In an exclusive interview for Diario Las Américas, the artist told us about the meaning of this song, her creative process and her next presentation in Miami, where she hopes to meet her audience.
-What does mean for you Hurts Who is dedicated?
It is an issue that had a lot of wishing to compose. It is a song that is made with a lot of love and dedicated to all Cubans and especially to the Cubans who are in Cubathat every day they face so many challenges and challenges. Also to all Cubans who are out of Cuba.
Talk about all that desire for freedom. Of all that desire to be able to get ahead and be able to free ourselves from that dictatorship that has had us for years living in separation, in confusion.
-How do you expect this song to connect with the public and what impact do you think they will have on those who listen to it?
It is a song that will connect with people musically, emotionally and spiritually. I was inspired by the subject of us Cubans, in Cuba, in our history, in our pains, in our traumas. In all our experiences, in everything it is a town that is fighting every day and has the courage to go outside and defend their rights, their freedom.
Also in that town that has had to emigrate, which is one of the deep damage that the Cuban has suffered.
In the separation, the love I feel for my land, for my nation. I see it as a grain of sand to arouse more awareness about this fact, touching people’s hearts, being able to express through what I know how to do all this that I think is something deep, very important, that speaks of freedom.
-The process of creating Hurts He involved El B and Yadán González, how was working with them and what each one contributed to the song?
I met him there in Cuba; He knew his work and respected him a lot. He knew all his value and his challenges and the encounter here was magicó and to share that song with him was like a thing that happened very naturally and spontaneously.
Also the encounter with Yadán González, this great musical producer, which among us three we created the song with a common sense: that desire to change things.
I feel happy and I feel very proud to put a grain of sand to boost people; And realize that in each of us is the possibility of doing something because those things (dictatorship) change.
-Your music is taking a new course, how has this transition to you been and that contributes to your musical identity?
I feel that I am a new Haydée. Regardless of everything, it is a personal process.
Music is taking a new course in my life. I am opening to work with other musical producers, leaving me with other producers with more experiences and experiencing with other musical genres such as rap, which I had never done a subject with a rapper and it seems to me that it enriches my music.
In addition, to open to the Caribbean sounds, such as reggae, already electronic sounds.
-When is your next presentation and what surprises do you have prepared for the public that night?
The first of March we will be doing a concert at Flamingo Theather Bar, which tickets are already on sale.
I will have special collaborations: the B will be premiering this song next to me and Kelvis Ochoa will also be; We will have other big surprises to share with the public.
-Present you in Miami, where a great Cuban community lives, it must be special for you, what does this reunion represent with your people through music?
It represents connecting with my roots, my people. Somehow connect with the history of us. It seems to me that music is something that connects us, that unites us and this is a unique opportunity for those ties of connection, understanding, enjoyment and consciousness to be created.
–Hurts It is the first advance of your next album, what can we expect from this new album and what difference does it have with your previous works?
This is the first single that will leave this album. I have been working for a while in some songs, several in collaboration with other composers, and I feel very happy because I think it is a new path in terms of composition.
I am giving myself the opportunity again to work on my things. I had been dedicating myself to other authors, but I had many desires to compose and live the experience; even compose with other composers.
I feel that this album is bringing new airs, it is a new Haydée. It is my first album after leaving Cuba and brings many surprises to share with the public.
-Your music has accompanied many Cubans in their migratory process, how has it been for you to live that change and what learning has left you?
It has meant a strong blow to get out of my place of origin. I always think it is a very painful learning process, where you have to die to be born again; You understand many things and where you leave behind a lot of things that have to do with your identity, affections, spaces and with everything that represents that. I think it is an opportunity for growth as a human being and as an artist.
-The legacy of your father, Pablo Milanés, has been fundamental in your career, how continues to influence your music and this new project?
For me it is an honor because it is my father. I grew up listening to his music. He is a person who formed me, that I love him deeply. A person with whom I learned a lot, especially from their sensitivity, their value.
For me to sing his music is first to connect with him in some way. It represents honoring that part of Cubania, of Cuban music. Is to honor one of the most important authors and poets of Cuban music. Honor his life, his way, his entire career, his struggles and then give me that pleasure to sing his songs, which I love.
-How was it for you to adapt to the new model of the music industry?
It has been a challenge to be able to recommend, to connect with the world of music, with everything that digital platforms have. An artist today is an artist, he is a content creator who is somehow exposed to the public.
-Many young musicians are starting their careers in a competitive environment, what advice would you give them to stand firm on their way?
I think the first thing to do is believe in one. Many times that can fail, but you have to constantly remember it. You have to believe in one and also surround yourself with people who can support you and create in you. Find spaces where your music can be heard.
-In the last years, many Cubans have raised their voice in search of a change, what message do you have for those who are still on the island and for those who, like you, have had to start again elsewhere?
My message is that I feel very proud of all those Cubans who have had the courage to say what they think and take to the streets. I feel very inspired by that. I think that as citizens we have the right and the duty to say what we think and we are not obliged to say what we do not have to say. I feel very proud of the people who have been able to cross all those fears, all those traumas, all that repression, which has been imposed by that dictatorship. I feel very proud because truly the conditions in which the Cuban lives, and have the strength to be able to do that, I think it is something worth admiring and that is why I sing them and I have supported them and that’s why I am with them.
Admired voice
With this new launch and its next presentation in the city of the Sun, Haydée Milanés reaffirms its commitment to music as a space of truth and emotion. Each song of his is a bridge that unites those who share their story and feel. Her artistic sensibility and interpretive talent have made her one of the most admired voices inside and outside Cuba.
