Interview with Marina Heredia

Her much-hyped debut recording “Me Duele, Me Duele” opened a space for the commercially oriented facet.  But in addition to that, there was a cantaora, a flamenco singer, and a good one at that.   Little attention was paid to her real ability, but the live performances were overwhelming.  Nearly ten years have had to go by sin then, so she could convince herself she knows how to sing soleá and record it as well.  That she can do one thing or the other, that this third recording is made up of the most orthodox flamenco forms.   Self-reflection has allowed her to polish up details for years and years.  But the wait has been worthwhile, because when Marina Heredia’s recitals convince even herself, the gift she brings with “Marina”, could easily win over everyone. 

You’ve made quite a thing about this record being the one which is most “you”.
It’s possible.  It’s a record that has everything I wanted to be there, just the way I wanted it and when I wanted it.  So yes, I couldn’t be more pleased.  It’s not going to be hard to do live presentations, and in that sense I’m also satisfied.  Because this is where I base myself.   Perhaps the tangos de Granada are a little different on stage, and here we’ve chosen something shorter, but the foundation of my cante was the basic philosophy in the making of “Marina”, and that’s what we recorded.

And what was the trouble before?
Nothing, it’s just there were other circumstances.  It’s not that I was necessarily conditioned by anyone in particular…I wasn’t ready to sing these forms and record them.  I felt squeamish about it.  In the previous record I began to do some of what I wanted, and signs of freedom could be seen, the urge to follow my own path.  And this goes one step further.

Bolita had something to do with it…
Yes, he knows my voice almost better than me, and he knew I wasn’t doing it badly.  But singing and recording serious cante was a personal challenge, something close to my heart.  He is very important for me, we’ve been together artistically for fifteen years, but he took care of other things.

Like what?
All kinds of large and small details, for example the order of the pieces, the choice of guitarists, bringing in Diego del Morao, Miguel Ochando for the malagueña…  He put my wishes into practice.   He’s my artistic alter ego.

I suppose you’ve been listening to Parrita in the car all your life.
I’m crazy about Parrita!!  I’ve been listening to him for twenty years, completely gone on him.  In the car and everywhere else.  He hasn’t been given his due.  I know all his songs, I’m always the first one in the shop to buy his new records.

Have you spoken to him?
We tried to do some things together, but it never happened.  So now, of all the songs I liked, which was a huge bunch, I chose this one.  “No me lo Creo” is very special for me.

Piece by piece you really delved into each form as far as varieties, verses…and also with an eye to tradition.
Tradition isn’t very fashionable right now, maybe I’m a little weird, but as long as I can pay the mortgage and my people are eating, that’s what I want to do.  The tangos of Albayzín are complex.  I chose specific verses, but in my normal tone, which is 5 “por medio” for tangos, it was very hard to do.  So we looked for Granada styles that could be done in my key.

The fandangos of Albayzín also have their own story.  Originally they were the fiestas in the Sacromonte caves, Frasquito updated them and made them into serious cante by slowing them down.  We’ve left them halfway between the two extremes.

The soleá seems to be the most imporant piece, artistically and emotionally.
It’s very hard to sing soleá.  And I’ve sung many, but mostly from listening to my father, who is a great singer of soleá, so I had it right at home, and I knew how difficult it was.  I have the habit of recording live everything I do, and then listening to it, thanks mostly to my sound technician who is a relative of mine, so I have that advantage.  Until I was convinced with the live recordings that I was capable of proper soleá, I didn’t record it.  I’m very self-doubting, and in this case even more so.  When I took charge of my soleá and my other cantes, that’s when I decided to record them, but I wasn’t going to put anything on a record until it was just the way I wanted.  And this soleá is a memory of the cante Camarón did so well, another of my all-time favorites…you could say it’s the centerpiece of the record.

But do Camarón and your father sing in a similar way?
Not at all, Camarón had that voice, that fine sweetness…and my father is more in the line of Indio Gitano, hoarse, the kind of singer who sounds flamenco as soon as he opens his mouth.

