On the cover of the Manual de romería, Rodrigo Cuevas, in his beautiful appearance, naked, centers an oil-painted scene (by Javier Ruiz Pérez) with Goyaesque memories. A strictly “erotic-festive” composition is proposed. “That’s the exact definition!” laughs this Asturian singer, composer, entertainer, great provocateur? “Well, it’s a naive little playful provocation… It’s a nude that looks like a classical painting,” he justifies with a wry smile. Conversations with Cuevas often leave a trail of humorous digressions that detract from more serious matters and drama. This time, the tone of his new album Manual de romería matches this, replacing the complimented (but “introverted and dark”) Manual de Cortejo (2019) with a repertoire of his own and traditional like this. tracks that turned out to be “more cheerful, daytime and celebratory”.
While he partners with Raül Refree on that album, he shares production with Puerto Rican Eduardo Cabra Visitante, a member of Calle 13. “I wanted to take traditional Asturian music to a more electronic and danceable point.” “There are two reasons to sing in the world / you can sing to love or you can sing to freedom / I’m lucky that love always accompanies me / so I sing to rivers and mountains”, she sings elegantly, accompanied by guitar arpeggios and over a rhythm electronic on the subject of Allá arribita . For him, who was born in the city of Oviedo and moved to “towns” like the village of 15 people where he lived, whenever he had the opportunity, mountains and forests with “clean air” are “symbols of freedom”. currently in Conceyu de Piloña.
In the Manual de romería you can breathe a transparent song to nature and friendship, but you can also breathe meaningful observation: against the harassment of those who are different because of race, gender or religion (in Dime, the green bouquet) or the condemnation of the destruction of the environment (in Valse). “There are now a lot of eucalyptus plantations in Asturias to make cellulose pulp, which greatly degrades the soil and desertifies it,” explains Rodrigo Cuevas, “popular song cannot be flat, it always tries to pierce a little” and expresses a point of acidity or indentation.
He is accompanied by venerable voices hunting in the valleys; Like the voice of Nieves Rodríguez Cañón, he can be heard saying a sentence that makes you think: “I sing badly…” he says apologetically. “That’s what all the ladies think, they sing badly. Because until now, those who sang and played that instrument were not taken into consideration at all. The woman with the tambourine looked like someone making a joke. “They had this in mind,” she observes. “Entering this land must have been a shock to the Caribbean Visitor.” It was! We went to record in Zamora, Sanabria, in December and it was cold…” Cuevas is one of more than 4,200 signatories of the manifesto addressed to the Asturian authorities, along with many artists from the country and other origins, such as Rozalén and Rigoberta Bandini. “They have been demanding this since the beginning of democracy and every year they take to the streets to fight for it,” he points out. Víctor Manuel, whom Cuevas counts among his first influences, told this newspaper months ago that he did not see “a real social demand” from the authorities. “How shameful that you think that. “I can tell you that this is not a matter of demands, it is a matter of rights.”
Rodrigo Cuevas has become a popular figure, a generator of fiery passions. “There are many people I hate, my mother, but at the same time I feel very understood and loved. It makes me a little angry that the newspapers do not tone down their comments,” she says. She feels like a “star,” especially in Catalonia, she jokes. “It’s one of the most visited places. Maybe because I ‘speak català’ at concerts. She’ll be back in 2024 and will remind us that in addition to singing and creating music, she loves performing on stage and seducing the public. “I’m a true cabaret artist, I can’t help it. ”