He sang “My dear old man”; Now he is the old man: Piero talks about Maradona, he meets Rubén Blades and more

A few weeks ago, Piero He found himself in a situation similar to that in 1969 when he first taught the song “My Old Man” to his father. This time, the Argentine singer was sitting in front of his children: one with a guitar, another with a microphone, one expectant and the last one recording the moment. The scene was repeated, as were the lyrics and chords. At 79 years old, Piero feels that he has already closed the circle that he started by composing that iconic song with José Tcherkaski.

Instead of repeating his father Don Lino’s phrase: “Who walks slowly? “The whore who gave birth to you!” Piero just left his arms crossed, closed his eyes and thought about the years since he began his musical career 60 years ago. “In the meantime, the old man left us, we had very sad moments, as well as beautiful moments, both remain in our memory. Now I’m not just a father, I’m a grandfather and I have many grandchildren. It’s interesting how all this feels.” Piero mentions in an interview with El Comercio.

What did not change during this time was his long curly hair that time painted white, in addition to wide-frame glasses and a smile that seems marked on his face. “In each new generation a new glimpse of freedom appears; “Young people are always free, and that is a reason to always be happy.”comments the singer, who during his adolescence studied at a priests’ college, almost becoming one by mistake when taking a seminar without knowing its purpose.

After several years performing on stages around the world, Piero returns to Lima to do a show like in the old days, “with on-demand music and classic songs”says the singer, who has recovered after suffering a respiratory infection days before his concerts in Ecuador. After leaving intensive care and being treated in Argentina, Piero continues celebrating his 60 years of experience in Latin America.

a long life

In Piero’s life, his journey took him along untraditional paths, with unexpected encounters such as when he was working as editor of a double album in favor of children’s rights, where he collaborated with Maradona in 1995. “He always supported the little ones, he learned the lyrics while we were dying of laughter when he tried to modulate his voice so that it reached certain tones”recalls the singer about that project that was declared of national interest at the time, and whose royalties were donated to UNICEF.

Another moment that he remembers is his meeting with a young Rubén Blades in 1970, who with the excuse of interviewing him came to present some topics to him. “He came to the hotel while I was in a hotel in Panama to show me one of his songs: ‘Pablo Pueblo’. He asked me to record the song, but I refused, he had to be the interpreter of that wonderful song.”Piero tells us, who points out that this song could be the continuation of his song “Pedro Nadie”.

Getting tired of words and promises of change in his own issues, Piero embarked on a path of action, creating various non-profit organizations such as ecological farms so that vulnerable children could learn to cultivate the land and become self-sustaining. In addition to entering politics in 1998 – a fact that caused him problems with the Argentine State – and recently in 2018 as a candidate for Italian deputy. “I came back because I noticed that there were opportunities to do good things and I feel the need to return people’s affection”mentions Piero

One year after turning eight decades into his life, the singer-songwriter still feels the need to make songs, composing or performing classic songs, and sees his retirement as an image on the horizon that he never plans to reach, an idea that his children support. “I never think about where I am going to spend my last days, but rather in which part of the world I will be singing”he emphasizes.