Well, the daughter turned out to be angelical, but with power.

As time goes by, I think I’m acquiring more subtlety and some things from my father.  My little boy says Grandpa sings like this, “aagggggg”, and his mother like this, “iiiiiiiiiiiii”, but I think I sound more like my father all the time.

As far as power, it might be because I’m a great admirer of Paquera.  The other day the guitarist said I put my hand in a certain way that Paquera used to do when she was deeply into what she was doing, at the end of the cantes…”you look exactly like Paquera!!!”

Paquera is also one of your favorites.
Some people say she didn’t have a varied repertoire, and other criticisms…as far as I’m concerned, I think she’s the most flamenco singer in history.  And the siguiriya on my record is a tribute to her, she was very strong.  Paquera, my father and Camarón.

You asked Farruquito for some alegrías.
I called him because I wanted alegrías and I knew he had some beautiful things.  I needed fresh cante but traditional.  He does nearly everything in his shows, and since we’re friends and have a good rapport, I asked him…after two weeks he sent me a CD with alegrías and I took more or less half of what he sent…the rest I kept for future use.

Malagueña with Miguel Ochando, bulerías, cante de Levante sung to the limits…
Miguel is the best for accompanying malagueñas.  Then there’s the bulerías “Entre Chinos”, dedicated to and inspired in El Chino.  He was a singer from Málaga who used to come to my house all the time, a very good friend of my father’s, another referential singer for me, and they would have incredible fiestas.  I remember seeing him in my house singing all night, and not repeating a single verse.  Not a one.  And I’m talking about nights when I would go to bed at 8 o’clock in the morning, my father’s rule.   I never dreamed I would sing his things some day, but I did know I loved that stuff.  And then, it’s so funny, at home they call me “La China”, because of my face…so, “Entre Chinos”.
There’s also “Encarnación”, which is mining cante.  It’s a tribute to Encarnación Fernández who is the gypsy singer who gave fame to all those styles.

Women like Encarnación and Paquera didn’t have it easy…

They had a much harder time than we do now, but we’ve made it, we’re here to stay and becoming more important every day.

Do you see people of your generation reaching old age singing flamenco?
Yes.  We’re flamenco now, and always will be.  Although we record rock and roll, or we get distracted, at the end of a concert we sing flamenco.  It’s who we are and where we come from.

But you don’t last long in this, records such as this one are the exception.
The thing is, I was one of the first of my generation to break out and do other things.  And now I’m going back, it’s the right thing to do.  In reality, others began from the foundations and are just now doing derivatives, while I did the opposite, I began at the top and now I’m putting the structure…doing the orthodox cante I hadn’t done before.
They’re different paths, but well-travelled.

So what’s wrong with flamenco that there’s so much back and forth?
It’s very hard to make a living from flamenco…from FLAMENCO.   And at the same time, it’s very easy to come into contact with other kinds of music, we like to experiment and people get impatient, they want everything fast, and this is a long-term commitment…it’s all those things.  The thing is, in Granada for example, it’s very difficult to program flamenco…we’ve got Los Veranos del Corral organized by Raúl Comba, and if we don’t watch out that’ll disappear.  Flamenco artists have to go right to theater box-offices to be programmed.  Young people attend flamenco events, but the institutions couldn’t care less about us.

Anything you long to do that you haven’t done?
Are you kidding?  If I were to tell you all the things I want to do…!  I’ve got tons of projects in mind, and I don’t reject anything.  For now, I need to tour with this record, it took a lot of time and work to make.  And enjoy doing it.  Then maybe I’ll do something more seasonal.  And more traditional cante, I still haven’t said everything I want to say about orthodox cante.

What does your boy do?  Sing, play guitar, dance…?
Well, for now he knows a lot of my songs, but what he likes most is bull-fighting.  I don’t know, he has both things at home to choose from.  He’s still very small, only six, we’ll see.

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