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• Arts and Culture
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• Culture and Traditions
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• Personalities
• 02 / 02 / 2010

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Paulo begun his singing career in the early 1990s and quickly rose to become one of Cuba’s most popular singers, and one of the few who has remained atop the hit parade throughout his career.

Born and raised in the working class Havana neighborhood of Buena Vista, Paulo FG has always been a staunch promoter of the people and has repeatedly stated that his music comes out of his love for the people. He is most known for his modesty and the quality of his music that showcases his attention to detail and perfection.

On occasion of his new disc, JREB spoke with the ironman of Cuban pop music. Paulo FG talks about how he started to compose his own music at age 18.

“I wanted to write poetry, but I was more attracted to the lyrics sung by popular singers. One day, I was working as a roadie for a band, and I got up on stage and sung for the first time before an audience, improvising. And that was how I begun, because there was a bunch of musicians there and afterwards they came up and told me, ‘Hey, you’ve got what it takes to become a singer.’

I was studying clarinet at the Cervantes Music Conservatory; later I enrolled in the Caturla for evening classes. It was thanks to this link I had with music that I was able to avoid some of the early frustrations and difficulties in my life. And I discovered that this was what I wanted to do, it was very important for me.

The rest is history. After stints with several bands including Dan Den and Opus 13, Paulo became one of the central artists in what is considered one of the most vibrant and important musical stages in Cuba’s history, the explosion of timba in the 1990s —or salsa on steroids as it has been called—, recording one of the emblematic albums of the genre, Con la conciencia tranquila in 1997.

After reaching the top of Cuban dance music, Paulo has managed to succeed in the exceedingly difficult task of staying among the hit parade throughout the following decade. Paulo has managed this with his unique sound, updating his style with the latest musical trends on the island and from abroad.

Thanks in part to his authenticity, Paulo has also gained fans around the world, especially in Europe and Latin America, and has had a very successful last few years on the international market.

—It’s been a long wait for the new album, where has Paulo FG been?

—The music scene is an environment with great diversity where people turn to certain means that I agree with and others that I do not. I respect change, but I have well-defined guidelines and comply with my [musical] history, I owe a certain type of music to my followers who have made me who I am today.

I really try not to betray this, and if I were to follow certain passing patterns or trends I might be betraying my public, something that I refuse to do. So, I always take my time, whatever time necessary, to do my work and go over and change ideas to create infrastructures, trying to progress in certain trajectories of my artistic life.

One of my main focuses lately has been to strengthen or consolidate my career on the international stage, because the music scenario has changed a lot in the world. I always like to represent my people wherever I might be, represent Cuba through my music. I think I have won the love and respect of many people. If to remain in the spotlight I would have to betray this, well, I would stop being an artist or simply go back to playing music that I played before that is valued by my people.

—The popular codes and sayings represented in your lyrics have allowed you to establish a close relationship with the public. How do you achieve this?

—There is a very simple answer to that: the stage is a sacred place and the audience is my God. I have complete respect for the public and I try to enter into an almost spiritual communication with them. I get really upset when important elements of my work, because of external factors, don’t work how they are supposed to, because when you violate any of this you are not respecting your audience. I use the stage to try to communicate with the people and try to give them what they need.

—What do you think about the importance of being authentically Cuban to have international success?

—There are specific things that define us, certain instruments and musical sonorities; of course the key to gaining international success is being Cuban. When you look at Cuban music from a global perspective you see that it is not a copy of anything, but rather it incorporates things from the rest of the world while maintaining the seal that sets it apart. When you lose this context, you lose the base of what helps you be successful outside of Cuba. You may be talented and create good music, but whenever you lose that seal you lose your originality.

—There was a lot of speculation about the title of your new CD...

—I don’t like talking about what is going to happen —that is part of my personality—, because comments can come back at you like a boomerang. The other thing is having lots of pressure built on top of you, and negative energy can get to you just as easy as positive energy. This is why I always try to fool people, release some false information so that I can be left alone to work.

The name of the CD was the idea of some of the friends of the group, because they felt that name of one of the singles, Sin etiqueta (No label), was a good definition of me. The chorus goes like this, I wasn’t born in El Vedado, am not even the son of a musician, I was born close to Marianao and raised in Buena Vista.

I sing about love, to both men and women, I also sing about and to children and about everything that my people value; in reality, I sing for everyone and that is what keeps me afloat, I sing for those who have everything, and for those who have nothing.

—After so much time since your last CD, what do you expect from this disc?

—It has been more difficult for me to make an album today than it was during my earlier years. Obviously, a new broom sweeps well, but this is a body of work that adheres to a history and I think that it should at least meet expectations. And if possible, exceed them.

But I wonder about exceeding expectations about taking another step forward, another step...how many more steps can I take? Anyways, musically the people know what to expect from me more or less; my goal is to offer my people another album while at the same time to fulfill the demands of the current popular music.

Source: JR