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Miguel Poveda, Cantaor
Susanna
Huguet (2001)
You've been referred to as one of the most significant
and decisive voices of the flamenco panorama for the new century.
Doesn't that kind of evaluation imply a tremendous responsibility?
It's
a double-edged sword. This is a very big responsibility, you
always have to be on your toes, but I also like it, it makes
me happy that anyone would value my work in this way. The
thing is, when I started out, they put the pole very high,
it was too much because I still had a long way to go, which
is the road I've covered now, because it's been eight years
since then.
Photo:
Ros Ribas
How
does success hit you?
I
think success isn't just something for artists, you can also
be successful with this interview. What I get from my work
is personal satisfaction as well as disappointments. The concept
of success can be applied to many things.
Which of the international festivals holds the fondest
memory for you?
Three
or four years ago I was in Palestine, and I have a very good
memory of that. I was apprehensive when I went, because the
very day before leaving there had been an attack in the Jerusalem
market and the situation was a little tense. There were some
musicians who didn't want to go and I had to take only half
the group that had been planned. But once we got there they
treated us really great. Also, they have a very interesting
culture, you realize that flamenco has many roots in that
music. The performance was in a huge field, there were thirty
thousand people, almost all the Palestinians were out. The
audience's reaction was great, it was an unforgettable experience.
How do you think the people of these countries feel flamenco
where it's not a part of their tradition the way it is here?
In
those places the people go to hear music, independently of
the type of music it might be. They have a concept of flamenco
more as music than as a country's culture. One day they come
to see me, another they go to hear jazz, and the next it's
a rock concert. They're music lovers and they've heard good
things about flamenco.
How did the flamenco singing courses go that you did in
Denmark?
I
was only there once, for three days. It was a really good
experience because you realize that flamenco crosses boundaries
very quickly. All the men and women singers were Danish, with
a sense of rhythm that you wouldn't believe, because you just
can't imagine how they're capable of assimilating this. I
suppose it also has to do with the fact that more and more
they have greater access to flamenco, it reaches them more
easily that in earlier years.
In the courses I just tried to work the pronunciation, to
say things in a certain way, to teach them to fit the phrases
in, to sing differently when you're singing for a dancer or
when you sing alone, to distinguish the different flamenco
forms.
Do
you think that the flamenco nucleus of Barcelona is concentrated
in the Ciutat Vella?
I
think it's spread out. Of course, in the Ciutat Vella (old
town) they have the Festival de Flamenco every year, fortunately,
and each year it's more successful. Everyone congregates here,
and you can't conceive of holding the festival anywhere else
than the Ciutat Vella. But there is flamenco in many other
parts of Barcelona, but the thing is, in the Ciutat Vella,
there has always been a very strong cultural movement.
How do you recall your appearance in the 3rd edition of
the Festival de Flamenco of the Ciutat Vella in 1996?
I
remember I shared the bill with Chocolate. For me it was a
great challenge because he was a veteran, well-known and highly
respected in the flamenco world. I was a young kid, from Barcelona,
who happened to sing flamenco. It was very important because
it had to be good, above average, and it was very difficult.
But in the end, luckily, it all came out alright.
Tell me about your new record, Zagüán.
It
contains nine different cantes, for most of the record Juan
Gómez "Chicuelo" is playing, the maestro
Juan Habichuela was a contributor and a cantaor from Jerez
called Luis el Zambo. It took four months to record and I'm
very pleased. It's the best work I've done up to now, and
it's very personal.
Did you have a preconceived idea of what the record was
going to be like?
I
had an idea beforehand of how it was going to be, but afterwards
it changed. We put it together as we went along, with a lot
of improvisation. Yes, I had an idea, more or less, but it
changed after the first two or three days, because I realized
it wasn't the right moment to record what I had in mind in
the beginning, I didn't feel like doing it. I also had a lot
of advice from Luis Cabrera, of Barcelona's Taller de Músicos.
He helped me a great deal in choosing the repertoire. Also,
I had this feeling that I wanted to sing more serious things.
How do you select the pieces for a record?
In
this case this was the third recording, which isn't the same
as the first, where you have to prove yourself. Here, they
already know who you are. I try to do things not recorded
previously, following in the same line of traditional flamenco,
but trying to do other forms I never sang before, and above
all, be me, give more of myself.
Have you ever tried to write verses for flamenco?
I
write some verses, but then I don't like them so I don't sing
them. I always prefer the ones written by others. I like the
verses written by flamencos of fifty or sixty years ago, they
seem simpler, but stronger. They had a more powerful way of
dealing with matters of the heart, less superficial, and I
like that better. Now people don't write the same as before,
maybe because they don't suffer the same, I don't know.
Which of your three records would you recommend to someone
who is new to flamenco?
Zagüán,
beyond any doubt. Not because it's the newest, well, that
too. But because you evolve, you rise above what you have
done before and you feel right. I always try to make the following
work better than the previous. I make it harder and harder
for myself all the time and when I get it right, I recommend
it because it's my best.
Who would you like to share the bill with?
With
Paco de Lucía. I like recitals better than festivals,
with two singers. In a festival time is more limited, but
in a recital you can branch out, and the audience is all yours.
As far as dancers go, I'd like to work with Eva la Yerbabuena
one day, she and Belén Maya are the best there are.
Susanna
Huguet
Translation: Estela Zatania
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