root salad Rocio Marquez
She’s a flamenco voice to pay attention to. Bas Springer meets a young artist on the way up.
E
ven though she is only 28 years old, flamenco aficionados in Spain already speak about her with deep respect. Rocío Márquez is one of
today’s great flamenco talents and, according to experts, on the verge of a great career. With her exceptionally clear and flexible voice, Márquez is capable of expressing varied emotions, from intense sadness to overwhelming exuberance. Her impressive technique allows her to both whisper sensually and cry out with a great deal of control.
Rocío Márquez was born in 1985 in Huelva, home of the fandango. She taught singing at the Peña Flamenca in her home- town and improved her vocal skills in Seville, where she took a Master’s Music course at the Universidad Hispalense and Cante Flamenco at the La Fundación Cristi- na Heeren.
On her beautiful debut CD Claridad, released in 2012, Márquez demonstrates what she has to offer which is a great deal indeed. Whether fandago, tango, habanera or bueleria, in all these flamenco rhythms she makes a great impression with a perfect balance between emotion and technique. Her flawless vocals evoke so many emotions that sometimes it even causes tears to roll down the cheeks of one of her regular guitarists Alfredo Lagos, as they did last November at a concert at the Fira Mediterrania in the Catalan provincial town of Manresa.
How did it all come about?
“Everybody in my family sang the fan- dango, the traditional music of Huelva. At Christmas we – my grandmother, my moth- er, my aunt – all sang these songs together. The first song they recorded of mine was when I was two years old. When I was eight I went to the local flamenco school in Huelva. There I learned songs I didn’t learn at home. Every Saturday we came together in a class, where the teachers, parents and older people of Huelva, taught us about the different styles of fan- dango in Huelva. It turned out that each village has its own style of fandango. Many kids from this class are now famous like flamenco singer Argentina. I was only nine years old when I sang on stage for the first time.”
Can you describe what fandango is?
“All the music that originates from Huelva is fandango. It’s a very simple rhythm, that everybody can understand…” she explains it by tapping on the table and counts “One, two, three, one, two, three. It’s primarily folk music from Huelva but when you arrange it, it can become an art. We have a typical religious feast where the Virgin Mary is carried around and where all
these typical fandango songs can be heard. From a very early age I was brought up with this music.”
Márquez stays very close to the tradi- tion of flamenco.
“My favorite flamenco singers are La Niña de los Peines and Pepe Marchena. They were famous in the first part of 20th Century and sang traditional music. I have learned a lot from them and still do. When it comes to modern singers I like Enrique Morente. I don’t listen too much to my younger colleagues because there’s a risk of subconsciously imitating their style. I sometimes go to a concert of my younger colleagues but I don’t study it too much because I like to keep my own authenticity.”
A
“All artists are trying to express their emotions as much as possible. Sometimes it happens to me but not always. You can’t control these emotions. If you try to force it, it doesn’t work. When I had lessons from an older singer I asked her how I had to express my emotions. She replied that as singer you are not an ego but an instru- ment that passes on emotions. As a singer you have to serve the emotions. The moment you try to impress people with your ego, you use your brains and not your heart.”
sked about her texts and repertoire Márquez replies “I sing about the most extreme emotions like the loss of somebody or being desperate about something. But it can also be emotions of very deep joy. My repertoire consists of traditionals and own compositions. I also add music to existing poems. For instance, I am currently working with poems by Shakespeare and a few years ago I did a project with poems by Federico García Lopez. I also add music to religious texts. I was raised a Catholic, went to a school with nuns. Everybody in my family are devout Catholics, I am Catholic too, but I but not a practising one.”
Finally Rocío speaks about her dreams and goals: “By singing I start getting to know
myself better. I have a couple of regular guitarists and each one brings out differ- ent emotions in me. So singing is a very good way of getting to know yourself, it enriches my personality. Of course I’m happy with the positive reactions from critics and the audience. But for me the most important thing is that when I leave the stage, I’m happy with the energy I have invested. I want to leave the stage with a positive feeling. I myself am my own biggest critic.”
www.rociomarquez.com F 23 f
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