Interview with Berta Rojas - The Culture News

Interview with Berta Rojas - The Culture News

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon, Welcome on the Culture News.
My name is David, so we Roy and I have
the pleasure to have today on Iheartwed you on the
Culture News. So wonderful Latin Grammy Winner audience. She's one
of the top best musicians in the world. Her name,
of course is Berta Rojas. I hope I said right Rojas.

(00:25):
Let me spell it for you. It's r o j As.
She's a wonderful, wonderful audience. She has released a new
album called The Journey of Strings. We're so happy to
have her today on the show. Berta, how are you today?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
I'm doing more than fine. I am so happy to
be in your company.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Dated Ah, Berta, It's a great pleasure. Thank you so
much for being with us to there. Really appreciate you.
So I would love to know more about yourself.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Can you tell me, like where you're from and how
did you start art music?

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Well, I am from Paraguay. Paraguai is at the very
center of South America and I played the guitar since
I was a child. Later, I moved from Paraguay to
Uruay to study there at the National Conservatory in Uruay.
I was a student of a great masters like Eduardo
Fernandez and Abricar Levaro. And later I moved to the

(01:24):
United States, where I did my master's degree at the
Piva Institute as a student of Manuel Barueco. I decided
to stay here in the United States. I got a
job offer from the Berkeley College of Music to move
to Boston, and here is where I am residing.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
Now, okay, beautiful, I just do it a post.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
Move yourself away from the mic because you're very too
close from the mic.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
Okay, okay, so step away a little bit from the mic. Okay,
look back all right, okay, noise please. Okay, you're good now, yes, yes, okay,
step backward more. You too close? Okay, how about there?

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Okay, still to close close there, But it's the same, Okay,
it doesn't matter anymore.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
So maybe what I can do is I can reduce
again on the microphone.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
Okay, if you can do that, that'd be better with that?

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Is that? Is that better?

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Okay?

Speaker 1 (02:27):
It's better now. Okay, we got to tell you that.
That's really beautiful. So how did you start to do
actually guitar? What is the story of you getting into
that instrument?

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, it is an instrument that is played very frequently
in Parawaiian households. It's natural for us to celebrate our
birthdays and parties with a guitar and singing songs. But
is a very musical country, So the guitar is very
much part of our culture.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
And indeed, you you have done some you have taken
actually your culture, you know a little bit mainstream. Was
that always your your pleasure, you wish to take this
instrument and.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
To bring it to the stages of classical music.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
I think that the more you are attached to your root,
the more universal you become in a way, because there
are so many stories that you can tell, and when
you tell them from your root, there's an authenticity that
you can portray it on stage. So I've often found
that people have the curiosity to know a little bit

(03:39):
more about that country that you don't hear much about
except for its music, perhaps, and except for the guitar.
One of the greatest composers for guitar music was born
in Paraguaii. His name is a Wu Tinpoos Mangore and
whose music I have championed all my life.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Why indeed, you have done such a beautiful performances all
around the world. So now we have this new album,
the Journey of Strings. Can you tell us what is
in that album?

Speaker 2 (04:17):
There were unplacked instruments, in stream placked instruments in Latin
America before the Conquista Alors came from Spain, bringing with
them the well as and what we now call the
Renaissance guitar, which is a four string guitar. It's fifteen
twenty three, the year in which in an inventory appeared

(04:40):
thirty guitars and thirteen the wellers that were being brought
by the Concuista Alors into the Americas. And that was
the beginning of an explosion. So many instruments were created
in Latin America that were born inspired in those instruments
that the Conquista orties brought char Angos, vi will As Rakin,

(05:03):
those guitars from Chile, the bandol, the deep play, the
rond ro. Because so many instruments evolved out of that,
and so I decided to go and search for those
instruments and play duets, trios and quartets with them. So
I did quite an extensive travel through a space of

(05:29):
two years, finding those instruments, finding its players, and finding
the music that better portrays those instrums.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
And we're so glad you did. Are you one day
planning to write your own music? Is it something that
you are looking forward to it? Or what you like
is actually working on the score of new music of
music written.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, I am a performer, so what I do is
to try to bring this music that was written alive.
But of course I also write my own music, only
I'm very shy to share it. But the music I
am performing is music that I truly believe that people
will have great joy listening to, or at least I

(06:15):
hope that will be because we have done it with
so much joy and love. Also that we hope the
audiences will receive it the same way.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
And definitely will receive it very nicely. This is a
really lovely album, The Journey of Strings by the wonderful
Better ojhas. So before we start to say goodbye to
each other, what is next for you? What are your
next projects?

Speaker 2 (06:43):
Well, my next projects are going to be to talk
a lot about these instruments, to talk a lot about
the project, and to continue performing the music of Latin
America and of the great classical composers for the guitar
around the world. My next trip is to Colombia and
Ecuador and to Paraguay, and I perform here in the States,

(07:04):
and I go to Australia to New Zealand. So there's
a lot coming on from me.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
How do you think we can renew the audience, we
can get a new audience to classical music these days?

Speaker 2 (07:19):
Well, I think that the question is always to be
true to yourself and share your music with honesty. There's
always going to be people who want to listen and
will resonate with you. So I think that we just
continue doing what we do, playing from the bottom of
our hearts and just arriving to a stage with respect

(07:42):
to the audience. And I believe that that audience that
listens to you and listen to your music coming from
your heart and resonates with you will be the best
way to keep this art alive because they will talk
to other friends and they will come also to share
the joy of music. So I believe in that sacred

(08:03):
space that we create as performers with an audience, and
I really hope that we can continue to give ourselves
that time to share.

Speaker 1 (08:12):
Well that and we'll definitely be sharing your music and
listening to your music.

Speaker 3 (08:18):
It's such a.

Speaker 1 (08:18):
Pleasure to have you, ladies and gentlemen. My name is
David Siro.

Speaker 3 (08:22):
I had the.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Pleasure to have today on iHeart with you, on the
Culture News and many of the platforms are wonderful, wonderful artists.
She's playing an instrument that changed a continent. The Latin
Grammy winner Berta Rojas let me inspet It for You
r ojas an immersive multim media exploration of the guitar's

(08:44):
rich history in Latin America, the journey of strings. Go
to listen to her music and her beautiful, beautiful instrument.
More music is following up on iHeart Radio, but right
now is Erta Or has statue with us. It's a
beautiful day.