Telmary Diaz

Transcription

My name is Telmary. They call me Telmirelma de La Habana San. I consider myself a communicator more than anything... They call me a rapper. I actually consider myself a poet. Of the times, interactive, intuitive... A Mother... I'm Cuban, very Cuban. I feel and identify with my country, with my people, with my island. I think in recent years I've become even more Cuban than I was... That thing you have when you go outside of Cuba, you stick much more to your roots, to what you know. You identify more with your culture, with your identity. You can't live without love, no matter where in the World, without alienating yourself slightly. Life is too fast, too hectic. Too surreal To spend it all with your feet on the ground. I think it's impossible. I feel that I represent a suffering people, but instead of complaining they just dance. So, I make music for people to dance to. And to make them think, reason... to change their mind if I can I like writing things that anyone can relate to. That an old man can dance to and a little boy can understand. That's my goal, That's my challenge. "La mulata abusadora"... Well, "La mulata abusadora" is a project with Gilles Peterson for Havana Cultura. I was visiting Miami to do a concert. And I met Elaín [Morales] And, well, he's very creative... And we started writing the song. I already had the song and he thought of a chorus. And the idea came about: "Look at the mulato, with the Havana flow..." I write about what I see, my surroundings, my experience. The things people say on the street, their issues. Everything that seems funny and original. What goes on in Cuba doesn't happen anywhere else in the World. So...I try to carry this message, portray this message in my songs. I was on tour with Interactivo, a project I've been involved in since 2002. I was working with them... First I was a member of Free Hole Negro, that was my first band. It formed part of the Interactivo collective. It can be summed up as the most ecumenical space possible, where every idea is as important as the next. At the helm of the ship is Roberto Carcassés. It's a project which will keep recycling its artists, keep recycling its energy. I feel I'm one of the founders of this project. We've always been connected... In recent years I've dedicated myself to taking a small part of Cuba to every corner of the globe. Working between Toronto, New York...Miami, Cuba. Right now I'm finishing my second album, "Libre". It's a more personal record. The first record was broader. Bringing together many years' work. This one contains my more recent work. There are themes which got left aside, which I'll save for a third or fourth album. This record also has a bit of funk and a bit of jazz. A bit of hip hop... quite a bit of timba. It has it's techno, drum and bass which I made with a DJ in Brazil called Marcelino Galua. It has collaborations with Ferrer, Francis del Río...Tania, La Pantoja de Cuba. Kumar, Elian, Aldo de Los Aldeanos. Roberton de Van Van. I always like to mix Afro-Cuban music, the message of Afro-Cuban music. And the stuff of daily life here in my country. Mixing all of this together with a fusion, of music with which I can identify at that moment. I still have the same fresh spirit as ever, A spirit which characterises me as Cuban. My roots are Cuban... I'm Cuban, you understand? Nobody can take that away from me. Though I live where I choose. I'm not tied to any one genre. I have a flow... like the waves in the sea. Daugher of Yemayá, Daugher of Marilú. Mother of the family In love with life, with the Earth, with love. In love with my daughter, Samara, beautiful gitana. With so much to say, so much to do, so much to learn... Happy, so happy. That's the truth. I can't complain. Life is smiling at me and I'm smiling back.