The Israeli troubadour regrets the suspension of the agreement on the occasion of the release of ‘La mujer que yo quiero’, an album in which he adapts songs by authors such as Serrat, Paco Ibáñez and Cecilia into Spanish, a revision of the album in Hebrew that he published with great success in your country 40 years ago
Around the year 1983, an album that included three songs by Serrat, as well as others by Paco Ibáñez, Cecilia and Manzanita, all of them adapted to Hebrew, broke sales records in Israel and became a classic in that country. “A record that currently continues to be in almost every house& rdquor ;, assures its author, David Broza, that 40 years later, he has resumed that songbook to interpret it now in its original language, Spanish, in an album titled in honor of one of Serrat’s pieces, ‘The woman I love’.
Work that brings us a naked and temperamental approach, as befits this troubadour who feels like “son of rock’n’roll”, of a repertoire with a poetic halo that marked him in his childhood and youth: Broza was educated in Madrid, between between the ages of 12 and 19, at the British School, and came to share classrooms with Cecilia’s sister, Teresa Sobredo. “Then I had to do military service in Israel, three years, and I took that music and the Spanish guitar with me & rdquor ;, he explains from New York, where he lives.
best selling record
The original album, ‘Haishá sheití’ (title with lyrical license: it means ‘The woman who is next to me’), became the best-selling album in history in that country. “About 250,000 copies, and Israel then had three million plus inhabitants. Now they are our songs, rented or transported from Spain& rdquor ;, he notes, and adds a significant anecdote: “When Serrat went to sing in Israel, a journalist thanked him ‘for singing David Broza’s songs’& rdquor;.
Now it is Serrat who thanks him in a text for the “artistic event& rdquor; that he represented that work, “bringing our music and our cultures closer & rdquor ;. The new versions, now in Spanish, represent, says the Barcelona singer-songwriter, “a brave and simple hand-in-hand game between the guitar and the voice& rdquor ;. For Broza, it was about “giving back to the Israeli public & rdquor; those songs in their original language. “I wasn’t thinking of releasing this record in Spain, but my friend Guillermo Fesser told me that it would be great to do so, because it was the music that marked an entire generation.”
There are also ‘Uncle Alberto’ and ‘What will become of you’, as well as two pieces by Paco Ibáñez, ‘My girl went to the sea’ (text by Lorca) and ‘Como tú’ (León Felipe), another pair of Little Apple (‘By your absence’ and ‘Inside your soul’), and ‘Ramito de violetas’, by Cecilia, as well as a song by Broza himself, ‘The most beautiful girl’, with lyrics by the Israeli poet Yehonatan Geffen. It was this one who on his day encouraged the troubadour to complete his mission. “As he told me, in our country of wars, with all that anxiety, those love songs, pure, with good stories, represented a way of escape.”
more bars than here
For Broza, Israel and Spain have a Mediterranean mentality in common, although with certain differences.. “We are neurotics, and the Spaniards are not. Five bars on each street are not enough for us, we need ten& rdquor ;, jokes. He appreciates the adverse attitude towards emergencies, where “not everything has to be done since yesterday& rdquor; and it is possible to “take your time, with a glass of wine and a guitar”.
He returns to Spain these days with a recital that he will offer this Monday at the Maestranza, in Seville, bringing a large delegation of Israeli fans. “I would like politicians to come so they can see that ‘culture’ is not just a word& rdquor ;. Broza will return to Spain in autumn to offer four concerts: on October 25 he will be in Madrid (Galileo Galileo) and hope to close a date in Barcelona.
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Speaking of politicians, it makes him “sorry & rdquor; the initiative of the Barcelona City Council to suspend the twinning with Tel Aviv. “There are people who don’t understand that dialogue is the oxygen of humanity,” observes David Broza, who says he spends “more than 30%” of his time to educational activities through music, with Israelis and Palestinians. “The key is to be there, in the settlements and with the extremists, speaking to them and telling them that the law of an eye for an eye cannot work, and that there is space for everyone.”
