

If you could bring any cantaor back to life, who would it be?

Well, Pastora beyond any doubt. Caracol, but not at the same level as her. I don't think there's been any singer of her level, in every way; faculties, taste, rhythm, voice, transmission.

And from now on, are you going to stick with flamenco, or has this been a parenthesis in your career?

It's all part of me. The bolero record isn't a parenthesis, it's all Mayte Martín, in different ways, it's all me. They're different ways I have of expressing myself. I'm quite clear about what I'm going to do, but let one thing be clear, if the next record isn't flamenco, it's not that I've given it up. It's already in my head and nearly all the songs are worked out. They're ballads, it's not flamenco.

You continue talking about love.

Always, I'll never sing about anything weird like batteries or whatever...

Are you pleased with the praise your record has received from our readers?

Of course, naturally I like all commentaries, they're really good. I find them very interesting, and enjoy them very much. I give my all, and the greatest satisfaction is seeing that people appreciate it.

Lastly, what does 'duende' mean to you?

It's when you go up on stage and you feel it's all yours. It's something so magical that that's what duende is, that you're living it in that way. I never view a concert as work, I go to sing where I want, that's something I've been able to indulge in up to now.

By Fátima Yráyzoz
Translation: Estela Zatania