VENTS MAGAZINE INTERVIEW
1.) We’re excited to have some time today with acclaimed music artist Lourdes Pita; greetings and salutations, Lourdes! Before we meander down the proverbial Q&A musical pathway, how has 2023 been treating you thus far?Hello Vents Magazine, thank you so much for the interview. 2023 has been exciting for me. It’s nice to see such success with this album.2.) Congratulations on your debut Spanish album, Lamento Cubano! Starting from the top, what was the genesis of Lamento Cubano? How did this brilliant new album come into being?
Well, thank you so much for the kind words about this album. Because I write mostly in English this album took me a long time to put together, and I am overjoyed at how well it has been received. My mother, who is a famous poet Juana Rosa Pita,helped me translate some of the songs on this album and she also wrote the poem that I put to music which is the “Vida en Venecia ” track. She also persisted for years to get me to cover that song “Lamento Cubano”. The original recording was done in the 1950’s and I really didn’t think I could do it justice as well the fact that I never do cover tunes. But she persisted!It is the only cover on the album but I knew I needed to make it the album title because of my family’s history. The song Solucion is about my grandmother who always missed Cuba and I wrote that song for her. The album was produced by myself and my long-time producer Linda Chase at Pawsmusic productions who is just so good at what she does. She plays a lot of the piano parts, some bass parts and percussion parts etc. She is the one that told me I could pull off the song “Lamento Cubano” by simply changing the key and it would be perfect for my voice. And she was right. This album was in the making for decades and every song chosen is strong.3.) Was there a sort of intimidation factor as an artist that primarily writes in English to undertake a Spanish album? And, if so, how did you overcome that trepidation? Many years of my mother helping me translate my songs. That said, songs like Solucion and Pensando En Ti came out in Spanish originally and have no English version. Because I grew up with flamenco music and music from all over the world my genres cross over. The only thing intimidating was when I started translating my own songs and had to run through the translations with my mother who would then fix some of it. I have always included one Spanish song on all my albums so it was a pretty natural move to do this album. Even though I am bilingual, English is still my first language so there is no way I could have done this without my mother. THe other intimidating thing was over the years learning to practice the Spanish version of a song a lot before actually recording the vocals so they would come out sounding as good as the English versions. Most of the time, the Spanish version sounded better and more fitting to my melodies that have Spanish influences in the music.
4.) Why did you choose Lamento Cubano as the album title? Was there a special reason behind this choice?
Yes, because of the fact that my family came from Cuba and had to leave most of our family there. The pain I witnessed in my family having to leave their homeland was what I grew up watching. I knew that Lamento Cubano had to be the title of the album because it matched the theme of honoring my Cuban heritage.
5.) Speaking of Lamento Cubano, this classic standard has a special place on the album for a number of reasons: First and foremost, it’s a beautiful tune, especially as rendered by you! But secondly the tune is the only cover version on the entire album. What goes into a successful cover song, especially one that is already so well-regarded?Well, as I mentioned before, I really did not think I could pull it off. My voice didn’t sound as good as the original in my mind. Also, the guitar part, although sounding so simple, was difficult for me to get the rhythm correctly. The subtlety was a challenge for me. My bass player who is from Puerto Rico Al Garay, beat it out of me! Then when my producer told me all I had to do was change the key to fit my range , then all of a sudden it came together. No doubt, the song itself was very intimidating!
6.) In your opinion, what differentiates Lamento Cubano from the distinguished competition on the 2023 music scene?
I would say that adding a piano to the new version is a big difference given the instruments on the original version had no piano. We also added harmonies that it did not have in the original.
7.) How instrumental was your mother – an iconic Cuban poet in exile – in the creation of the new album? Did she serve as a point of inspiration while you were working on Lamento Cubano?
Oh, well I think I have stressed that point in your other questions. To reiterate, this album never would have seen the light of day without her! So, to say she served as a point of inspiration is really an understatement! She demanded I record this song. She also pushed me to make an all Spanish record. I thought she in fact had asked me to sing this song in the last decade but she said she had been asking me to cover it much longer than that. Which means I may have ignored her for years before I listened!
