-How did you get to the contest?
-One day I saw the brochures announcing the contest in the Conservatory library. To get there it was by selection, I had to send my resume and a recording. I found it interesting, I sent it and they took me as a participant.
-Once you get there, what did you have to do?-What we had to sing was a maximum of five works that we chose, fifteen minutes maximum duration and in three different languages.
Something from Zarzuela and an area
-In your case, what did you sing?
-I sang a Spanish song, a Neapolitan song, a zarzuela romance and an opera aria. But come on, those who enter a contest like this almost by obligation have to sing something from zarzuela and an aria.
-Who were the other participants?
-We were a large group. Most of them were people from here and then from other countries from various continents with ages between eighteen and thirty-five years.
-What were the prizes?
-The prizes were two honorable mentions for a tenor and a mezzo-soprano, a second prize for a tenor and a soprano and the first prize for me.
-What does your prize consist of?
-I have won a cash prize and three concerts, two of which are in Barcelona and one in Sitges, which are the ones that excite me the most. I have a quite important one that is in a museum in Barcelona, another in the Sitges Music Festival and another in a hall also in Barcelona.
A triumph for me
-What is the feeling of winning a prize of these characteristics?
-Very good, very happy. In fact, I had sung quite well and for me that had already been a triumph because sometimes the contests are a bit ungrateful because there are many singers, you get very nervous before it's your turn to sing, you have fifteen minutes for them to assess whether you can win or not... You also have to be very intelligent when choosing the repertoire, which is one of the great flaws that are seen in many contests in which there are good voices and good singers but then they have a choice of repertoire that does not correspond to the voice or the age or is too strong and difficult.
-For young people who like music, I suppose it is difficult to make themselves known. From your point of view, who also sings opera, how do you see the situation?
-In the Canary Islands, the facilities they give are scarce if not null. There is a contest that is organized by the Caja Canaria de Tenerife that is held every three or four years and it was where I got the second prize. And that may be the only way a little within the Canary Islands to be able to make yourself known. If not, you have to leave, of course, and pay for it yourself. For example, I have been working professionally for two years but I have had to make myself known with contests and through other people and critics from outside to be able to make a small place for myself in the Canary Islands.
An impressive level of voices
-You are taking the first steps of your musical career. Are there more people like you who are trying to find their way in music?
-Yes, there is also an impressive level of voices in the Canary Islands. I don't know any other community, and I've been in many, where there are so many good voices in opera and in all musical genres. There is talent and what happens is that a lot of help is needed.
-Do you think there are other problems that influence the development of the musical careers of the Canarians?
-Let's say that culture in the Canary Islands, let's put Lanzarote, is relegated to a completely secondary role. I think that if there was a good quality cultural offer it would be not only great for the youth of Lanzarote, especially for those who try to dedicate themselves to this such as opera, classical music and other musical genres such as jazz, but it would also be very interesting to have a wide and good offer not only musical but also cultural. You also have to take into account that the political problem also influences the cultural issue and I see that as a big problem for us.
In the operatic field
-On a personal level, what are your future plans?
-Let's see, my ambition is mainly in what is the operatic field. What happens is that at the moment I am very young, I have to think things through very well. I have done several operas with main characters but this, since you enter that dynamic, you can no longer leave. So I try to do quite a few recital concerts that serve you a lot of filming. And that is like what I am going to do in Barcelona. Or in the month of August coinciding with San Ginés I will do a concert here at the Sociedad Democracia. And well, now I'm singing quite a bit especially in Tenerife, Las Palmas or Madrid.
