Pablo Herrera in Lima: “Many people have gotten married listening to my songs”

He has not presented a show in Peru for more than a decade, but his last visit was made shortly before the pandemic. The destination chosen by the Chilean singer-songwriter Pablo Herrera was not Lima or the other big cities where he usually sings, but rather Pucallpa, specifically the town of San Francisco. He says that he has known the place for seven years and it was there that he tried ayahuasca for the first time, an Amazonian brew to which healing powers are attributed. This time, his return to Peruvian lands comes to give us back the romanticism that seems lost, especially in music. Topics like “Alto fire”, “Listen well to your heart” or “I have a love” will be inevitable this June 9 at the Bianca Convention Center and in three other concerts scheduled in the interior of the country. Regarding the “Intimo” concert, we talked a little about everything with him.

—How did you live these last two difficult years?

The truth is that it was quite hard, we finished all the work and we saw how the life that one had was suddenly taken from us. In my case, recently I have reactivated my concerts in Chile. In Chillán and Concepción, for example. To be honest with all this that happened, it didn’t make me want to write new songs, what I did do was several collaborations with urban artists from here in Chile and I recorded some songs. Only now that things are getting good is that I’m going to write again. I feel that this return to the stage is like a new starting point.

“He is my friend (Gian Marco) and with him I recorded a song of mine, “I have a love”, which has been very well received, more than 16 million views on You Tube.

Pablo Herrera / Chilean singer-songwriter On the participation of the Peruvian artist in his “Duetos y más”, Herrera’s latest album.

—With the great acceptance of other genres such as urban music, could it be said that romanticism in music is going out of fashion?

No way, romanticism is always present in our lives. If I were to tell you, many people have gotten married listening to my songs and that’s because they have a life story with them. It is true that we, who make romantic music, have always had to deal with music of different styles that appear in time. I remember the axe, then came reggaeton and now urban music in general. But one lives with that, the public gives so that we are all functioning. It is not that one enters and another leaves. The same thing happens with classical music: rhythms of all kinds have appeared, but despite the years they continue to be heard.

—Who do you think would be the current heirs of romantic music?

For sure for me a great exponent is Gian Marco. He is my friend and with him I recorded a song of mine, “I have a love”, which has been very well received, more than 16 million views on You Tube. Just recently we spoke on the phone because he came to Chile to sing, but unfortunately we did not coincide. Both he and Franco De vita, Diego Torres, Ricky Martin are among the best exponents of this music in Latin America.

—And of the new generations? Many singers come out, but very few balladeers.

Oh no, I don’t see that boys like me or Alberto Plaza have appeared. The closest thing could perhaps be Camilo, who has one or another ballad out there. But yeah, you’re right, I haven’t met any balladeers in recent years. Now they prefer to make urban music. But when they fall in love, they play a record of mine or of Gian Marco (laughs).

—“I have a love”, a song he recorded with Gian Marco, is part of his latest album called “Duetos y más”…

Yes, and I also recorded with Eva Ayllón. It’s not a ballad because I wrote a song especially for it, it’s more of a folk song, “Don’t doubt me” it’s called. Eva’s strength is wonderful, I really like Peruvian folklore. Álex Ubago also sings on that album, and Alberto Plaza himself, among other friends of mine.

—Do you know much about Peru?

I usually go to Peru, because I usually go to the jungle a lot. To San Francisco, in Pucallpa. It is a small town that is located 20 kilometers from the city, next to the Ucayali River. There is a family there, the López, in which they are all shamans and work with ayahuasca. I’ve been like five times already. Unfortunately the patriarch, my friend Roger, was taken away by the pandemic last year.

“Since when do you make these visits?”

I have been going to Pucallpa for about seven years. Ayahuasca is a marvel of medicine that you have in Peru, it is something unique in the world. I know that many people are afraid of it, but it is the medicine that these peoples have used for thousands of years. My friend Roger started a school, where a group of children went to learn about shamanism and these ancient customs.

—Going back to music, is there a new album in sight?

Actually, I really want to do covers of artists I admire. By Juan Gabriel, for example, or by Gianluca Grigniani, songs that I sometimes sing in one of my concerts. I would like to record those.

—Are they any of your musical references?

The truth is that I don’t have any in particular, I admire so many and from different places, but I think that none of them has marked me too much.