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Transcript

Ricardo Montaner

Hello! I'm Leila Cobo. Welcome to Estudio Billboard. As usual, we will have an entire hour to learn the story behind an artist and discover the creations of a great musician. I hope you have had the chance to watch your favorite singers on this show that is filled with music and conversation. You will also have the chance to participate with your questions on the show's website. Estudio Billboard starts now!

Our guest is one of the most famous singer-songwriters in the Spanish speaking world. Originally an Argentinean, he became a Venezuelan by choice. He has loved music ever since he was a child. His start as a singer was unusual. He was a drummer in a band where the singer got sick, and he replaced him. He believes music helped him overcome his anxiety and shyness. After 20 albums with more than 25 million copies sold, his voice is easily recognized by many generations. Let's learn a part of his story.

I was born in Buenos Aires, in Avellaneda. This is the town square where my sister Norma was covered with ants one afternoon. That is when we discovered that she was allergic to ants.

Happy birthday

Ay, mal de amor que das poquito y mucho guárdame el amor que te sobra para darte el resto de mi amor, ay, mal de amor que das poquito a poco guárdame el amor *que te sobra... *

I don't know if I could be satisfied in this world doing anything different from making music. Music is the defining attribute of my character. We are all where we are because of God's purpose in our life. God put us here. I know he sent me to make music and to say things, to say everything... and nothing.

Cuando a mi lado estás yo vuelo.

He met the Caracan movie maker Marlene Rodriguez at a movie studio. She became his wife, and she is also the director of all of his videos. Together, they run the foundation La Ventana de los Cielos which helps disabled children. In just a few minutes, we will learn about this artist who has managed to break with tradition and avoid stereotyping... Ricardo Montaner.

It happened naturally. I didn't want to do things that didn't come naturally to me, like acting. I would have gotten into trouble. Many people become famous just because of the situations they get into...

[clapping]

He was born Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner in the Avellaneda neighborhood of Argentina on September 8th. When he was 6, his father, Eduardo, took a job with a Venezuelan phone company, and the family moved to Maracaibo. At the beginning of his teenage years, he wrote his first song, "Noche de Primavera." The album titled Ricardo Montaner and the song "Tan Enamorado" sent him on to international stardom. From that moment on, his recordings have been the soundtrack of soap operas and movies... and his songs have been enjoyed by generations. His voice has instilled new interest in some of the world's greatest songs, all captured on an album under the same name. Let's give it up for Ricardo Montaner!

[clapping]

Hello.

How are you?

Welcome.

Don't you know? I'm very glad to be here with you.

Me, too.

I know you have worked hard as a journalist, and the fact that you are here today... I am sure that you know this is another great achievement in your long career as a journalist. I'm very happy for you.

Thanks, Ricardo. I am even happier for you because you have just finished recording. You have been traveling like crazy, and I made you wake up early just to sing.

You don't do that to a friend! Well, It wasn't that early. It was a good time.

Was it? I was told that you wake up at 6:30 in the morning to compose. Is that true or false?

Very early, yes. When I write songs, I wake up early. Instead of going to bed late, I prefer to wake up early.

Inspiration comes to you in the morning.

I prefer it... This is one of the stages in life. There was a time when I was very young, and I used to write at 2, 3, or 4 in the morning.

So, you are a professional writer... You have your own system for writing, a place and a time.

Yes, I believe in discipline. I also think there are inspirational moments when you can't say no. In the end, God sends you inspiration. You can't just give a time to God for when he should send you inspiration. I also think you should be organized.

So, you wake up at 6 in the morning, see how everyone gets ready for the day...

Yes.

You sit down... What happens when you don't have any ideas... a blank page?

I try to get started. If nothing comes, I start cooking... I don't know. I do something else. I don't stay there and just wait. It comes when it comes... Or if it doesn't come, it doesn't. There are times that I have written only half of a song. Some titles and phrases come to mind that I wrote but didn't use... I left them alone, waiting... and I found them again two years later.

