• News
  • /
  • News
  • /
  • Soleá Morente: “I accept this award with great excitement, joy and eternal gratitude”

FPdGi Awards

Soleá Morente: “I accept this award with great excitement, joy and eternal gratitude”

This singer is the joint winner of the 2018 Princess of Girona Foundation Arts and Literature Award, together with Pablo Ferrández.

15/06/2018

Born into a family of artists, Soleá Morente has been recognised —as joint winner with Pablo Ferrández— with the 2018 Princess of Girona Foundation Arts and Literature Award because she is “a totally genuine artist with the ability to lead musical projects in a world that is often difficult for women”, as highlighted by the jury when it announced her name, at an event presided over by H.M. the Queen of Spain at the Alcazaba Cultural Centre in Mérida in February of this year. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard! I accept this award with great excitement, joy and eternal gratitude”, said the flamenco and pop rock singer Soleá Morente (Madrid, 1986), who also had words of praise for the Princess of Girona Foundation and the work it does. “I find it very encouraging that there are foundations like this one, with members who really want to help young people and who work to provide solutions for the society we live in”, underlined this Madrid native, who said she felt “very proud to join the ranks of the Foundation’s award winners”.

The jury, led by journalist Montserrat Domínguez, was made up of writer, journalist and filmmaker Luis Alegre; entrepreneur and theatre producer Jesús Cimarro; artistic director of the Palau de la Música Catalana Víctor García de Gomar, architect Rafael Moneo, filmmaker Gracia Querejeta, director of the Extremadura Youth Orchestra and 2016 FPdGi Arts and Literature Award winner Andrés Salado and actor Maribel Verdú.

In 2018, Morente published her third album, Ole Lorelei, following on from the success of her previous releases Encuentro and Tendrá que haber un camino. This young singer began her musical career after finishing her studies in Hispanic Philology at the University of Granada, following in the footsteps of her father, renowned flamenco singer Enrique Morente, and her sister, singer Estrella Morente.

Music in her blood
“My father and my sister are two of my most important role models. I remember how every party at home was celebrated with music”, said the singer, who also confessed that when she was little she loved to “sing and dance and take part in family get-togethers”. This musical background left its imprint on her and her two siblings. “All three of us work in the music business, because when you’ve grown up surrounded by it and music is something so natural, it’s pretty much inevitable”. Since she was a child her parents have taught her to “keep the rhythm and clap, as we watched our uncles and aunts, our siblings and our friends do the same”.

Soleá’s life has been surrounded by music and her father was a central figure. “My father had a restless spirit and liked to break the rules; he was always innovating and searching for new ideas yet, at the same, he remained deeply committed to his love of tradition and his roots. That attitude has influenced me and had an impact on how I do my work”. One of the phrases that reminds her most of her father is a well-loved saying he often repeated: “Without risk, there is no creativity”.

For Morente, one of her father’s most important achievements was to introduce flamenco singing “to new audiences, of all ages, and in other languages”. “It was an example of courage”, she added. However, her father is not the only member of Soleá’s family to have made their mark. Her sister Estrella has also played a fundamental role: “She is an example to follow; I deeply admire her, she is a towering figure and I always seek her opinion and advice”.

Above all, she points to something her father said to her when she finished her Philology degree and didn’t know whether to become a musician or not: “Don’t be afraid or prejudiced, and do whatever makes you feel good. When you decide, good preparation and knowledge will be your best tools”. Advice that she is now passing on to all young people to help them choose their paths “without fear”.

 

Copyright © 2024 Princess of Girona Foundation
C. Juli Garreta, 1, 1r E   17002 Girona   (Spain)
Tel. 34 972 410 410   info@fpdgi.org