Juliet Lasoborn in Boedo, with life experiences in Villa Luro and La Paternal, cultivator of a deep admiration for Barracas, found happiness residing in Salta with the love of her life.
Owner of a tango imprint and an unmistakable voice, her songs can also range through Latin American folklore, boleros, punk and cumbia, which shows the artistic diversity of a woman who is one of the most transcendent musical figures in the world. present.
Actress and singer, winner of a Gardel Award for “Best Tango Artist” for her album “Cabeza negra”, inspired by her bond with the prestigious director Lucrecia Martelobtained another Gardel for his collection thanks to “La caldera”, awarded Best Tango Album 2022.
After successful presentations at Cosquín Rock and Torcuato Tasso, Julieta Laso receives NOTICIAS at her home located in Villa Crespo. An oasis in the middle of bars, restaurants, cafes and busy outlet stores with various clothing offers.
News: Are these latest shows like a return to origin?
Juliet Laso: A year ago I sang again with the first musicians who accompanied me 15 years ago when I started. I always say that I was very helped by tango musicians, it all started in a place called Milonga Orsai, there I met the new breed of tango that was formed with artists who came from rock, there were several guys from Fernández Fierro, Palo Pandolfo , very beloved characters. There I sang for the first time and Julián Peralta, director of the Astillero group, immediately approached me and the following week I was already recording some songs with him and his orchestra. Everything happened very quickly. Think that I didn’t sing before, since I was very young I studied theater, I dedicated myself to acting, but they told me: “You have to sing tango, we will accompany you.” We went to the milongas and the bars without seeing a peso, of course. At that time we arrived at Tasso, then they called me from Fernández Fierro and my life changed a lot, I started to travel a lot. Then I left her to go live in Salta and that’s where my solo career started.
News: It easily adapts to going from folklore to tango. Does it come naturally to you to move through different styles?
Laso: Yes, it happens to me especially with popular music. Latin American folklore has lived with me since I was a child, the Peruvian waltz, the Cuban rumba, Mexican music… These are things that I sing all the time. What had not happened until now was that I recorded it and that’s why I called Masha Asenjo and Block Depresivo , they are very thick Chilean musicians, they seemed perfect to me to make the album.
News: In shows, does it help to have been an actress to stand on stage?
Laso: Yes, I use the tool of interpretation a lot, since I started with Fierro, because there are many musicians, they have four bandoneons and you have to fight (laughs).
News: Perhaps it is a prejudice that comes from another time, but it has always been said that tango is a sexist culture. Does that no longer exist today or was it difficult for you to enter?
Laso: It is still a topic, but Fernández Fierro made her own compositions or those of Palo Pandilfo, so the lyrics did not have sexist content. Maybe I sing tangos, which of course have their own things (laughs). It was a very nice moment when we began to get together and sing with other colleagues of the genre, women with whom we may not have been crossing paths, and something good came together. That world changed a little, but obviously there is a lot to do, some things were modified, but it is not to feel that the system changed either.
News: What do you enjoy more, recording an album or the moment of the show?
Laso: The live moment is what I enjoy most, definitely. I like recording, it excites me, but it makes me quite nervous. There’s nothing like playing live.
News: There are several actresses who sing, such as Julieta Díaz, Soledad Villamil or Rita Cortese. Does singing feel like something more appropriate than acting out texts written by others?
Laso: When you sing you also interpret other people’s texts. In my case, because there are also female singer-songwriters. I think there is a lot in common between an actress and a singer, it seems logical to me that it happens, there we have Tita Merello. It doesn’t always happen, but it is very likely to happen. I also find that singers are very much like actresses. There is a lot of communion between those two jobs.
News: You are now living in Salta, is life better there?
Laso: Yes, we had already decided to leave but the pandemic accelerated everything. It’s a much better life, I’m happy to be there. It gets a little complicated for me with work, which means I spend a lot of time in Buenos Aires, maybe more than I would like. But time in Salta is time gained. I live in the countryside, in a place called La Calderilla, 12 kilometers from Salta capital. The closest town we have is La Caldera, that’s why one of my albums is called that.
News: He is in a relationship with Lucrecia Martel who is from Salta. How was that adaptation? Because he started playing as a visitor…
Laso: In reality, I have a love for northern Argentina since I was very young, my parents took me there quite a bit and I always had a special connection that I do not have with the south. I have also always been a great lover of folklore and copla, so I have gone to Carnival many times, strong and important things happened to me there that marked me as a singer. But I never imagined that I would end up living in a place that I already loved before. I have put together a beautiful group of friends, so for me it is the best place. If you ask me now where I prefer to be, I will answer that without a doubt in Salta, with my four dogs Pila.
News: How long have you been in a relationship with Lucrecia? How did you meet?
Laso: We have been together for eight years, two very dear friends introduced us, it was here, in this house. It seems that the friends already thought that there could be a match, as they say now (laughs) and we were never separated again.
News: On the networks she is seen defending the Palestinian cause. Why has she taken such a firm stance?
Laso: I understand that we are experiencing a global tragedy, a genocide. I’d rather not have to talk about it all the time, but the silence is terrifying. There are other countries where the marches are massive, but this is not what is happening in Argentina where the silence of the media is total. In my 41 years I have never seen such terrifying and unacceptable images, so it’s like something I can’t help. It has to do with human dignity, we must ask for a ceasefire now. I really don’t understand the silence, not only from the media but also from society. I know that we are going through a very difficult time, but that cannot be a reason not to participate and ask for this genocide to come to an end. When it happened to us, it was important for other countries to report it, so you have to do the same thing, right?
News: Did you ever doubt going out with so much emphasis on the networks?
Laso: The thing is that if it had been talked about more it wouldn’t have come out with so much emphasis, but every day we get up in the morning and see a genocide in HD, so the sadness and despair it causes me is enormous. I don’t deny that at first it scared me, the violence it arouses and the things they say to you are harsh. But this year I had the joy of meeting Norita Cortiñas in a more personal way, I was able to visit her, chat. When I see her with her Palestinian scarf and speaking I say, look if I’m going to be afraid!
News: I read that he studied theater with Nora Moseinco, a great talent trainer
Laso: Yes, genius Nora. I had studied with a lot of directors, but I had always had a somewhat harsh feeling about what a theater class was, some experiences were not so kind and I wanted to go through a teacher who was like Nora, with enjoyment, play and joy. It was something very good and I would repeat it. Then she called me Toto Castiñeiras, a director, writer and actor whom I admire and with whom I had taken Clown classes when I was a girl, she proposed that I do a play called “Ojo de Pombero” with a beautiful cast. I wasn’t a leading man so I decided to act after a long time, I loved the text and I wasn’t wrong. It was a wonderful year, we were at the National Theater Festival, I won the Trinidad Guevara Award for Newcomer, it was all wonderful. I like to share with actors and actresses, it gives something quite different to music, it is another language that is used, it enriches me.
News: In “Pata de perra” he shares a song with Vicentico. How was that experience?
Laso: It was a dream come true, I was his lifelong admirer as a composer and singer, I have always followed his entire journey, so the fact that he has sung and recorded with me is a huge joy. That is the only unreleased song on the album, it is called “The Magician and Advertising.”
News: On your album there is a song called “I don’t regret anything”, do you identify it?
Laso: (Laughs) The truth is, yes, I was a little afraid of doing such an iconic Edith Piaf song, but I identified a lot with the lyrics, so it was a good idea from my producer, I’m happy with the result.
