Gloria Estefan Interviews Ricky

Gloria Estefan Interviews Ricky

I enjoyed reading this again.
Hey, Latin lovers!(interview with singer Ricky Martin)(Interview)
Author/s: Gloria Estefan
Issue: June, 1999


GLORIA ESTEFAN: Ricky, when did you know you wanted to perform?

RICKY MARTIN: When I was six years old I said, "Dad, I want to be an artist." My Dad's a psychologist, my mother's an accountant, nobody in my family is in show business. He said, "What did you say, Kiki?" Because he calls me Kiki. "How can I help you?" he asked. He was not the typical father, And then, when I was twelve, I joined the band.

GE: That huge phenomenon Menudo.

RM: It was five years of discipline, Gloria. It was military.

BE: It had to be to do what you guys were doing.

RM: To get to where we got. In Menudo I'd see 250,000 people from the stage in Brazil, and days later there would be fifteen people watching us, and the manager would say, "You're going to perform like it's 250,000 people." You learn to appreciate. That's why each interview I do, each television program I appear on, it's going to be like it's the first one or the last one. That band definitely helped me keep my feet on the ground. In this business you have to be in touch with yourself because you can go crazy if you're not.

GE: You can't take everybody home with you. You've got to be alone and be happy that way.

RM: When you're up there in concert and you come down from that adrenaline, you have to be careful because it can be [makes whooshing sound] "boom" and it can be really painful when you hit the floor.

GE: That's why my family is so important to me, because when I get off stage I have them. What fulfills you?

RM: My family is also my balance. My mother pulls my ear every time she sees I need it. I left my house when I was twelve years old, so I could've been a crazy little kid.

GE: You could've ended up stuck-up, conceited, and very bitter.

RM: Let's be honest: I've had my ups and downs. And I'm very proud of them. Every step of the way.

GE: What's your favorite part of all this stuff that's happening?

RM: Being onstage. That adrenaline, it's amazing. Imagine all your senses are on. You're seeing people going crazy, dancing, and having fun with your music. That's your mission: to make them go crazy.

GE: That's the idea - you want to pull them out of themselves. Some of my wildest audiences were those I thought would be more controlled - in Germany, in Japan - and they were standing from the first song. To reach a culture and change their actions, their usual course of being, is a very powerful and exciting thing. When I watched your performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the Grammy Awards in February, I thought, There's nothing more exciting and enticing than somebody who's confident and enjoying what they do.

RM: I had a blast. I was a little anxious beforehand. I did my yoga and said to myself, "You know what, buddy, you've done this for twelve, fifteen years. Go out there and have fun." To start, Gloria, I wanted my performance to change stereotypes. It's a mission l guess we all have, and I just wanted to bring something refreshing, maybe something futuristic.

GE: Well, you sure did. I mean, your hips - come on, there's nothing sexier than a man who knows how to move.

RM: Thank you.

GE: Because men usually are so stiff.

RM: We Latinos have freedom in the blood. [laughs] Let's not be ashamed of it.

GE: Exactly. It was a thrill to give you that award. It reminded me of when Jon Secada gave me my first Grammy, after I performed one of the first songs in Spanish on the telecast. I know how hard you've worked and how many years it's taken. And we know it wasn't the performance [that won it for you] because people had voted by then. It's good music. Bottom line. What do you think we, as Hispanic musicians, have to offer to the world?

RM: When it comes to music and Latin America, we're so rich. Most people think that from the northern border of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, which is the southern tip of Argentina, it is all mariachi. But Caribbean is one sound, Argentinian is another. Latinos are influenced by all of it. So let's create fusion and present it to the world, so people will know there's a lot out there to get nourished by.

GE: I know and you know, because we're musicians, of the differences in the music. But even Hispanics may not be able to say, "This is from Argentina, this is merengue, this is salsa." But what difference does it make? What I've learned through the years is, ultimately, music is something you feel. You either like it or you don't. It doesn't matter what you call it, it doesn't matter where it's from. The language doesn't matter. It either touches you -

RM: - or it doesn't. This great Brazilian teacher of music told me that when Africans first came to America, they didn't all speak the same language, so they often expressed themselves through music. So, if there is a drum pounding in a song, you'll feel the African spirit expressing itself. It doesn't matter if you're from Sweden. from South Africa, from Australia, or from the Caribbean, it's going to be part of your body. You're going to dance.

GE: Exactly. As human beings, our very first medium for communication was drums. That was the first fax machine, the first telephone.

RM: When we are in the womb, we feel the beat of our mother's heart. That's how it started. [makes heartbeat sound]

GE: I love what's happening with you now because the more exposure given to Hispanic performers and the variety of our music, the better it's going to be for Latin music - and for the world. I think we have something fresh to offer. And you certainly exemplify that.

