link to original interview
JULY 2003 INTERVIEW
Lourdes Perez:
Woman of Peace and Pride
By Sandra Beckmeier
I first learned about Austin-based Lourdes Perez in
the mid ‘90s, shortly after she made the leap to
the work of a blossoming musician. She had just
released her second album, Recuerdate Por Mi
(Remember For Me) on Chee Wee Records, and when I had
the pleasure of meeting her for an interview
she had a lot to say when asked about
the difficulties of music marketing and the
categorization of world music. A decade later, she still does.
There is always something to learn from Lourdes Perez—
a new inspiration, a movement to check into, or
a cause to understand. Her artistry transcends
the barriers of language, and humanity redefines
thoughtlessly molded borders. Her music explores
the troubadour tradition, the politically
progressive “nueva cancion” style, tossed in with
ruminations from blues and Mexican
rancheras. She says, “a song is a seed put out
there knowing that it will take root where it
needs to and that it will have a life of its own.”
Lourdes Perez was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in
a San Sebastian province. Her parents loved
music, and her motivation to write political
songs documenting the struggles of humanity came
at a very young age. Her parents instilled a
strong sense of dignity and identity in their
young daughter through their work in the
independence movement, which demands an end to
colonial rule by the U.S. calling for sovereignty.
“From the time I was very little, I sang for the
liberation of the Puerto Rican political prisoners and collected money for the campaign to
free them,” Perez said. “Just a few years ago, I
met one of the former prisoners, Rafael Cancel
Miranda—now an Elder—and was able to write and sing for him.”
Perez recalls how her father always took her and her
sisters to sing and play the guitar
in “parrandas.” “All the musicians were men. It
is still that way to this day; I am often the
only woman improviser, singer, writer in the events.”
Contrary to local custom, her parents never pushed
her or her sisters to get married. “[They] wanted
us to study, be prepared, and be independent. So I guess I took their advice,” Perez
said. “I married a woman, went to school and
became an independent artist.”
In 1983 while studying for a master’s degree in
psychology in Puerto Rico, a friend invited her
to visit Connecticut during the summer. It was a
trip that turned into a move, from one city to
the next, while adjusting to American language
and culture. Eventually she began a job as a
social worker in Houston. She began to write
songs, and after moving to Austin she attended a
Mercedes Sosa concert at Bass Concert Hall with
her partner Annette D’Armata. Sosa’s performance
inspired Perez, and with D’Armata’s encouragement
she began pursuing music full-time. Several
years later Perez opened for Sosa, and toured
with her through a handful of cities in the Northeast.
“She is great, generous, like a grandmother,” Perez
said. “I grew up listening to her, really
learning from her. She taught me to sing to the
simple things, to sing for the silenced among
us, no matter the cost.”
Indeed, Perez has taken Sosa’s words to heart, and
has never abandoned her profound gift to support
those who need it.
“It is very simple to me,” Perez explains. “You are a
citizen of the world. You live and witness,
you take in the essence of an interaction—for
example, the outrageous Israeli military
occupation of the Palestinian people and what
little is left of their land. Occupation by the
occupier is violence. Violence breeds violence.
The resulting violence by the oppressed is not
the cause of the problem, but rather a desperate
response to a violent oppression.”
Witnessing this violence, Perez says, is what compels
her performance. “If you witness this,
you have to tell the truth, period,” she
said. “Whether you are a mother, a doctor, a
singer, a weaver, it comes out in your work as a
human response. And without the truth there can
be no peace. In that truth is beauty—always. If
you are able to tell the truth and still find the
beauty, the humanity and the hope, then you
are already successful.”
In 1996 D’Armata and Perez were invited to the First
Intercontinental Encuentro in Chiapas, Mexico.
They traveled around the state, performing in a
number of indigenous, declared autonomous
communities and attending gatherings along with
4,000 people from around the world. They
discussed world peace, and listened to the
lectures of intellectuals giving presentations.
She recalls one night of torrential rain on a
homemade stage in La Realidad. “The international
press core showed up for press
conference by the Zapatista women and a reporter
from the New York Times asked, ‘What do you think
about lesbians?’ One of the women, through a
translator said something like ‘They can’t help
it; they have to make money to survive.’ We all
realized they understood the word to
mean ‘prostitute so there was a quick re-translation.”
The women talked amongst themselves for a minute,
then the woman responded, “If there is one woman
and she is a Zapatista, that is good. If there
are two women who love each other, and they are Zapatistas, that is even better.”
“There was lots of laughter and applause and dancing
in the rain that night,” Perez said, smiling.
In many ways life imitates art for Perez who these
days humorously claims to live “somewhere called
international airspace,” traveling between
Guanajuanto, Mexico, San Antonio, and Austin. She
is currently recording her next album with
the Austin-based, all female string quintet,
Tosca, guitarist/percussionist Oliver Rajamani,
and Conjunto accordion “queen” Eva Ybarra. She
was commissioned to compose sixty minutes of
music for the unveiling of a four-story
mosaic/sculpture of La Virgin de Guadalupe in San
Antonio. The music will be released and
performed live on December 12 in San Antonio.
“This project means a lot to me because we just
really seem to need a giant woman of peace right
about now. I own myself, my records, my writing,
my opinions and we have freedom in that
independence,” Perez concluded. “I have met and
collaborated with many artists that I love and respect. I am able to work with my beloved Annette
every day. I’m happy singing to three people or
3000. I’m no millionaire but I feel very rich, if you know what I mean.”
For more information on the music of Lourdes Perez,
access www.lourdesperez.com.
