Ely Guerra: “I am a great thief of experiences”

among the small ely war and the adult there is a common thread that has not been broken despite the passing of the years, on the contrary, it unites them, it is a kind of guide that orients her at the moment of to compose their songs.

The singer considers that despite the fact that he has experienced many changes, because in each decade of his life he has felt, reflected and lived different things that today allow him to continue writingIn the end, she always trusts that instinct and voice that have followed her since she was a child.

“I am fortunate to be safe, because I am singing songs that have never lied, that explain a moment in my life, a personal emotion, that are the mirror for other people and allow me to build my song and not go out ashamed,” says Ely war to Indigo Report.

“I want to see you” was the first song he wrote at the age of 12, and that he released in a way professional subsequently.

After 30 years of artistic careerunderstands that maturity that he had to capture from his childhood, in an innocent way, a very deep feeling, which he thanks to his spirituality Y conviction.

“I am 50 years old, I listen to those songs and I did bring baggage that I did not understand myself. To write, sometimes, it’s not about you, you’re the instrument and for that you have to apply yourself, be humble and willing to learn, be observant, and say no, and I say a lot that not having studied, being thoughtful, honest and objective”, he considers.

For Ely Guerra, people have a destiny and a purposeAlthough it may not be easy to understand at first, on the contrary, it can be complex.

And, despite the fact that there was no musician in her family, since she was little she knew that her destiny was singand it was all about chasing his dreams.

“My parents are wonderful characters, my sisters; meeting people, colleagues, they have taught me, even musical ex-boyfriends, I have been able to be observant and steal everything, I am a great thief of experiences and that allows one to project other things, I have learned a lot from my surroundings, plus my courage, yes it can be said, I left home at the age of 15 in search of this dream”, he relates.

The road to independence for Ely Guerra

After deciding to be independent, being out of the mainstreamand go through a pandemicEly Guerra defines this time as a new beginning, since he considers that the years helped him lay the foundations to continue building his music projectso you are aware that there is still a lot of work to be done.

“The independent musician he has a lot to fight for, honestly this is not the time to feel spoiled, nor that these are simple times, quite the opposite. It has been an exhausting fight, a swim against the current that deserves its breaksget out of the picture and look at what you have built and make sense of it to continue”, he explains.

The author of “Love me a lot” remembers that in her generation she was touched, along with Julieta Venegasopen space for rock musicpreceded by, for example, Rita Guerrero, rose adame Y Cecilia Toussaintwho were part of the change.

“It was difficult, there were many things left out, that nobody wanted to accept, yes, the women singers, those of us who write, play, can do everything that men can do, there was a denied space and we had to grab the machete and open that weed , today there is a paved road. He was tired, and I knew he couldn’t do this struggle from the mainstream.

“They demanded of me to be different, because they found me attractive, with a different voice, they told me ‘don’t do your songs, do anything else that sticks, in the process we exploit your physique’; it was the game, for me there was no way to defend something like that”, he talks.

Guerra confesses that transit through this music road was complicated, and still is, because to this day there are many prejudices.

“Why would I have to justify getting on stage and being intense? I don’t even know how to explain it. In ’94, when we started doing things for a record company, one of their biggest representatives told me that I was very sexual in the sceneryI am fortunate to be cool-headed, that is, I can receive certain information and respond and I told him, ‘I think the problem is you, you should check yourself, not me,’ that’s the end of it”, she shares.

That is why the singer explains her outfit changeswere a way of expressing that she was not comfortable with what was happening in the music industry. Guerra remembers that the first was to shave her hair, because she was tired of the superficial questions they asked her. Something that even shocked her label and her family.

But it was all part of his strategy to stop talking about his physique and delve into his music and lyrics. Since then, music has been his trench of struggle and of exercising his feminismwith it he has managed to transcend his fears, doubts and understand that art heals even the deepest wound.

“When I had an afro I did it because I was in the 30s and I felt that there was a voluptuousness around me, even hormonally I was physically at my best stage, I wrote sensual, fun songs and, now, headed to a fifth floor, you are in other conditions and it seems to me that a artist You must write what you are living”, he clarifies.

Although she has not been able to write during the pandemic, Ely Guerra feels the commitment to go ahead with your musicrefuge and safe space with which he has obtained teachings throughout his 50 years of life.

“After writing songs for more than 40 years, I appreciate everything. In a matter of feminism, we women are able to demand, we have always had it, but there is a path that is being opened; I did not get married, nor did I have children, I left my own family to defend this career, which I owe to who I am, because it has brought new family.

“It has allowed me to understand myself as a woman, a human being and to transmit ideals, strength and humility in a rather arrogant environment, where glamor matters more than art. I am anxious to write, it is not the time, because at some point I thought that I was no longer going to sing, that it was the end of my career, now I do not think like that, rather this is an apprenticeship, there will be new and different projects, ”he points out .

In the Chilean Wey

The singer will perform on June 4 at the Chilean Wey Festival in the Pepsi Centera space where he will interpret a large part of his repertoire acoustically.

“It’s an honor, when they called us they made us feel welcome at the festival, we celebrated, because even though La Ley wasn’t there, it was one of my most important collaborations, but rather the first one that opened the way for people to say ‘I want to collaborate with Ely ‘”, talk.

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