Xavier Smith.
From modest self-publishing, but clinging to the idea that the sum of small gestures can move mountains, Murcian singer Carmen Doorá has aroused the attention of the Latin Recording Academy, which has nominated her latest album, “Orgánica ” (2021), and its environmental message.
“Music, like everything that has an exposure to the public, sends a message of how things can be done and I have always tried to reflect my thoughts as a person who cares about social causes and the world in which we live. contributing my grain of sand,” he explained to Efe.
With a degree in Philosophy and a Higher Degree in Flamenco Singing, as well as a stage creator and composer, Doorá is the least known of a list of nominees for the “best flamenco album” of 2022, which is completed by Las Migas, Estrella Morente and her brother Kiki and María Toledo.
“It caught me by surprise and with great enthusiasm. They are all artists that I admire a lot and that inspire me since I started,” he celebrates about this candidacy for the Latin Grammys, a greater feat if one takes into account that he has achieved it as an independent artist. “This is good news for music and a reason for double pride, because fellow musicians have voted for me,” he says in this regard.
“Orgánica” (Carmen Doorá Records), the album for which she has been chosen, is the third of her career after “Almíbar” (2009) and “Eco” (2016), whose title already revealed a concern for the environment that is maintained in this work recorded live with the only wicks of his voice and the guitar of Paco Heredia.
“For me it is a vindication of music in its pure state, with its primitive elements and without further editing and, also, for my daily commitment to sustainability,” explains this vegan artist before the double meaning of the album’s title.
It is not posturing, she confirms, convinced that “small decisions are our responsibility because we are in a time of climate emergency.”
On his tours, for example, if he covers short distances he uses the train, which is why he felt “offended” by the laughter of the soccer player Kyllian Mbappé and the PSG coach, Christophe Galtier, when asked if they would consider traveling in this medium instead of private planes to attend their commitments.
“It is a brutal irresponsibility. People have a greater responsibility if they have a higher economic and social status,” values this artist. In the past, she put on a flamenco show against sexist violence.
He says that his first flamenco school was his grandfather, “a pure-bred orchard” and a fan of cante that he picked up while doing his work, and that later in his years living in Paris he came into contact “with African culture, Latin , the French of course and also with the Arabic”.
That is why it is not surprising that Doorá has turned “Orgánica” into a kind of alliance of civilizations in which she sings in Spanish as well as in English, French or Arabic to cover artists such as La Niña de los Peines, Nina Simone or Umm Kalzum .
“For me there is no difference, they are great artists and singers and, when I listen to them, they transmit something very powerful to me. Flamenco for me transcends the regional; that is why I like to put it in dialogue with international artists, which is where it should be” , he points out.
As a teacher at the Antonio Ruiz Soler Superior Conservatory in Seville, Doorá tries to convey to her students that idea above any other, the “ability to move” flamenco.
“I tell them to always go with the truth ahead. It is the most important thing in life and even more so in flamenco, because it is born from the popular and must transmit emotion beyond virtuosity. That is why you have to study the technique and the repertoire , but even more so the ability to transmit,” he insists.
Those who wish to listen to her will be able to do so on October 19 at a conference on sustainability in Cartagena (Murcia), where she will offer a talk and sing some songs. EFE
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Carmen Doorá, from Murcia to the Latin Grammy with “organic” and environmentalist flamenco