The Dominican singer-songwriter performs this Saturday in Barcelona, sharing a high-flying Latin night with Rubén Blades at Cruïlla, after launching the live album ‘Entre Mar y Palmeras’
Juan Luis Guerra returns to Barcelona and does so in an unprecedented setting, the Parc del Fòrum, as one of the demands of the Cruïlla festival, which will welcome him this Saturday, with his band, 4.40, to serve us his repertoire of tropical music with which to compensate us for the forced introspection of the pandemic biennium. The Dominican singer and songwriter, the circumstances of the covid have prompted him to reflect. “Of course it was a period of meditation and rethinking & rdquor ;, he explains, “of knowing how ephemeral and fragile man is when he only trusts his strength and knowing that at all times we need faith more than gold and silver & rdquor ;.
The author of ‘I hope it rains coffee’, the song that in 1989 projected him beyond his country, comes after releasing a live album, ‘Between sea and palm trees’, devised as a result of the proposal of the television network HBO Latino to bill a special program. Disc recorded on the idyllic Esmeralda beach, in Miches, Dominican Republic, without an audience due to health imperative. “But we play as if it were present & rdquor ;, says Juan Luis Guerra in an interview by email. The repertoire contains most of his hits, where a certain tropical relativism intersects with the occasional political criticism billed in other times, as in ‘Visa for a dream’, an allusion to the troubles of migrant life. “I continue to make songs with social content & rdquor ;, he indicates. “But my way of saying things has changed. I think that now I am more inclined towards songs that give encouragement, those that make your soul happy and dress you up for a party!”.
rhythm and mystique
The album ‘Para ti’ (2004) formalized that shift towards a friendly spirituality that Guerra sees as compatible with the rhythmic fiber of genres such as bachata, merengue and salsa. In the title song, he addressed the Lord, affirming: “There are no problems or illnesses (for you) / There are no divorces or drugs on the streets (for you) / There is no longer cancer or AIDS or evils (for you, and no, no, no, no) / There is no storm or calamity (for you) and you can do everything & rdquor ;.
How do you marry the corporeal and the mystical in your current artistic vision? “If we carefully read Psalm 150, we realize that praise is a great celebration & rdquor ;, he highlights. “He tells us about percussion, string and wind instruments, and he ends by telling us: let everything that breathes praise the Lord! As a Dominican, I believe that my most genuine form of praise to the Lord Jesus is a merengue & rdquor ;.
In your opinion, “If you put drums on a problem, at least you can dance it & rdquor ;. Also when terrible wars continue to punish the world? “The word tells us that Jesus is the author of our faith, in other words, the composer! The only true and genuine faith is the one we have in Him, not in men. Men change and Jesus is the same today, yesterday and forever & rdquor ;, estimates the musician, for whom it would be desirable “for the lyrics to bring hope and encouragement & rdquor ;, but, after all, “each one decides what he writes & rdquor ;.
room for everything
Juan Luis Guerra returns established as a benchmark for traditional Latin genres, an imaginary that for some time has endured, in the most popular orbit, the shock represented by reggaeton and Latin trap. There is no stylistic rivalry, he points out. “There is room for many different Latin genres. The main thing is to seek excellence in each one of them”.
Related news
Your country recently received a visit from Serrat on his farewell tour, which now intersects with his on this side of the Atlantic. “One of the best Spanish-speaking composers of all time & rdquor ;, she underlines. “We would have liked to have him on stage to continue learning from his songs and his smile, but everything has its time & rdquor ;. A reference as a female singer, as she is also Ruben Blades, with whom he will share the poster this Saturday at Cruïlla.
There, the influence is deeper if possible. “Rubén was the reason I got into salsa. The example to follow in my social songs & rdquor ;, indicates bluntly. “Excellent as a musician and impressive as a sonero, always innovating.” Will that breva fall and we will see them both together on stage? Guerra confesses that they have not talked about it. “But the simple fact of being on the same stage is already a privilege.”