Or ten years later.

Or ten years later. It happened to me with "La Cima del Cielo". I kept those words for years. The title came to my mind when I was in my car. I thought about the words "Llevarte a la cima del cielo". The next morning I woke up very early. I had my cup of coffee and milk. I looked down from my balcony. I used to live on the 14th floor. Marlene and I had just gotten married. From the 14th floor, I looked down, and I saw... It was the break of dawn, and I saw cars passing by. Well, I couldn't see them. I imagined that they were passing by because there was a very thick fog. That was when I thought I was on top of the sky. People don't know that the top of sky, the title of the song, actually means a balcony on the 14th floor. I wrote the song that morning.

The song was about taking a woman to the top of the sky.

Yes, well... Later, you have a creative moment, you take those words and turn them into a story.

It is too soon but you were talking about that song. You brought a piano player. Would you play something...?

Yes, yes. Sit over here. Don't your fingers hurt when it is this early? You play while I speak. Sure, sure. I will be...

Just one more thing before you...

Play one by "El Puma". Do you know?

What comes first... lyrics or music? Or both?

It depends. I am a man... I didn't want to play instruments because I was not good at them. The only instrument I play is the guitar. It has always been the only one for me. But as time passes by... I choose not to play it. Now, my guitar is used by my son Ricky, who is a great guitar player.

Later, I would like to talk more about your children because all of them are very musical. That is amazing.

Let's see. I haven't talked about this one. Let's see. How does it start?

I mean... I did this like out of the blue. Stay cool. Don't change... I mean, the channel. I wrote this song while thinking about... Do you remember the show "Ugly Betty"?

Yes.

Well, I wrote it for... Seriously! Seriously! Why are you laughing?

Bésame la boca con tu lágrima de risa y bésame la luna y tapa el sol con el pulgar y bésame despacio entre mi cuerpo y tu silueta y al mar más profundo bésame con tu humedad. Y bésame el susurro que me hiciste en el oído y besa el recorrido de mis manos a tu altar. Do you remember it or not? Con agua bendita de tu fuente, bésame toda la frente, que me bautiza y me bendice esa manera de besar. Besa mis campos y mis flores, con tus gotitas de colores, besa la lluvia que resbala en la ventana y besa mi vida y mis cenizas y me dirás que voy de prisa, besa mis días y mis noches, mis diluvios y mi cielo a pleno sol.

Good!

[clapping]

So, "Ugly Betty"... How was it created?

One night, for one of the first episodes of that show...

In Colombia?

In Colombia... Fernando Gaitán, the writer, asked me for a love song, and I wrote "Bésame" right away. I can recall exactly where I was sitting. It was one morning in my office in Caracas. I wasn't living in the United States yet. That is when I wrote "Bésame". Got it?

I got it. I got it. In fact, and please correct me if I am wrong, didn't you go there and perform it on the show?

Sure. I was invited to sing the song. It was the soundtrack of the original Betty and the original don Fernando. That's life! The program started to be made in different versions, in different countries. "Bésame" has always been the love song that brings the couple together. That is something I am proud of, right? When the last season ended... What was her name? It had Letty Padilla in it... Letty, in México. I also had to perform when they made up. It was the love song for the version with Letty. I also sang it when Letty and don Fernando were getting married.

I know it hasn't been done on purpose, but... Do you think there is something in the songs that you compose about universal topics, like the soap opera soundtracks about love?

Yes, very likely. When there was... The first time that a song was written specifically for a soap opera, a trend was started. I can say that I was one of the first people to do that. It was around the end of the '80s, maybe in '89 or '88...

What did you think the first time you were asked to do that? Did you think in the beginning, "Bah! It's just a soap opera?" Or was it, "Wow! This could be good!"

