Interview with Rosario La Tremendita

DeFlamenco

«I create art out of emotional and vital necessity»

“As we blaze our path in life, we force our own destiny” says Rosario La Tremendita.  Perhaps that’s why her first record was titled “A Tiempo”.  Now the second one has been released called “Fatum”.  A fresh piece of work while at the same time complex, in which La Tremendita, reveals herself more and more to be a well-rounded artist who not only sings, but writes verses and music, and provides interesting concepts of sound.  A novel and brave work.

How long has this record been in the works?

Fatum began to materialize the moment I finished “A Tiempo”, my first recording.  Fatum is the conclusion of a journey lived over the last three years of my artistic, poetic and musical life.

It’s not a very common title in flamenco…Fatum…what does it mean?

A Tiempo reflected the creative moment, and I needed to express something different.  And that was when I started to search.  And in searching I stumbled upon the concept of La Rueda which came about because I’ve been producing an Iranian show for which I had to read a lot of poetry of Rumí, Hafe Shirazi…authors in whom I found a great deal of poetic similarity in concept and expression.  They spoke a great deal of wine, eternity, destiny and, oddly enough, for them, the wheel is destiny.  This concept inspired me a great deal when it came to making my record.  The idea of a “rueda” or “wheel” as a dynamic representation of destiny is my inspiration to reflect out loud with the material of my artistic expression: my music and my singing.  La Rueda is a symbol of strength and unity: when it clearly turns in one direction it generates inertia and growing energy.  That’s the guiding concept in my career.  Delving into the concept of the wheel I arrived at Fatum, which means “destiny”.  It comes from classic Roman mythology, and it was like the force that rules the universe.  I liked Fatum because it’s an original name that has never before been used in flamenco.

“The idea of a “rueda” or “wheel” as a dynamic representation of destiny is my inspiration to reflect out loud with the material of my artistic expression.”

Your promo material defines you as a flamenco singer-composer…

I would actually say I create art out of emotional and vital necessity, I suppose this leads me to delve more deeply, to feel the need to communicate, and in order to do this, I rely on everything that surrounds me and all the tools life has to offer, whether it’s through poetry, or my voice, an instrument…  I never give up when it comes to baring my soul and getting through to people.  I share my thoughts and experiences via art, it’s my therapy.

“Ser o parecer”… “Donde habita la ignorancia”… “Armas para no matar”…  Judging from the titles of your songs, you seem very committed.

In general, I consider myself a very committed person, true to my beliefs and with a very big interior struggle to grow, perhaps too idealistic at times.  I believe in having values, I believe in arms, but in arms that require a human being to overcome, to evolve, to tolerate, to respect, to love…  Each and every one of us, from within our own little world, can make a very big world.

We saw you this summer at the Jardines del Alcázar in Seville with the recital “Trazos” where you were already outlining some pieces from Fatum.  What did it feel like interpreting that new material in front of a live audience?  And how did they react?

Well, when you unveil a new project, you have to find the right emotional language for what you want to communicate, and that’s done via experimentation in each new performance.  There’s always a different feeling in a concert, and much more so if it’s a new project, and in public you are always expressing yourself from the point of emotion, from the heart and from your truth, always in a reciprocal dialogue.  Projects take shape through life, when you feel the need to explore new paths, when you enter into communication with other artists, other experiences, other disciplines.  In other words, when you live and feel the need to express yourself.

Tremendita never stops surprising us: we’ve also seen you accompany yourself on guitar…

My father put a guitar in my hands when I was 6, and I haven’t stopped playing it since.  I love the guitar, and that’s where everything comes from, it’s my creative tool.  I listen to a lot of guitar, and love guitarists.  Nevertheless, as I said before, in order to communicate I make use of all the tools I possibly can: voice, guitar, kalimba as on the last song on Fatum…

 “Armas Para no Matar” is your first single…tell us about it…

For me, Armas Para no Matar is my way of supporting anti-violence.  You can make very beautiful and interesting things with those sounds associated with destruction.  I think maybe through music and emotion, we can get more out of ourselves and out of others.  Like I say, I believe in arms, in arms that require a human being to overcome, to evolve, to tolerate, to respect, to love…

“Projects take shape through life, when you feel the need to explore new paths, when you enter into communication with other artists, other experiences, other disciplines.”

Are you thinking of another single?

De Triana al Cielo, these are tangos de Triana which says a lot about my roots and talks about my vision of Triana.  For me, tangos de Triana have deep roots, they sound tribal and earthy, a spontaneous untamed world.  I bring to my own world as far as a concept, but trying to show the essence.  Traditional verses and original ones of my own go side by side, an industrial universe of sound.

What’s the “cante del Centenil?

This is a creation of my own, inspired in granaína, media granaína, levante…  In other words, of the fandango family of cantes.  I try to feel the freedom and fly without prejudices, always from a stance of respect, tradition and the search for my truth.

Three guest artists: Diego Amador, José Ángel Carmona and Rocío Molina…what does each one bring to your musical world?

They have soul.  They have truth.  They have freedom, and understand art as a form of expression and as vital necessity.  They are three very different artists, and all three have enhanced Fatum, and have put their heart and soul into it.  They gave me their art and they gave me their hearts.  I couldn’t possibly be more grateful.  And if I were to try writing about each one, I probably wouldn’t have enough paper.  I admire them and I love them.

We found your dossier very interesting, and deduce that you’re interested in gastronomy.  Why?  What do like about it?

I love gastronomy, and I love to cook, I love a family gathering or with friends where the focus is a good dinner or a good lunch.  Cooking is art, it’s creativity, it’s emotion, feelings…  And it makes me happy, very happy.  Everyone around me says they enjoy watching me cook or trying things, just seeing my face.  It’s really my passion.

Other hobbies: is it true you always have a book on the night-table and another in your suitcase?

Yes, if it’s not for leisure reading it’s for work, but I’ve always got a book handy.

 “I consider myself a very committed person, true to my beliefs and with a very big interior struggle to grow”

What books have meant something special to you lately?

Well, now I’m reading the poetry of Anne Sexton, an American poet that a very generous person showed me…I was used to another type of poetry, and now I’m discovering an entire fascinating world right before my eyes.

What other cultural manifestations do you follow?

I love cinema, little by little I’m discovering painting, I like dance, I like and am interested in anything suggestive, that communicates something, something to me directly, that speaks to me and moves me…in that way it can only be enriching.

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