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We continue here on Estudio Billboard with Emmanuel. I have a question that I forgot to ask you before. You were a bullfighter first and a singer later. You were attacked by a bull, right? That changed your life forever.

My knees, cartilage, ligaments, kneecap... everything tore... ...all of the ligaments... Everything. I had three surgeries. In three years I had three surgeries, and I still had this idea about wanting to be a bullfighter.

Did you dedicate yourself to writing a lot during those three years? The first albums were made up of songs mainly written by you.

I wrote a lot of poetry. I did a lot of rehab. I wrote songs and poetry. Everything looked bad because I didn't know what was going to happen with my life.

When was the moment when you said, "God gave me this other gift, too?" When did you come to that realization?

I used to sing all of the time. I was a bullfighter, but I used to carry my guitar around with me. It was always with me. We went to a friend's ranch where some people were getting together. They were my father's friends or my family's friends. Mr. Gabriel Alarcón was among them. He was the owner of El Heraldo. Guillermo Cañedo was there too. He worked on Televisa. Mr. Miguel Alemán were also there. I was always singing. They advised me to dedicate myself to singing. I wanted to be a bullfighter, but they insisted. The same thing always happened. They said, "Why do you want to be a bullfighter? Why are you so stubborn?" I had the surgeries, and the doctor told me I couldn't go back to bullfighting. So, I called those men. I said, "I'm ready to start singing." I thought it was that easy. They said, "Ok. You have to find a record company." I thought it would be easy. Mr. Pedro Vargas was my mentor. I threw a party with him at a bullfighter's house, and the director of a record company was invited. It was RCA back then. Mr. Pedro Vargas brought Guillermo Infante. So, I sang. I sang. I sang. He told me, "Come to my office and we'll sign the contract."

Just like that.

Just like that. So, I was recording an album in order to start a musical career. You can imagine how thrilled I was. I was asked before about what has been the most meaningful to me. That was meaningful.

Throughout your career, you have collaborated, and you have been on stage with many people. But I am going to ask about a collaboration that many people still remember. It was when you recorded a soda commercial with Tina Turner. It made history at that time because Tina Turner was there... next to Emmanuel.

At that time, Tina Turner was really...

She was at the height of her career, and she recorded with a Latin singer. Why?

I think that was the first time that it happened...

In history... I think.

That was the first time that something like that happened. That was when the different soda brands started making commercials with musicians. That didn't happen before. They started to do it, and I think Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson made some of those commercials.

Yes.

Later, we did this with Tina Turner, and it was a great experience. You already know how commercials are made. There was a huge stage, and it was a show. It was intended to resemble a show, but of course, it wasn't. Making all those people move was hard. The time went by, and it was difficult. Tina Turner finally stopped smiling. She had to say, "Ven al sabor." Then the brand was shown, and she said, "Ven al sabor." "Ven al sabor." "Ven al sabor." So, we were never going to be understood.

I don't want to run out of time. Let's talk about your foundation. You were asked previously on the show what you would advise young people to do, and I thought you were going to say something about the environment. That has been your cause for many years, and it has become a part of you, right?

Right now, young people are being taught how to respect the environment. They are compelled to do it. It is mandatory. Either we respect the environment or we will be lost. We have to respect what has been given to us... which is very beautiful. This is nature. And I live thanks to this... not to the fact that I sing. I live thanks to the fact that I nurture myself from nature. I live thanks to the fact that I breathe nature. Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Aztec, Maya and Inca communities called it Mother Nature. And they didn't know each other.

So, the idea is to teach people and raise awareness.

We do it through a dialogue like the one we just had. It is an act of love. If I see it as a factory, it will be over.

Sure. You have a new record with new versions of your old songs, and there are also some new ones. What do you say if we bring out the piano player and you sing a little something for us?

What do you want to hear?

Whatever you want.

We are going to play one song, but I am going to talk about another song before.

Tell me about the other one. Tell me about "La Chica de Humo."

The first song you think of is "La Chica de Humo."

Many people know "La Chica de Humo." It is a song made for dancing.

Yes.

Tell us about it.

A cool song.

Tell us the story behind "La Chica de Humo."

