María Victoria Rodríguez: new album, a lot of work and a great voice!

I still "destornillo" with laughter when María Victoria talks about her rocker stage. Not even Merceditas Sosa, her mother, understood that "mess" that kept the neighbors of El Vedado awake at night. Today, with tight pants as before, she recognizes that those beginnings helped her to find her style in these almost forty years of career. Of course, family influences also contributed to his formation. For example, it is little known that his grandfather, Felo Sosa, from the Canary Islands (Spain), was the one who introduced country music in the family, and that in the 1940s, approximately, he created a trio with his daughters Hilda and Merceditas. The Sosa Trio - María Victoria tells me - came to perform on radio stations in Havana alongside poets Jesús Orta Ruiz and Justo Vega, among others. Of the three of them, Merceditas, "La Reina de las Tonadas", was the one who had the most sustained career.

Today, María Victoria is mostly known for her peasant music, but it is clear that she can sing whatever she wants. With that kind of voice, I don't say.

-You have said that the public has pigeonholed you into country music, is that really so?

-At the beginning, yes, and it was very difficult for me to impose myself with producers who developed another type of genre. Every time they listened to me they saw a singer of guajira music, of criollas. But many people also gave me opportunities to sing trova, sones, boleros and, on some occasions, ballads, songs, even rumba. When people began to know me better and saw in me a wider range, they began to see me as a more complete singer. The tuning fork opened up a bit and that favored me as an artist. Believe me, it's always a challenge, although I'm still seen as the guajira singer, which doesn't minimize me at all, on the contrary, I do it with great pride and prestige.

—It is not an easy genre either...

-Not at all! Not everyone can sing country music. Sometimes they look at it as something insignificant and it turns out that when other artists and musicians have come to "my territory", so to speak, they've had a little trouble doing it with dignity. (Laughs).

—But essentially, what happened to make them see you like this?

-I had the opportunity to make myself known very young, at the age of 19, thanks to Celina González and Reutilio, her son. Celina wanted to take me to the big stages where she was: Colombia, Mexico, Europe..., and I was very afraid because they associated me with her voice. They said that I imitated her, that I resembled her physically. Of course, very few have listened to my mother and those who have will notice the enormous resemblance. What about Celina and María Victoria? Well, look: Celina was a woman with an impressive interpretative character and a charisma that please. I always admired her for that; she also composed like a goddess, in addition to her simplicity and humility. All those things filled me in life, they had to do with me, I was nourished by that energy. Celina saw in me the possibility, as I was saying, to take me to all those places because I was already old, she wanted to leave someone to sing her works and she saw me at that moment as a continuator. Notice that I never say "heir". Then she became ill and suddenly Celina's voice could not be heard, unfortunately. There was a silence within the country music until after living seven years in Spain, I came and started to sing Celina's songs because she asked me to.

-Were you already religious before you met her?

-I was always religious, but I did not practice the Yoruba religion. In my house they were Catholics and my grandmothers were spiritualists.

-Did she influence your decision?

-No, not at all. That was a personal thing. Life problems that led me down that path, alone. I introduced the Yoruba religion in my house and the public has respected me. I have met people who have told me: "when you sing about religion I don't listen to you, but when you do guajira music, yes". And I answer them: "Don't worry: when you listen to me with Yoruba stuff, turn off the TV or the radio, and when I sing a bolero or a son that touches your soul, turn me on full volume". (Laughs). The important thing is to be a good person, my brother, no matter what religion you profess.

—I recently discovered a song of yours dedicated to Celia Cruz that was published 17 years ago. Was it distributed here in Cuba?

-No, he went straight to the United States. I have always admired Celia and I don't link art with politics. At some point I have had to sing political songs because there are themes that touch my soul and I interpret them, of course. But never thinking about any kind of opportunities, nor taking that position for something personal. María Victoria goes where her heart and principles take her.

Let them speak if they are going to speak is the new album by María Victoria Rodríguez, produced by the Cuban label BisMusic and totally different from what we have seen from her so far. In her notes for the album, musicologist Neris González states that the material "bets entirely on the defense of themes inscribed in the sonero-salsero codes approached from a contemporary perspective, with the added value of presenting its protagonist not only as a high-caliber interpreter, but also as the absolute author of each piece that integrates the phonogram".

González Bello highlights the work of producer José Manuel García and singer and composer Maykel Dinza, who also performed as orchestrator and interpreter, playing bass, piano and keyboards.

For María Victoria it is, quite simply, a gift that she gives herself, for several reasons:

"It's an opportunity to make my work known. The ten themes are of my authorship [he has composed more than 400 titles] and I don't want to prove anything to anyone. It is made for dancers. It has salsa, son, a mix with "merengón", something rare, but tasty. It is the sixth album with BisMusic and the fourth one I do with José Manuel García. He and I make a spectacular duo. Just by looking at each other, we know what we want. And I am also very grateful to Maikel Dinza because he dressed each song with elegance".

-Then, there is enough work....

-Fortunately, I can't complain. I thank God and all that he administers me because I am always doing something. I don't stop at home and they call me for a recording, a collaboration, a show. And all that, of course, motivates me.

-And after this album, what can we expect?

-I'm going to say it so that no one steals my idea. (Laughs). I have a project that consists of taking Silvio Rodriguez's songs to other sonorities. I hope you like it because I am going to do it with great admiration.

-I was told that your son also sings.....

-Both of them! My son, Julio César Vázquez Rodríguez is a dancer, choreographer, singer and composer. And my daughter, Ismary Álvarez Rodríguez is a performer and composer. They were a gift, I always wanted to have two. May God give them health, because they are extraordinary human beings. Julio César lives in Italy and there he is making his career with effort, but improving himself every day. He sends me the last song by WhatsApp so I can give him my opinion, and that's how we are. With Ismary you have already seen me on TV and she also accompanies me in some shows. She has an incredible talent. And my granddaughter also wanted to sing, I listened to her and told her no, to do something else (laugh).

Now it's our turn to listen to María Victoria's new album and talk, of course, talk all we want. Some may not forgive her this 180-degree turn, while others, on the other hand, will see that an artist with these vocal talents can do anything, if she sets her mind to it.