Thanks to chance, Spain’s history in the white shirt, and hope, we… They made time to interview him on 20NExactly fifty years after the death of dictator Franco. It sounds like a gesture, but Victor Manuel (78 years old) approaches this history calmly, also with some skepticism and with some indifference to the fact that he is known as one of the artists of the transitional period. He arrives at the talk wearing a corduroy jacket, that garment that symbolizes so much in a working-class country that moves from one shore to the other, from dictatorship to freedom. And with their polite, composed, and elegant manners, because fighting goes with quiet speech. We’re face to face to talk about his latest album, Just with me alone, His next tour starts in March. In times of madness, Victor composes music nonstop. He devotes his free time to reading, listening to other music, to his family (he has two children with Anna Belén, born immediately after democracy, and two grandchildren, the eldest of whom is almost a university student) and, from time to time, to cooking. Because as a good Asturian, he is good at preparing casseroles. The day before our interview, he says, he made artichoke cream with pork chops and truffle pearls for some friends. But in the conversation we will “taste” other dishes, and some of his last words, which They remember Victor Manuel as always, nostalgic, committed, grateful and loving.
He is considered one of the artists of the transitional period. Do you agree with this definition?
Yes, although I think this limits the work a bit. There are so many years of singing that things have happened to me before the transition, during the transition, and after. And here we are still.
It’s so strange that people who haven’t tried it miss out on the past.
Your eldest son, David San Jose, will turn 50 in 2026. How have you talked to him and your daughter Marina about this period? It seems that many young people do not know well what happened before November 20, 1975.
It’s so strange that people who haven’t tried it miss out on the past. But well, that’s the way it is, and for some reason, we old people certainly didn’t know enough to explain to young people what that period was about. Of course, I would never bother my kids with this story. I assume they lived a reality that shaped their way of seeing and being in the world. Fortunately, this conflict was never present inside.
Right now, Spain is all about scrambled eggs. There are parties calling for the expulsion of immigrants. What about the next day?
Spain, technically, a sad song, a drama, renewed hope…?
Spain is scrambled eggs at the moment. They are very confused people, and they believe that the rulers do not represent us. And to think that a Messiah must come as a savior who will decisively solve the very complex problems that afflict this country. There are parties that say that migrants should be expelled without explaining what will happen the next day. So… anyone can “buy” that but they have to know it’s damaged goods.
The best time of day for me is very early. The afternoon is pure laziness
At what time of the day do you feel lonely with yourself? Is it the one you used in writing it?
For me, the best time of day is very early. Mornings are always very productive. Squeezing is nothing, pure laziness, and a waste of time. I’m talking about a schedule, between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. In general, I always compose very early, in the morning, when there is little noise.
Of the nearly 600 songs you’ve written in your life, have you forgotten any?
Yes, of course. But I can follow almost all of them. I have a very good memory and remember many songs, even ones I never sang again after recording them 40 years ago. Once I hear them, I know how to keep going. In this sense, I have a good memory.
Fortunately, love has no cure because if it does not thrive even in the most utter desolation, we will cease to exist.
Let’s talk about the new ones. I will tell you the title of some of them and summarize the personal meaning of them. Let me catch my breath…
It is a topical song that talks about the exhaustion that some political positions based on accusing others of what happens to you produce in us. “And you, more.”
I was born in the shade of a cherry tree...
This speaks about my childhood and adolescence and also about those people who miss something they have not experienced like Francoism.
Death and love have no cure…The first is resignation and the second is a lottery?
Fortunately, love has no cure because if it does not thrive even in the most utter desolation, we will cease to exist. Life will end. Death is inevitable. It’s strange that this is a country that easily comes to terms with death, but never wants to talk about it.
Now there are two: Thanks for everything and What will my life be? (Without his partner).
There is no doubt that my life would be worse without Anna, that is very clear to me. Thanks for everything It is a song of gratitude for what women can teach a world of men.
What I do with young artists like Mikel Eza and Rosalyn is suck their lifeblood
Getting out of bed song…
It’s a childhood dream. Oddly enough, I compared it to older people who have had this happen to them for many years. That feeling of staying in bed and wishing the world would destroy itself so you wouldn’t have to get out of bed. This never happens to me, on the contrary. The bed is knocking me out.
