The morning opened at the studios of Infobae liveWhen Lito Vitale He crossed the door with the calm of someone who knows music like a second language. There he left a mark of honesty and remembrance in front of the cameras, tracing his story and, above all, the value of playing with others, which means nothing other than “promoting other genres”. “There are several of us building bridges, let’s say. It seems to me like it’s just natural.”he let go, as if it were the conclusion of years of internal dialogues and joint concerts.
Vitale, who can look back on an immense career on the national scene, does not shy away from the past or the generational differences that shaped his path. He still remembers clearly: “If at some point it didn’t happen, it was because of a prejudice. It became much more flexible. Many years ago it was the folklorist, the tanguero, the rocker, all sorts of establishments that didn’t touch each other. Later we naturally learned to listen to each other…” A manifesto to answer the zero question of every artist: the moment when you leave fear behind to discover yourself.
On this journey the conversation takes an introspective, almost familiar turn. “Our parents gave us musical information that we often don’t pay attention to because we have to follow our own personal path.”. Suddenly, at some point, this music began to penetrate our inner being, like this collective unconscious.” At this core comes a revelation: “The most important thing is fusion and coming together with others, not judgment“.
Lito speaks of art as an urgency beyond the market, almost like a form of breathing. “Music is a fact of artistic necessity, which in some cases is transformed into work because we are paid to play.”he expresses and then clarifies: “But it’s not the driving force, you’re a musician not because you want to make money, you’re a musician because you’re a musician. And then if you have the opportunity or the luck to die, you’re welcome.”.
Every passage in Vitale’s voice becomes a postcard from a different time: the dictatorship, the resistance, the refuge. “We started with a strong family relationship with my parents, who founded a kind of place of resistance where we met during the years of the dictatorship. Mex Urtizbereawho has been my friend since I was fifteen. And that was called MIA, Independent Musicians Associatesand it was like a kind of refuge in our house Villa Adelina, where my parents took great care of the journey of the children, the musicians who accompanied us, the artists who came as guests to see what was happening in this house, creating a kind of place for conversations and artistic plans. That led to a lot of connections and a love of music from another place…”
How do you survive when everything vibrates under threat? What protection does art offer? Lito’s answer sounds like a knee-jerk reaction: “Those of us who had no need for concrete political militancy and just wanted to do something sensible, like take care of it.”
Vitale’s parents –Rubensknown to everyone as Donvi And Esther Soto– appear as protective figures, as harbingers of a different way of experiencing cultural production. “My parents were workers and really liked culture. They took my sister and me to the museum Di Tellato amazing places from an early age. They were even tango artists, but they brought the first rock records to my house. They were very special,” he tries to define.
History moves forward, the democratic spring breaks out and an awakening in several respects. “When the dictatorship ended and democracy began Raul Alfonsin And Pacho O’Donnell Minister of Culture, we form them Vitale-Baraj-González Trio (Lito, Bernardo and Lucho) and we were very popular playing instrumental folk and tango music. And that was the first time we made money playing. Before teaching, I played at weddings, was a sound engineer and did everything I could.“.
The anecdote is not just personal: it is a reflection of an era, a generation that found more than just economic support in music. “As always, I paid very close attention to what we talked about at the beginning, the fusion and connecting with people of different generations, because I was very stupid to play with people much older than me. And I know what that’s like for a young person.”
The question remains: Why is music made? Why insist on it, even in difficult contexts? “There is no interest in making money from this because in this current situation it’s all about making money, it’s just about putting energy into how to make more… Our lives don’t go through something like that.” Of course we want to be able to live well, but we don’t want to do anything for money or have the goal of having money. The goal is to do what you want and try to make as decent a living at it as possible. But at least I don’t particularly dream of becoming a millionaire..
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