La Tobala, flamenco cantaora. Interview

“Seeking personality in
flamenco is not having it”

Silvia Calado. Madrid, March 2008
Translation: Joseph Kopec

After coming out with seven albums, La Tobala is a novice. And the thing is that she’s premiering in classical cante. All the Sevillian cantaora needs is the guitar - and the production - of Pedro Sierra to re-encounter cante’s golden age on her new album, ‘Lenguaje puro’. She doesn’t just go back to the alboreá by El Gallina, the soleá-petenera by Pepe de la Matrona or the seguiriyas by Los Caganchos, but also returns to that old way of recording in one go. And she doesn’t do so to vindicate anything, but because she simply feels like it. Because preferences change with maturity. Because the freshness of flamenco is more in the live shows than on the records. Because she feels as mature as she does personal and free. So much so that she even erases the border between Extremadura and Portugal by singing, por tangos, “Ya no me apaixono mais”.

La Tobala (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

What differentiates ‘Lenguaje puro’ from your previous records?

It’s different and that’s demonstrated by the contents, because it’s a flamenco album, whereas the previous ones were flamenco-style albums. There were flamenco styles, but they couldn’t be catalogued as flamenco albums. There are albums out on the market that say they’re flamenco, but they aren’t. We must be clear on what we do and not deceive.

But have you felt at ease with what you’ve done up until now?

Of course. I’ve really felt at ease and they’re also moments. Now the time has come to make an album like this and I really felt like it. There are also times when you feel forced to do certain types of things, whereas this album is done with a lot of freedom; I’ve expressed myself the way I wanted to without any kind of bias. Maybe I should have recorded an album like this before, but I’m also glad I didn’t, since this was the right time of maturity.

What does this record offer?

I’ve reflected on the album what I’ve learned in the nearly twenty years I’ve been in the cante world. It’s not an album you can say has been prepared in so much time, but rather it captures everything I’ve experienced since I was a little girl listening to my mother sing. There are many little things I learned at home before ever getting up on stage. Many times things aren’t premeditated but rather they spring up at the right moment. The process has been to recover what one has learned over time, but also to prepare cantes which are perhaps not so much in use now like the caña or the mirabrás.

Is there any intention of warning that certain things are being lost?

In reality, I did it because I felt like it; it wasn’t with the intention of sounding the alarm. Those cantes aren’t going to be lost; they’re there thanks to the great maestros who have come before us. I did feel like it though, because, to put it somehow, they aren’t seen so much.

La Tobala and Pedro Sierra (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

What was the process like prior to making the album?

It’s all inspired in listening to the great flamenco cante maestros. From Chacón to Tomás Pavón, even Angelillo. And selecting what I like most by each of them.

And have you discovered anything in that search which has surprised you?

Everything. Whenever you listen to a record by the greats you discover something that surprises you. To highlight something which I hadn’t noticed before, for example, the way Angelillo does cantes de levante.

There are things by Los Caganchos...

	"Those cantes aren’t going to be lost; they’re there thanks to the great maestros who have come before us"

Yes, the seguiriya, heading towards Triana. There’s also the alboreá which, although it had been recorded by El Gallina, Fosforito, Antonio Mairena and some others, people are like afraid to record it; I don’t know why. The only legend I know about this cante is that it used to bring bad luck because when a father used to marry off a daughter, he used to have to spend a fortune. Bad luck is not knowing how to do it or not doing it. And I also felt like recording it because there were styles which are done differently in Extremadura and I wanted to give it an Extremadura accent. The alboreá is really rich music; it has a lot of tones.

There’s the soleá-petenera by Pepe de la Matrona...

It isn’t heard very often, either. And as the experts say, it’s a big cante. I think it’s worthwhile to approach flamenco to discover that there are many things which still aren’t worn-out or haven’t been brought out to light. Flamenco is now so big that it isn’t necessary to contribute anything new to it. It’s about doing a bit of research and taking it to your ground, since the way of singing that Pepe de la Matrona used to have is very different to the one I might have. It isn’t necessary to contribute anything new to it, just my personality; then it’s going to be different.

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