I was in Italy recording the album that includes "La Chica de Humo." Mauro Malavasi and I were sitting at the piano. Mauro Malavasi started playing some keys, and then we went out to eat. I asked, "What were you playing?" He said, "I was just playing." I replied, "Why don't we keep on playing?" I don't remember anything very well anymore. It was something like this... He said, "But... the piano wouldn't do it. Some brass would have to do it." He plays the trumpet very well. He was thinking about

Tapa parabara barara, piririra...

And he was playing it on the piano. That was how "La Chica de Humo" was born. We were playing with the piano. We went out to have coffee, and then we came back. The song was born then.

Why was it called that?

It talks about a girl who always gets away. You want to be with her, but she eludes you.

Is the song about a girl you saw that night at the coffee shop?

Everyone says that men elude women, but it is women who elude men.

I don't know, but...

Men are usually the ones to be cheated on.

I was going to ask, "Who cheats who?" I don't know.

She is la chica de humo. She is always on your mind, but you don't know where she is or where she lives.

¿Y yo qué sé dónde va, dónde vive? Y todo está mal, siempre es igual. ¿Y yo qué sé? Yo no soy detective, no la puedo seguir. La paso fatal. He is in love with her but she is la chica de humo. When he thinks he is about to get her... Me enamoro y se evapora pero nunca me la fumo a la chica...

That is how we explained that she is like fog.

The amazing thing is that the song is still relevant today. You can still identify with the same story.

It is still played in the clubs. It is a great song. You know? I always thank God because I had the chance to create those songs. They could have been given to the artist sitting next to me. If I had not heard "Detenedla Ya," it would have been given to the artist sitting next to me. It was nice to hear it first.

You stole it from him.

I was lucky enough to receive some songs that are very pretty... very pretty indeed.

Which pretty song are you going to sing now?

I don't know... "Todo se Derrumbó."

"Todo se Derrumbó"?

We are going to sing that one.

Really? That is my favorite.

Yo era feliz contigo vida mía, tú eras mi perro fiel, yo era tu guía, hasta que desperté de mi locura y pude comprender que me mentías. Yo era feliz contigo vida mía, Tú eras principio y fin de mi alegría, hasta que desperté de mi locura y pude comprender que me mentías. Todo se derrumbó dentro de mí, dentro de mí, hasta mi aliento ya me sabe a hiel, me sabe a hiel. Mira mi cuerpo cómo se quiebra, mira mis lágrimas cómo no cesan por ti.

Good! Thanks! We'll be back with more Estudio Billboard and the story behind Emmanuel. Stay tuned.

[clapping]

Sentirme vivo, sentirme vivo...

[clapping]

We are back on Estudio Billboard with Emmanuel. Think of the next segment as if you were in a bullring fighting against a bull. Just kidding! It's not that difficult. But I am going to ask you the Billboard Top 20. I ask a quick question, and you have to answer just as fast. No time for thinking. Like a reflex.

Like a joke I was told. You have to answer very quickly. When I finish doing this... ok?

Ok.

Ready? Is Mickey Mouse a he-cat or a she-cat?

A cat.

It's a mouse!

[laughing]

[clapping]

It's a good joke. It's a good joke.

I am going to answer more slowly. Don't you think I am going to answer too fast!

No? Ok. Queen or The Who?

The Who.

Wilma or Betty?

Betty.

Thalía or Paulina?

Wow... Both. Timbiriche.

Very good! Very good! What poster did you have in your room when you were a teenager?

It was full of posters and poetry. The walls were written all over.

What posters?

The Doors... The Who... some bullfighters. I also had some psychedelic posters... and two or three friends.

Good. Good. What do you keep in the drawer of your nightstand?

Letters... poems.

What is the strangest rumor you have heard about yourself?

I don't know.

What is the biggest lie you have ever told in an interview?

Everything I told you today.

Everything?

[laughing]

I'm going to tell you which one.

Which one?

When I got married, I did it secretly. The artist was not supposed to get married, right? Because you lose your fans.

Of course... your "sex appeal."