8.) Who was your producer on Lamento Cubano and what did the collaboration between artist and producer look like in the studio?
That is Linda Chase from Pawsmusic Productions. She has been producing me for years and as I mentioned before is the real genius in my productions. We do co produce everything but I would not have gotten this good without learning from her. She is a great friend and we have so much fun when we work together. She is also my vocal coach and makes sure she gets a good performance from me everytime I sing my parts and play my guitar parts. I don’t know what I would do without her!
9.) On the heels of the release of Lamento Cubano, can fans look forward to seeing you on the performing/touring circuit?
Yes, I should be touring a little bit outside of New England. I have promoters asking me to play in Chicago etc. Most of my performances will center around the New England area. I have also been invited to Spain.
10.) Who inspires you musically?
Well my favorite musicians have been many and in many different genres throughout my life. Gloria Estefan was a great inspiration for Spanish language music because she is also Cuban. But my all time hero on guitar is and always will be Paco de Lucia from Spain. I also love folk music, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell etc. I grew up with classic rock so I do love The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and for more current artists everyone from Indigo Girls, Canadian singersongeriter Sarah McLachlan, and the band RUSH. I do love Maroon 5 ! Hence why I cross over so many genres in my music.
11.) At the end of the day, what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving Lamento Cubano many-a spin on their respective turn-tables?I hope they can feel the pain of so many Cubans that had to leave everything to start a new life but hear the hope in the music for what America gave us. I hope that more people can have empathy for immigrants and understand how hard it was for my family and how blessed we all feel for America to have welcomed us here and that at the end of the day, we are all Americans. I hope they realize that at the end of the day we all came from somewhere else and we are all one nation.
Internationally syndicated recording artist
Mind Mastery Radio Interview
Selected songs from Lourdes Pita’s CDs have been featured on the following TV and Cable stations:
MTV – River of Dreams was featured on
the Rumah Gue show
Discovery Health Channel
Soap Network
A&E
The Travel Channel
Discovery Channel
The Biography Channel
HGTV (Home Shopping Network)
ABC Family Channel
Fit TV
Fox
NBC
NPR
Comedy Central on Mind of Mencia show
Lourdes also receives BMI checks for being featured in Canada, Europe and United Kingdom
MTV also featured ‘Solucion’ on a Shakira special!
Sampling of radio stations that have aired songs by Lourdes Pita
Click or tap HERE for Lourdes Pita Final Radio Report
BearCast Cincinnati OH Review
CLC Grayslake IL
KALA Davenport IA
KAMP Tucson AZ
KASF Alamosa CO
KBTL El Dorado KS
KCAC East Camden AR
KCSC Chico CA
KDNK Carbondale CO
KDUR Durango CO
KDWG Dillon MT
KEOL La Grande OR
KGRG Auburn WA
KIDE Hoopa CA
KMSU Mankato MN
KPUR Forest Grove OR
KRSC Claremore OK
KSDT La Jolla CA
KSTM Indianola IA
KSVR Mt. Vernon WA
KSYM San Antonio TX
KUMD Duluth MN
KUMM Morris MN
KURA Ourey CO
KWCW Walla Walla WA
KWSB Gunnison CO
KWVA Eugene OR
KYVT Yakima WA
KZMU Moab UT
WALF Alfred NY
WALT Davidson NC
WAUG Rock Island IL
WAWL Chattanooga TN
WBKE North Manchester IN
WBTY Waltham MA
WCCS Norton MA
WCCX Waukesha WI
WCSR Milwaukee WI
WCYT Ft. Wayne IN
WDCE Richmond VA
WDCV Carlisle PA
WDPS Dayton OH
WDUB Granville OH
WDWN Auburn NY
WECB Boston MA
WERU East Orland ME
WGBK Glenview IL
WGCC Batavia NY
WHCL Clinton NY