Anthony Martin | Alicante (EFE).- Inma Serrano (Alicante, 1968) is a famous singer-songwriter, composer and performer who has triumphed in music for more than a quarter of a century. She has lived in Spain and Mexico, and for a few years she has chosen the quiet and small town of Tibi in the interior of Alicante to live with her son, Juan Manuel, who is only 6 years old.
Ever since in that distant 1997 she had one of her greatest and remembered hits, ‘Cantos de sirena’, this well-known interpreter has not stopped composing along with her inseparable guitar, and beyond music, she is passionate about collecting old typewriters, as that remind you of the roots of the artists’ creative process.
Question: How does Inma Serrano disconnect in summer?
Answer: I get up a little later, without having to leave the house to take my little one to school, and that is already a break. Those first hours of the day at home are great and then I do the same as having a baby, who on vacation is a whirlwind because he needs movement. The truth is that apart from that what I always want is not to have vacations because this time of year is when I work the most, because of the concerts. There is no other option, although I always try to stop for a week or ten days.
Q: Beach or mountain?
A: The sea fascinates me but I live in the mountains by choice, since the interior of Alicante is a beauty that we do not know. I love its cultural offer from Tibi, whether it’s the festivals or the theater and music. It has its own auditorium and it is a delight to see how they propose, like and promote the cultural movement. But the sea is still my favorite and one of my goals is to have a little boat, a sailboat where I can sleep and spend, for example, the weekend.
Q: What does Inma Serrano need to live a great day?
A: Having yourself and a guitar. I am already happy with that.
Q: Who do you stay with, with Pablo Alborán, with Quevedo or with Rosalía?
A: With all three. Quevedo has very funny things and I love that simplicity so that the message reaches you like a shot. Rosalía is super, she is a great guy who has lowered her bar a little to reach a large audience. She shows that she has art coming out of her pores and that she is a thoroughbred. And Pablo (Alborán) is a crack, a great worker and a very good person with songs that are also incredible. Any of the three, because I am in favor of consuming all kinds of music. I’m at a stage where I like songs by various artists.
Q: What inspires you to compose a song: currently, personal experiences or imagination?
A: A bit of everything. What is certain is that it is good to have experiences because what you feel is what marks you to compose in the end. I have learned to transit, that is, everything happens to people and then nothing happens. Life is like that and the only question is that you have to know how to face the circumstances that arise.
Q: If you were not from Alicante, where would you like to be from?
A: From Valle de Bravo (the Mexican town where he lived for a few years). I love Mexico.
Q: A pending trip…
A: Many. Although I believe that the people with whom you share a trip are more important than the destination itself. And that is why I have many trips in mind because I am lucky to have a great environment of people.
Q: You collect old typewriters, why?
A: I see them as the symbol of the origin of creation. A typewriter is the permanence of the essence of feeling in any creative process. It is the most simple and romantic, an icon of purity. It has been shown that graphics is absolutely related to mood. In other words, you write in a way that depends on the feeling you are transmitting, so the lyrics carry a lot of information unconsciously.
With typewriters this question is raised to the cube because I see them as the sacralization of the message. My generation wrote the songs on paper and then they were transferred to a typewriter to be turned into a project, into a song with a capital letter.
Currently with a computer we have everything in a much more volatile world but for me the typewriter symbolizes permanence. These days they are good for nothing more than to entertain your eyes and remind you what a world we live in. At home I have three in sight, which make me keep in mind the process of artistic creation every day, and three more saved, although I have given many away because they no longer fit at home. EFE