Oscar-winning singer and songwriter Jorge Drexler has recently debuted his album "Bailar en la Cueva" (Dancing in the Cave: the doctor-turned-musician puts the focus on dancing and music as a physical celebration, something as old as humanity itself. Recorded in Bogota, Colombia and Madrid, “"Bailar en la Cueva" is a celebration of dance and music as defining elements in our identity as humans,” says Drexler. Latin Times spoke with Drexler on creating this extraordinary album.
LT: What is the song ‘Bolivia’ about?
It is about my family. It is about when my father’s family, when both my grandparents left Germany in 1939, escaping from the Nazis. The only country that received them was Bolivia. When I returned to Bolivia two years ago for the first time, I realized I was the first member of my family to come back to Bolivia in sixty years, and I was very moved about that very brave and generous gesture of a poor country like Bolivia saving my family. So I wrote this song meaning to thank Bolivia for its generosity. And I have the good luck to have one of my greatest heroes, Caetano Veloso, singing on the song.
LT: Why did your family choose to move to Uruguay?
Because Uruguay in the late forties and early fifties was called the South American Switzerland – it was a very prosperous country, a very nice country to live in. And we already had family in Uruguay.
LT: As someone who lives between Spain and Latin America, how do you think the relationship is between the two countries?
The relations between Spain and South America are complex. But once you travel through South America and Spain you start to realize the huge cultural connections there are between the two countries. I really follow what Fernando Pessoa said: ‘My motherland is my language.’ So I feel at home everywhere that I am understood.
LT: Can you talk about ‘Data Data’? The song talks about greed and glamour – as someone that has achieved success and notoriety recently, is that something you have experienced?
Yes I think that the main point of ‘Data Data’ is the chorus that says ‘Data, data, data – como se bebe de una catarata?’ (How can you drink from a waterfall?). We live in a world with an unprecedented access to information. But that doesn’t mean that you can absorb all that information, so I like the metaphor of someone trying to drink from a waterfall and being soaked with a huge amount of information that you can’t actually use, you can’t actually drink. Everybody wants to be known, it’s like a fever, everyone wants to be famous. You got to the newspaper to read about the situation in Ukraine and five clicks later you somehow have ended up at Miley Cyrus with her tongue out.
LT: You developed an ap called ‘n’. Where did that come from?
Well I wanted to experiment with the combinatory possibilities of song. So I tried to make songs that didn’t have definitive shape. And could be modified by the listener. It’s something that hasn’t been done before and it hasn’t been done since, so I’m really proud of that.
LT: You recently debuted as an actor in ‘La Suerte En Tus Manos.’ What was that like?
I liked it very much, I really enjoyed it. The film got a Tribeca Film Festival prize for Best Script, so I’m really proud of that. I really liked the director, Daniel Burman, and the actress that was my co-star, Valeria Bertucelli. It was a great honor to be there.
LT: Did you take any acting classes?
Very few – I took maybe six classes. I told the director ‘I don’t have any experience as an actor.’ But he said he just wanted it to be very natural, which sounds easy but it’s not. But I’m really happy with the film.
LT: ‘Al Otro Lado Del Rio’ was the first Spanish-language song to win an Oscar. Do you think that says something about the changing cultural landscape of the U.S.?
Definitely. I think it has a lot to do with the presence of Spanish language in the U.S. For a song that wasn’t in English to win was a huge honor for me, but I think it has more to do with the Spanish language than the song itself.
LT: Did you work with any of the film writers on the song itself?
No, I just received the script one night and I wrote the song and sent it back to the director. I wrote the song without seeing the film, and I didn’t collaborate with anyone. I wrote the music and the lyrics by myself. I hadn’t met anyone from the movie: I just got a phone call, and I got a script and I sent an email with the song. I wrote it very quickly: I received the script at night, I woke up at 7 o’clock in the morning with the song in my head and at ten in the morning I had sent it to the director.
LT: In your song ‘La Plegaria del Paparazzo.’ Is religion part of your life?
No religion is not a part of my life. I just thought it was an interesting social postcard. Another thing that happens in society right now, and I wanted to describe that.
LT: What’s your favorite song or moment on the album?
It’s very difficult to choose when you put so much energy into a record. It’s like choosing between your children. But if I had to pick one it would be ‘Bolivia’ because of the presence of Caetano Veloso.
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