RM: We've got to thank you.

GE: No, no, no. There've been so many people before us, all the way back to Xavier Cugat, Desi Arnaz, Mongo Santamaria, Santana. Even David Byrne, with the collection of Cuban music that he did, Paul Simon, every artist who takes a risk and uses more of a world sound is great. I'm not a purist. Music is about sharing each other. And speaking of sharing each other, how do you feel about being such a sex symbol? Does it feel natural to you?

RM: Sex symbol. Sex symbol.

GE: Let's change the term, then. How do you feel about being so desired?

RM: When they say sex symbol, I get a little anxious. Sexuality and sensuality are very different. Sensuality is something you're born with.

GE: Besides, that's one of the stereotypes about Hispanics: We're hot stuff, man. And I just have to say to everyone that we are! [laughs]

RM: Oh, yes, we are.

GE: We can't help it. And it's great, man. As Latinos, it's a big part of our life. And the irony is that we don't talk about it because the Latin culture is so, Oh, we're not going to talk about sex! And even sensuality, which is also a big part of the Hispanic lifestyle - the way we love our children, we're very physical.

RM: We touch, we hug, we kiss, kiss, kiss.

GE: Men will kiss each other on the cheek. It's physical.

RM: If I walk into my father's house and I don't give him a hug, he'll say something.

GE: And we hug everybody. We kiss strangers goodbye.

RM: Unfortunately with the sexual thing in this business, it takes away credibility for some reason, Gloria. I'm not going to think about it. I'm just going to do my music.

GE: You don't have to think about it, honey. It's part of you. Enjoy it. Don't you enjoy it?

RM: I love it.

GE: You shouldn't be embarrassed. It's a great thing to feel good about your body, about who you are, about something you've worked so hard to do, about looking good up there. When you're a performer so many people in the audience want you - in whatever way they need to. I don't think it takes away. On the contrary, if you would've taken the sensuality out of your performance -

RM: - I would've been a block of ice up there.

GE: What keeps people young and what keeps us all hot and involved in life is that feeling of attraction - it doesn't have to be sexual.

RM: I don't think, Do I have to be sexy or not? I have fun, crack up, have a really good time, shake my body, that's it.

GE: But that's why people liked your Grammy performance, because it was honest. That's what made everyone go "Whoa!" You touched a primal point.

RM: But what I say about sexuality is, I leave it for my room and I lock the door.

GE: Well, that's everybody's [right to] privacy. But there's some of it you can share.

RM: I go back to my culture. It's something you don't talk about. At home you don't talk about it.

GE: We all have that curiosity, for juicy gossip. But we, especially as performers, have to keep something that's ours.

RM: Having to let go of our privacy creates some kind of block to our creative moments. We have to think about can I open myself, should I say that, shouldn't I, should I go and walk to the patio of my house, maybe they'll take a picture. . . .

GE: What things concern you as a performer? What goals do you have?

RM: It's a challenge you have every time you go onstage: to make people change their minds about what a culture could be. The first thing I might say is, "We're here to forget about who we are. Let's be free. Let's forget about problems in life and work and home." People ask me, "Who do you do music for?" I don't do music for guys, I don't do music for girls, I don't do music for grandmothers - I do music for people who enjoy music. And it's so good to be onstage and see the guy with the girlfriend, a bunch of guys alone, a bunch of girls alone, and even the grandmother singing your stuff.

I talk a little bit about everything in my music. I talk about love, I talk about consciousness, and I talk about AIDS. There is a song on [my last album] Vuelve that means "Thanks for thinking about me." It was written by Renato Russo, a great person and composer who died because of AIDS. He wrote this song right before he passed away. I have to do something to keep his music alive.

GE: You speak about consciousness. It's taken me a long time to figure out what I believe exactly. I was raised Catholic. How about you?

RM: I also grew up in a Catholic home. I was an altar boy for many years.

GE: I always wanted to he one. They never let us! RM' I had a real good time. I would ring the bell - that was the best part of it. Clang, clang, clang! The priest would look at me: "OK, enough is enough." I've also studied Judaism, and I've even studied the Church of Scientology. Right now I'm studying Hinduism and Buddhism. Something that really gives me a lot of comfort is that they are all in search of something. That something is God. And that God is light, serenity, peace, acceptance.

GE: You can call it what you will, but we all want that same thing.

RM: Let's write a song about it, Gloria.

GE: Yes! All the best songs are about real stuff. They're about the things that touch you deeply.

RM: What would you be doing if you were not a musician? I would be the most frustrated man.

GE: You'd be doing something else trying to become one.

RM: I'd be working at Burger King, knocking down doors, begging: "Can I sing? Let me sing."

GE: Exactly. I think we've talked enough. You get two Latinos talking and forget about it.

RM: [makes motormouth sound]

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