The thing was... I had this idea about being famous. Being famous meant for me to have a theme song at the end of a soap opera. Then one day, when I was recording my second album, I was officially asked to do my first theme song for a soap opera. The first song I wrote was "Tan Enamorados". I wrote it for a soap opera that I was an actor in. It was called "Niña Bonita". I only acted in it because I wanted to kiss the main character.

Was she pretty? Or did she look like Ugly Betty?

It was Rudy Rodríguez. She was very pretty. Rudy is still very pretty. The role I was given had nothing to do with her.

[laughing]

Is that why you abandoned acting?

I left the soap opera because the writer wasn't true to his word. I told him that he had promised me something else.

At that time, you could have started two careers... one in acting and one in music. You didn't, but many other artists have.

Yes.

Why?

I don't believe I am an actor. I mean, I am not able to say, "Wow! I'm a really good actor!"

So, despite wanting to be famous, you said...

Right. I didn't do it just because I wanted to be famous. I wasn't overly ambitious. At least not to a point that I would do anything just to be famous. There are many people who are like that.

Yes?

I used to say I wanted to be famous because of what I was good at. That meant writing songs and singing. And, well... I had the chance to do it. I didn't have to do things that didn't come naturally to me, like acting or getting into trouble. There are many people who become situations they get into.

Because they are famous. We have to take a break. But when we come back, we will continue to learn more about Ricardo Montaner's life. Stay tuned.

[clapping]

Más allá de la vida, yo te juro que arriba te amaré más.

[clapping]

We continue speaking with Ricardo Montaner. Honestly, I think you have one of the most beautiful, distinct, and emotional voices in all of Latin pop. But, you used to be a drummer!

I was originally a drummer.

How can you be a drummer? First of all, Why were you a drummer?

Because of my nose. I mean it. I had a huge nose. I had surgery in 1980.

Liar!

Seriously! I'm telling the truth. It was like this... I didn't have a handsome Grecian profile. My nose looked like a man with a hunched over back. I felt really bad about it. And, to top it all off, I was farsighted. I could barely see.

Thanks. I was going to ask what that means.

Farsighted is the opposite of nearsighted. I had a moustache... It was huge! A huge moustache. It fell over my lips. I could even bite it.

I hope we can find a picture of that, and we can all see it.

I'm begging you, please don't show it. Do it for our friendship, please, if you find it. I started to play the drums when I turned 13. It was the first instrument... the second instrument my father gave me as a present.

What was the first one?

The first one was a guitar. He bought me a requinto, a guitar, for Epiphany. Later, when I was 10, he gave me the drums. I had my first rock band when I was 13, and I used to sing while hiding behind the cymbals.

So, when you were 13, despite the glasses... and the nose that you said you had... which I would have to see... and the hair, Did you dream about singing? Was it what you wanted to do?

I have always had it in my heart.

Do you still remember those days, Ricardo? Is there anything stuck in your mind about that time in your music career?

When I was 13, I had been living in Venezuela for five years. My father bought the first drums on credit. It was a small Yamaha drum set. Years later, someone stole it from me when I was leaving a concert.

Oh! How easy was the transition from a drummer to lead singer?

When my career started, I still played the drums. I used to perform with the drums out in front, and the musicians were behind me.

Just like Tito Puente.

Well, in my case, it was just the opposite. I can't compare the two, of course, because Tito Puente is a master percussionist. I used to play the drums, and I was out in front. I was very uncomfortable. During church, when I played with my rock band... I used to play at church... One day, the lead singer got sick. That was the first time I had to sing in front of an audience. That was the first time I got to see the audience smile when someone was singing. For the first time, I noticed that someone was looking at me while I was singing. That was one of the most overwhelming experiences for me. Even today, I can't get that picture out of my mind... the faces of the people... and the church boys there, under the small stage we had in the church backyard...

How did you get your first contract with a record label?

I first started recording with an Italian-Venezuelan producer who recorded my first 45 RPM albums. There were two songs, one on side A, another on side B. It was only played in Maracaibo.

Do you remember the songs?

