Thursday the 15th, March. Whilst I was doing some everyday shopping, walking across the city centre at Santiago de Compostela, I ended up in front of the Dado Dadá's entrance checking out the concerts they had for that night; it came to me as a surprise when I saw that the singer Loli Nogueira, and the guitarist Paco Cerdeira would be performing in a couple of hours. Despite it was a little bit precipitated I decided to be there at 22.30 pm, photo and video cams on hands, to see what happen. And by the end, it turned out to be a tremendous and special night (which could have occurred to any of you, in case you decide to move your ass from the sofa, or stop hanging out at reggaeton's pubs).
Ten years ago, she came from Cacheiras to Compostela to study a degree on English Language. Music was already all what she could thought about, but still, and to please her family, she applied for the faculty; at least learning English would help her improve her American-style accent. Besides having different jobs non-related to music, she got her musical formation at the Escola Estudio with Leo Giannetto, was part of the Galician folk group called Nubeira and put her voice in eight of the nine tracks in the album Boleros & Jazz, composed by the Jose Nine Cuarteto, amongst other musical experiences. After having devoted half of her life to music, she went to this talent show called Tú sí que vales, and one of the 'juries' told her that if she wanted to sing professionally she should lose some weight. She didn't take it very well, because, beside other things, she's being singing as a professional for almost a decade, which tells us little in favour of this man's musical competence, and also as Loli said, her physical constitution helps her to sing better.
Imagine a dark shadow that still breaths
The concert began with a cover of Imagine and ended with the Galician song Negra Sombra [Dark Shadow]. You can enjoy the songs they played on the videos I uploaded, I kept some of them because some rude individuals were talking out loud during the performance, spoiling the melody. In those unedited tracks is one of the songs belonging to an album Loli and Paco are producing: Sleeping in the corridor. The background noise, plus the low quality of my rudimentary recording system, did not do justice to Loli's voice and Paco's guitar, so I didn't include the video of the track called Still Breathing. If they get enough money they might be able to publish their work. Anyone can participate of it. They are using the crowd funding through a website who gathers money in order to help musicians and artists as Loli and Paco.
Paco Cerdeira (Santiago de Compostela,
1976) migrated to Mexico with his family by the age of eight. There, he studied
Civil Engineering at the UPAEP. Now, he has been around,
back in Galicia, for almost a decade, and his Spanish barely sounds Mexican. He
plays the acoustic and the electric guitar in various groups: in the Mamá Cabra [Mum Goat] which does music for children in Galician,
he has been part of a well-known rock group called Zenzar,
he has participated and still participates in different musical projects, and
he is responsible for the digitalization and edition at the Archive of the
Oral Heritage’s Identity [APOI in Galician] at
the Galician’s People Museum [Museo do Pobo Galego]. “And I also repair unmanned-flight aircrafts” , he adds by the end of the conversation.
Panorama, respect, and hypocrisy
Talking about the pertinency,
simulated or not necessity, and increasingly growing presence of orchestras
such as Panorama, Paco considered
that they are an “audio-very-visual” spectacle, and that everyday becomes harder and harder to find pubs and clubs willing to
pay for a group with a lot of musicians in it, because it’s not affordable
for them.
And in those places and bars that decide
to go for good and in live music, sometimes, one has to turn his face, cough or frown at people who lack respect and
talk out loud during the concerts. This kind of situations doesn’t really
bother Loli who is used to sing in the street, but she admits that they are
different scenarios, so you expect people to pay more and less attention,
according to the venue. Anecdotally she tells how once, whilst they were doing
an educational concert for children, she felt “disgusted” when she saw a man
reading during the whole performance.
About her debut in television, she
noticed people treated her differently (in the bad way) after she argued with
the jury; she affirms, she did it expect to earn enough money to publish
her album; that there are good and bad people, but also tones of hypocrisy;
fiction bubbles where normal people is rare to be seen; and that Susan Boyle might
have her life settled, but she (Loli) doesn’t. At least her career got a little
boost. People recognize her in the street. When we were exiting the Dado Dadá two drunk guys came by and kneed in
front of her, begging for a song. Three in the morning, Loli, guitar at her
back, singing Adele’s Someone Like You,
with two brats at her feet, depicted a perfect picture of an unexpected and
enricher night.
Corollary
So many time entertaining visitants,
tourists and neighbours’ strolls, singing next to the Obradoiro’s square in
Santiago de Compostela, and she has to go to Madrid in order to be called by the
Galician Television. Now, after the show, a little bit more famous that she was
before, she will be back in the street, singing during the Eastern Break, at
that old Xelmirez’s Arc.
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