You lose your fans, and the record sales go down. So... You can imagine. It was a big problem. There was no wedding at all... no Disneyland. I went to an interview, and the journalist asked me, "You just got married, didn't you?" I was really upset because the judge's secretary had sold the story. We had married secretly, and it had been a sacrifice. I was very upset. A journalist asked me, "Did you get married?" I said, "No!" That is the biggest lie I have ever told.

That is a good lie.

And a big lie.

And a big lie. Describe your perfect night.

My perfect night would be to sleep soundly, of course. That would be a perfect night... probably after romance.

Two records you would take to a desert island.

I would take a record with complicated classical music and then something very simple.

What song makes you cry?

Maybe I would take an album by Serrat.

Ok.

The first one would be his album.

Ok. Good choice. What song makes you cry?

The song that says...

Mi mujer de tanto dar cosechas, mi mujer de derramarse entera...

Those lyrics made me shake.

What do you spend...? These questions are very fast.

My answers are very fast, as you can see.

But... They are very good. That is the problem. What do you spend your money on?

Mi mujer, se abrió como una rosa en primavera y haré su cuerpo yo por vez primera...

Listen, girls.

Y me bebí la luz de su mirada. You have to be deeply in love to be able to write that. Let's give it up for women!

Oh!

[clapping]

It's pretty. Isn't it?

It's beautiful. An easy question... Do you sleep with or without pajamas?

In the summer, without pajamas... and in winter, too.

[laughing]

He is torturing me. What do you spend your money on?

I think I spend it on records and clothes.

Your worst fault?

I'm not telling you.

Your best virtue?

You want me to tell you about everything. I'll tell you about my virtues but not about my faults. That's terrible. I can't tell you about defects. That's horrible.

Your best virtue.

I believe it is sensitivity.

Your most treasured possession?

I shouldn't tell. I don't see them as a possession, but I will mention my family.

What are you afraid of?

I have always been scared of loneliness. Loneliness is beautiful because you find yourself when you look for it. But...I'm afraid of loneliness when life or your situation leads you to it. That is the loneliness I am afraid of. I don't want that for me.

Something you always carry with you?

God.

Something you can't stand in a person?

Violence bugs me.

What do you do right before going on stage?

I talk to God.

Any good-luck charms.

I don't have any.

Favorite vice?

[laughing]

Since you are in a romantic mood... What is it that men will never understand about women?

I believe they have a different perception about almost everything... love... giving yourself to someone... pain... A different perception. And, well... I am a big fan of women. I will always be.

Let's talk about your new record, Retro. They are classic songs, as we mentioned before, but there are also two new songs. One was written by Fato, and the other one was written by you and your son.

With Alexander...

It is his debut as a singer. Tell us about it.

We created the album. It was recorded in the National Auditorium and in La Arena, Monterrey. He also sang in the show. You are going to see him if you buy the record and watch the DVD. There are many songs from my career. After that... there are two new songs. I wrote one of them with Alexander. It is called "Brilla la Mar." It is kind of Mediterranean. There is another beautiful song created by Fato. He is a Mexican composer. We are lucky to have him. He is a very intense man. He has devoted himself to music. He is very sensitive. He feels life, and he writes about many things. The song is called "La Vida Camina Sola." I hope people like it, and I hope this record brings beautiful memories to people.

We are running out of time. As a goodbye, we always like to listen to some music. Could you sing a couple of verses from one of your newest songs?

Voy a hacer una ronda por tu cumpleaños, un poema mil veces por año y así me entiendas cuanto te amo...

Voy a hacer una ronda por tu cumpleaños, un poema mil veces por año y así me entiendes cuánto te amo. Silbaré como silba un jilguero en el día, borraré todas tus pesadillas y en tu boca me refugiaré. Buscaré tierra nueva en el campo, le rezaré un santo al atardecer, nadaré mar adentro en tu milla y de una costilla te haré mi mujer. Han crecido en tu piel girasoles, de tu vientre nació mi motivo: sentirme vivo, sentirme vivo.

Thanks.

Thanks, Emmanuel. That was amazing!

[clapping]

Thanks for being here with us. We feel honored. And thanks to you for having shared with us this afternoon. See you next time.

[clapping]

THE END

Emmanuel in Estudio Billboard [1] [2]