I’m very happy. He wanted a debate to be generated around the subject and he believed that it was a failure if it was not generated and did not create conversations. I think there is something there that stirs and resonates. Some see it as representing them and others see it as an attack, and it is good that ideas are opposed. Although a very extensive literature has been made of a song that what it really is is a claim and a dignity of the Baix Llobregat. And also a claim from me and from others who are in a situation like mine that we are also part of the Catalan culture. From then on, people have put things in my mouth that I haven’t said and that I’m not.
I wanted to wait until the song was a week old to do this interview. Why?
I wanted to give air and not say anything before people listened to it, judged… And not put my speech on the table so as not to condition the conversation. That people took the song as it was without any further explanation. Once the song came out and generated so many conversations and created so much controversy, I thought it would have to come out to give the speech a little depth.
Has anything surprised you about everything you have generated?
I was surprised that a policy of En Comú Podem recited it in Congress. It felt like I was living in a simulation. Also the very strong opinions, which have hurt me a little. ‘Enderrock’ says that I freely decide not to be part of the Catalan culture when I write in Spanish… These are somewhat strong opinions but they are legitimate. And I am also legitimated to take the opposite.
Has scratched and found wound.
I made this song because I think there is a sociopolitical sector that considers that I am not part of Catalan culture and that it takes away a part of my identity that I consider central. They take it away from me and they are telling me that I am not Catalan or that I am a second-class Catalan, as I say in the song. And, precisely, these articles are this, a way of telling me that I am not part of it. A part of the Baix Llobregat feels a bit like that. There are conflicting visions of what Catalonia is believed to be: there are those who think that Catalonia is one thing and deny a reality that is lived here; and I value it and I think it is also part of what the country is, of what Catalonia is. These two conflicting visions exist and it is good that they be debated.
Do you feel part of the Catalan culture?
One hundred percent. I represent a reality of the country whether I write in Catalan or in Spanish. I have always lived here, in Castelldefels, and I tell my reality. I want to be part of this culture and I would like to be considered part of it and to be given the same space that is given to me by the rest of the State or internationally, which I think is not the case. Hence my claim. I am very lucky because it has gone very, very well, but it is not just for me but for all the people who feel represented by the song’s discourse and who also have the right to feel part of the Catalan culture and a part of the country identity.
I represent a reality of the country whether I write in Catalan or in Spanish
Alizzz
Who does not want to be part of it?
There is a part of the country that considers that there is a Catalan culture pure and that the other realities of Catalonia that do not fit in with this discourse are not part of it. And not only are they not part of it, but they try to erase it, make it Spanish… They have told me that I am Catalanophobic, Nazi, lerrouxista… There is a part that believes that Catalan culture and Catalonia is something that in a reality like Baix Llobregat does not quite add up. And I believe that a country project must take it into account, sympathize with it and make it its own and part of it.
Since when do you have this feeling? Since your time as a producer?
I have had it for a long time. I as a producer was petando and in 4 years I had not done an interview in Catalan. And it wasn’t because he didn’t want to. I have always carried the flag of Castelldefels, Baix and Catalonia. And I felt a little bad not having any space at the media level here because I was not considered part of it in any way. And, now, it’s like impossible not to give myself a little space because I won 3 Grammys, I made ‘El Madrileño’, my album, Amaia’s… But yes, for a long time I was a bit lost at home and I felt bad .
I have always considered him a reserved person. Has it cost you to give this cry of rage?
I thought it over. It was more a vindication of the Baix Llobregat, which has always been a bit reviled and parodied, since I think that at an artistic level we have done some of the best things that have been done in the last 20 years at an artist level and it seemed like a good time to claim it. I liked what came out so much that I had little doubt that I had to publish it and face the controversies it might generate.
Is music in Spanish made in Catalonia Catalan culture?
The art that is made and that belongs to the Catalan culture is the one that shows a part of the Catalan culture, a part of the country, and it can be done in different languages. I also understand that you think that Catalan culture can only be in Catalan because it is an essentialist vision. I also believe that Catalan must be taken care of and must be very careful because it is a very minority language. It must be defended and I will always be there to defend it. But it’s not my fault that my mother tongue is Spanish. It is not a free decision, as some article said, I do not freely decide to write in Spanish, I carry it from the cradle. A very clear example is that of Morad, who describes his reality from Florida (Hospitalet). He talks about what is happening there and it is a very clear representation of one of Catalonia and of a Catalan culture, which you will like more or less, but it is there and represents it and I think it is also part of it.
The art that is made and that belongs to the Catalan culture is the one that shows a part of the country, and it can be done in different languages
Alizzz
It is his first song in Catalan. Will it have more travel in this language?
I have more songs done. I have found myself comfortable, although Spanish is my mother tongue and I live in a place where many people speak Spanish, I have related a lot in Catalan and on a personal level many things have happened to me in Catalan. And I want to tell them and they come out like this, although I may lose some connection with the people who listen to me in Spain, Mexico… But now that I have an impact, I like the idea that they listen to our language.
How does being from the outskirts of Barcelona, from Castelldefels, mark one?
It is part of my identity. When I make it my own, it empowers me and makes me be like an individual who is not part of Catalonia, Spain or Barcelona, but of Castelldefels, which seems more powerful to me.
Related news
Castelldefels has been a very stigmatized city in the media: the Neng de CastefaJenifer from Els Catarres… Did you have a clear idea of using them in the song?
They were two very well-known elements of pop culture, and I thought that when making a song primarily pop, taking these elements seemed like an easy way for people to empathize. I have also met Nengs of Castefa and it amused me. And the song by Els Catarres is three quarters of the same. But I am aware that they have contributed to stigmatizing the area. And I think it was also legitimate for me to turn it around and throw a shiver also.