I recorded "Júrame" by María Grever. I recorded some songs written by myself and others from different Venezuelan bands. One day I was singing in Mérida city, in Mérida's bullring. I was performing for free. I remember I offered to sing for free because I knew that some very important executives from a record company were going to be there. Two weeks before, my 45 RPM record started being played. I had taken it to some radio stations. By that time, the people in Mérida already knew the songs. I went there, and I sang in Mérida's bullring. When I started to sing, everyone was singing along. The lead singer in that performance had a nervous breakdown because he was going to perform for 17,000 people, and he was very shy. Anyway, I kept those people entertained the entire time.

Two hours.

17,000... Not two hours... It was one hour and two songs.

Yes.

I sang it backwards and forwards... on the piano, like a merengue. I mean, I sang it with every possible rhythm.

When you are on stage, you like talking to people. It is not a show where you only stand up and sing. It is almost like a visit with a friend.

I believe in dialog. I believe in communication with the audience. I also believe that the person who goes there and buys a ticket just to hear me sing can buy the CD instead. I believe when people go to a show, they go to see something different.

All of this time, you have kept your music fresh. You are still played on many radio stations. Why?

I don't know, and I haven't even worried about finding the answer to that question. But I believe... I find it remarkable... what you just said. You already know how much I love God and how connected I am with him, right? I thank him greatly for everything he has given me. He has given me this opportunity today. Twenty-something years... after traveling all over the continent,... people like you still want to have an interview with me. That is very important to me.

Well,... You give back with all the social work you do. We are going to be talking about that in the next segment. I am being told there are some questions from our audience right now.

Woman: I have the next question. Has there been anything in your life that made you think about retiring from the music world?

No. I don't believe I have an excuse or a reason to do that. Unless there is something I don't know about, right? There isn't a reason for me to retire from something I consider a gift.

Was there ever a time when you said, "This isn't going anywhere."? Any bad moments when you had doubts?

Yes, yes. I was twenty-something, and I had given up my studies to become a journalist at Zulia University.

You were a colleague.

Well, I was going to be one. I didn't finish. There was as point, after 4 or 5 years, going around knocking on different doors without getting results... I thought more than once about setting a deadline, say... December, for example. I thought, "If it's December, and I haven't gotten a recording contract, I will quit. I will abandon music, and I will dedicate myself to my studies."

But then, December's deadline was extended to January, February, March...

Yes, it was. And you know what happened? That night,... when I told you I was going to be the back up singer for the artist who got sick... Thanks to that night,... the president of the company who signed me was there and watched me sing. When I got down from the stage, I already had a recording contract.

It was fate. We have one last question.

Woman: What do you consider your strongest inspiration for writing all of the songs that have made you famous over time?

I obviously have always... I say that I write, but I don't put a face with it. I don't put a face with what I am writing about. Understand? Without a doubt, being in love gives you the ability to do things that you wouldn't even consider otherwise. It wouldn't make sense to compose and create songs about love if you are not in love.

In fact, one of your greatest hits, and possibly the song that made you famous, is called "Tan Enamorado".

Yes, yes. Do you want a little part?

Yes.

Do you know that song?

Go ahead.

We are going to play this one right now.

Ok!

Ok. Quizás te puedas preguntar qué le hace falta a esta noche blanca, a nuestras vidas que ya han vivido... Louder! ... que han visto mil colores de sábanas de seda. Y cuando llueve te gusta caminar, vas abrazándome sin prisa aunque te mojes. Louder, louder! Amor mío, lo nuestro es como es, es toda una aventura, no le hace falta nada. Y estoy aquí, tan enamorado de ti que la noche dura un poco más, el grito de una ciudad, que ve en nuestras caras la humedad. Y te haré compañía, más allá de la vida, yo te juro que arriba te amaré más.* Louder! Tan enamorados, que así la noche dura un poco más.

Bravo! Stay tuned. We still have a lot more to learn about Ricardo Montaner. We'll be right back.

[clapping]

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