Two young musicians collaborate on this new album, Mikel Eza and Rosalyn. Is this renewal or death? Open the door to other generations?
Well, their doors are wide open. Both Mikkel and Rosalyn are doing very well. I actually had the opportunity to collaborate with her in 2014, when she was really just starting out. Mikel was a great find, a guy who already has a very strong career and a lot of talent. What I do is suck their juices
Speaking of young people, what does Victor Manuel, a phenomenon of modernity like Rosalía, think?
I’ve had an excellent opinion of Rosalia for a long time. I have followed all of their albums since the first one. She’s still a great artist, with excellent songs. What happens is that sometimes the phenomenon overwhelms you, and everything you see around it seems exaggerated to you. But hey, sometimes global figures have this problem, in quotes.
Rosalia is a great artist. We are unlikely to cooperate, I don’t know how to sing what you sing
Do you see yourself collaborating with her?
No, this is unlikely, due to the type it is assigned to. I don’t know how to sing that. I know what I know.
Speaking of another ‘boom’… Bad Bunny, is this type of music what lies ahead?
It’s one of those that awaits us. I don’t think you can take a still photo, and history proves it, in any era. Bad Bunny has become a phenomenon now but then… I don’t know, although I think so, he’s very powerful. But it’s not the music I listen to the most. Professionally, I want to know what he does and little else. I listen, but not the second listen.
I don’t know a better profession than this, where you get applauded every three minutes.
He is 78 years old. Does this stage continue to treat all your ailments, including aging?
The stage handles everything. Everything is curable, logically. And there’s nothing better than being there and singing the songs. I hope the rope lasts a long time, and when I say rope, I basically mean health and energy. There is no better profession, and I don’t know of any place where you get applauded every three minutes.
Some also think Victor Manuel is too old to tour.
Yes, I’m older, for sure. But well, I always say that the day I put the ticket on sale and they don’t buy it, the whole signal is: You gotta go home, kid.
I still don’t understand why Sirat stopped singing
The term withdrawal is suggested. Will your body be like Rafael’s, so your body can withstand, or like your friend Sirat: this far we’ve come?
The image of death on stage is a bit scary. I have the impression that Juan Manuel also wants to sing until the end, but that’s a very personal opinion, and I still don’t understand why he stops doing that when he’s at his best.
Another close friend of yours, Joaquin Sabina, also announced that he will be leaving permanently on the 30th of this month. Will you honor him?
I will be there as a friend, as a spectator, as someone to love. I think Joaquin wants to retire and his repentance will come sooner rather than later.
I have pads and pads full of songs, full of crossovers. But I don’t want to leave this museum to me.
Is it possible that Victor Manuel will stop composing at some point?
I compose from very late to very late, what happens is that when I start I can’t stop. I write a lot of songs at once and I could spend two or three years writing.
Do you write down the lyrics of your songs in notebooks and save them on the computer…? Who will protect this “legacy”?
Write them in notebooks. I write them in pencil. I suppose my family would keep them, if they were interested. They are very strange notebooks, because they are also full of intersections. I write and erase at the same time. It’s always platforms and platforms full of songs. But mine does not reach literature. Also, that thing about leaving out poisoned candy is a total screw-up. Let’s see what you will do with the assets. The best thing would be for someone to guard it: a regional or local library, but not to leave this museum to me that no one wants to maintain.
When you work, do you listen to other people’s music?
Usually, I don’t listen to anyone when I’m composing. What I listen to is music, some because it catches my attention, some because there’s an app called Shazam: You listen to a song you hear on the radio, because there is something that can inspire you. I do this a lot with things that catch my attention. And I listen to a lot of music that has nothing to do with me, to find other ways too. I don’t like to repeat myself, so I look for alternatives available to others
What does Victor Manuel do when he’s “at home” between two in the afternoon and six in the morning?
Yesterday I cooked for my friends, it has been a long time since I cooked, but the friends left very happy. I read a lot too, almost more on trips than at home. It’s been years since I’ve bought any non-ebooks, they just overwhelm me, I have too many. I just read Peninsula of empty houseswritten by David Ucles (Seruela), is very important right now. The writer is very young and very talented, very young. And I like it very much Imagineersby Marcos Geralt Torrente (Anagramma), gem.