Richard Kapuściński He claimed that "a bad person is never a good journalist." This was later confirmed by the neuroscientist Howard Gardner: “A bad person never becomes a good professional.” I share that opinion, and I extend it to the flamencoA bad person is never a good artist. You can add my signature if you want after that statement, although I'm sure many of you will nod your heads while remembering, above the best tablaos, the many who don't deserve it. They do it well, they execute it well, but being an artist is something else entirely.
Ostalinda – which in Romani means the highest, which directly alludes to the Virgin Mary – is both. That's why she grabs her flute and commands the stage. She demonstrated this very recently, in the International Festival of Cante of the Mines, from La Unión, Murcia, where he won second place for best instrumentalist. The Golden Vein went to pianist José Carlos Esteban-Hanza Fernández, from Almería.
Born in Zafra (Badajoz) in 1980, this gypsy from a family of musicians and artists is determined to repeat her luck next year in Murcia, while she prepares for another important date with luck, the magic, and the jury. And that's despite the fact that she has never before entered any competition in her long career. And I'm talking about her life, which is the same as her professional career. We spoke with her about her joys, sorrows, present and future. About Extremadura, about her desires, and, of course, about flamencoThat strange food that never satiates anyone who once tried it.
– How many times has your father, the orchestra conductor Paco Suárez, said at home that he had a gold mine with you?
– (Laughs) Well, I think the real gold mine in my house has been my parents, and I'm also talking about my mother, Antonia Montaño. Since we were children, both my brother Pakito Suárez 'El Aspirina' and I have accompanied her on countless tours around Europe: I always remember Italy with great affection. I did my first tours in that country with the group Matipén, also with the European Romani Sinphonic Orchestra, for example. Then many other shows that I can't forget, like my mother singing the gelem gelem before the King and Queen of Spain. A hymn, by the way, that my parents brought back to Spain after an international conference in Strasbourg. They heard it there, and upon their return to Spain, they composed the version we know today.
– And what do you say about the prize?
– The Gold Vein is quite an experience, and I congratulate this year's winner from here. I'm thrilled and delighted by this experience. I arrived with all the excitement in the world and am returning to my homeland grateful for this second prize awarded by one of the festivals. flamencos most demanding in the world. I will return in 2026, because I am confident in the performance I gave and, above all, to put my land in the place it always deserves. Extremadura has shown at this festival that it has its own voice with three award winners throughout its history: the mining lamps of Miguel de Tena, Celia Romero, Esther Merino (cante) and Javier Conde's "drumstick" (guitar). The "desplante" (dance) and the "vein of gold" (instrumentalist) would therefore be the only awards without an Extremaduran flavor, for now.
«One of my goals is to get my children to have a career in music, because I believe that music, and the flamenco, above all, they give a lot of satisfaction. Music is one of the best ways for us to express ourselves. As a mother, a musician, and a flamenco dancer, I would like my children to be professional musicians and flamenco"from the heart"
– What are you most proud of? Being the first female flamenco concert performer in Europe, or having paved the way for others to follow?
– Both. Getting to where I am hasn't been easy. It's not just the flute. It's a family that also involves a responsibility, like my job as director of the Municipal Music School in Zafra. You can do anything, and you can do it, but sometimes the emotional and physical price is extremely high. Now, how happy I am every time I pick up the flute and play it... no one knows that.
- To the flamenco, does it all fit?
– Of course. The flamenco It's a very rich music that makes you explore, make things, and it always responds. Of course, you need to know that code. flamenco to be able to create, but it enriches any instrument and those fusions that are made with respect.
– What does the transverse flute have that the piano, for example, which you also studied, didn't have?
– It's true that I started studying piano, but I picked up the flute when my father started a band. And from the first moment I blew into it, it sounded great. At that moment, I knew the flute was going to be my life. What's it about? Connecting with the instrument. It's true that not everyone can play every instrument; you can study them, but if you don't connect, if you don't transmit and put enthusiasm and soul into it, you're doing nothing. When you connect with the instrument, and it connects with you, something wonderful emerges. Art begins to emerge, and the musician uses it as a form of expression.
– What does it mean to you? Acaná, his debut film?
– Well, imagine! I've been playing since I was twelve, with tours, teachers..., and the moment comes when you feel that now, acaná –now, in Romani-, it's time. It's a show I put my all into. Acaná It is the vision that I have of flamenco.
– What do the Suárez have that makes “the flamenco bless you”?
– No, no, it is we who bless the flamencoWe try to contribute with our effort, knowledge, everything we have, always from a perspective of respect.
– What did you learn as a child that has become the best thing you have learned as an adult?
– I learned hard work and perseverance from my parents. They gave us lessons every day, we composed, and we went to concerts. That has served me well in my later years. I'm a clear example of all that. The importance they always placed on continuing to strive and develop has served me well because I've understood that you can't play an instrument without that effort behind it.
"When you connect with the instrument and it connects with you, something wonderful emerges, and art begins to emerge, and the musician uses it as a form of expression."
– What has been the best advice you have ever received?
– I've been given a lot of musical advice. One of the best, which didn't come from my father, was from my college teacher. In one of my classes, I got really stressed because, while I was playing a Mozart audition, a teacher told me contemptuously that "there was always something that sounded like Mozart to me." flamenco"My teacher, who saw me crying, told me: Ostalinda, play as you feel, and as it comes out. That was the best advice I was given: to make me see that I had to be who I was. To play as I felt and that I didn't have to be like the other flutists.
– What are your goals, your aspirations?
– Continue studying, listening flamencoTo continue creating, to be excited… To continue being myself. And as a second goal, to achieve recognition in this world after so much effort and work.
– Your children are also musicians. Is this a vocation, devotion, or obligation in the Suárez household? Tell us about them.
– I have three children. Juan and Paco Navarro Suárez have played the cello and piano since they were little. And the daughter, Ángela, plays the flute a little and has a great sensitivity for the world of art, but she isn't as dedicated to it as her siblings. Vocation, devotion...? A mix. Vocation, devotion, and also obligation, because both her father – Juan – and I are behind them, taking them to and from the conservatory and encouraging them to keep studying. And, above all, nurturing that love for art. flamencoJuan and Paco are two children who initially excel on their instruments. It's true that they have a disciplined approach to study, but also because they like it and it's within them. One of my goals is that: to help my children have a career in music, because I believe that music, and flamenco, above all, they give a lot of satisfaction. Music is wonderful and it's one of the best ways for us to express ourselves. As a mother, a musician, and a flamenco fan, I would like my children to be professional musicians, and flamencos from the heart.
A life devoted to art
Gypsy by birth and flamenco by conviction, like her name, which by the way is María Antonia according to the Civil Registry, she has always wanted to elevate classical music and flamenco to the highest level. flamenco. Scores with which she has grown and matured as a woman and as a musician. Concert artist and soloist of the European Romani Symphony Orchestra Based in Bulgaria, her commitment to music and the Roma people would begin much earlier, as at just twelve years old Ostalinda became a founding member of the group Matipén, with which he made his first tours in 1993 through different cities in Italy.
It was just the beginning. The beginning of a career always linked to music and its culture, which has led him to his debut film. Acaná, the 'now' in the career of this artist who has known how to grow, without losing her identity, under the international guidance of her father Paco Suarez, orchestra conductor, and his brother's percussion and musical arrangements Pakito Suárez 'The Aspirin'. A few chords played on the transverse flute, with which, without forgetting his piano studies, he has managed to communicate, engage in dialogue, and present his own language to the public. ♦
