Galician, Spanish, Yugoslav. This is how Laura Marin describes herself, a young singer and guitarist who is simultaneously studying Galician-Portuguese Philology at the University of A Coruña (UDC) and is building a musical career, gaining great popularity in the region of the former Yugoslavia.
Born in 2004, she encountered our Montenegrin-Serbian-Bosnian-Croatian language at the age of about nine, fell in love with it, started learning it, and then perfected it, so that today she easily speaks it, writes it, sings in it, communicates in it, and also creates art. That's how she became interested in the culture and traditions of the Yugoslav peoples and countries.
On your own social networks, where there are hundreds of thousands of followers, Laura Marin publishes covers of Balkan hits, as well as lesser-known songs from all genres, all in the languages of the former Yugoslavia. In this way, it popularizes our language, cultural heritage, and destination.
She visited Montenegro for the first time this year when, as part of the International Guitar Competition, she performed on the big stage of the Tivat Cultural Center at the end of May and enchanted the entire audience. With the concert "Laura Marin - voice and guitar", the Galician presented herself in the best possible light, winning the hearts of the audience with her emotional interpretations of Balkan music classics.
Her subtlety, sonorous and sweet voice, specific sensibility and expressive simplicity are imbued with Mediterranean warmth and a nostalgic note. She often performs cult hits from the former Yugoslavia, and she reveals to Vijesti that she especially loves the legendary Nikšić native, Miladin Šobić, as well as another singer-songwriter from our region - Đorđe Balašević, and there are also sevdalinka, traditional Montenegrin and Macedonian songs that she performs in the original languages. Speaking of this, she also talks about her native Galicia, from a social, cultural-artistic, but also political aspect, and she also reveals that she finds similarities between Montenegro and her country.
"For me, music is a way to connect with people and to get to know a culture that fascinates me. Language is not an obstacle for me, but a bridge to emotion," said Laura Marin, who in an interview for Vijesti talks more about music, language and languages, Spain, Galicia, the former Yugoslavia and new projects...
It seems that Tivat, although the first, will not be Laura Marin's last stop in Montenegro, but that she has just started her journey of discovery and self-presentation. It is certain that she will visit us again soon. Who knows, maybe in the city of N, the city of Miladin Šobić and Ljubo Čupić (whom the Galicijska herself mentioned), the city of many other greats, a rich history, a big heart and a special soul...
What impressions do you have from Montenegro, but also from your performance at the International Guitar Competition in Tivat? How did it all go and did anything in particular captivate you?
I think the audience in Tivat was the warmest I've ever had. Nature also surprised me, the weather was nice, sunny, I felt like I was in a movie. Montenegro reminds me of my Galicia, so I felt at home.
On that occasion, I arrived in Tivat on Saturday around 17 pm, and on Sunday at 4:30 am I headed to the airport. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but I had to return to Galicia because I had an exam the next day. After the performance, I had dinner in Porto Montenegro, and I was really surprised by how beautiful everything looked. Even though it was short, I enjoyed it. I can't wait to go back.
You are known, among other things, for performing music from the former Yugoslavia... What specifically attracted you to dedicate yourself to it, to stay in that sphere, and even to write and record in our language yourself?
That's a question I don't have a logical answer to. I don't even know what it was that, at the age of nine, when I first heard our language, woke up in my heart. That day, a star began to shine and I've been following it all these years. It's a matter of the soul, and I follow my soul.
In your covers, you can hear respect, a sense of text, emotion, but also a language that is not your native language... How important is it to you to understand what you are singing, not only phonetically but also culturally? Do you have any favorite artists or songs from the Balkans, from Montenegro?
Before I decided to learn, now our language, I read books and watched documentaries. Today, it is more important for me to listen to people, to tell me about their childhood, experiences, expectations, opinions... To really get to know a people, you have to get to know them "individually". From Montenegro, I especially like Miladin Šobić. His first song I heard was "Pjesma za Ljubo Čupića"... I was captivated by his charisma, his lyrics and his sensibility.
You have a large number of followers on social media from all over the former Yugoslavia, and the reactions to your performances, covers, and art are always positive. How do you experience that?
There are a lot of positive reactions, but there are also negative comments... Since the beginning of my career, there has not been a video where men haven't commented on my body. But most of the reactions are good, I would say that people love me because they feel my love for their country.
How much do you know about the Balkan countries, their traditions, history, lifestyle, and are you particularly interested in anything?
I don't know as much about the Balkan countries as I do specifically about the countries of the former Yugoslavia. I'm most interested in the 20th century, especially Tito's Yugoslavia.
You grew up in Galicia, a region with its own language, identity and complex relationship to the majority culture of Spain. Has this diversity shaped you as an artist? What can you tell us about Galicia and yourself as a Galician today?
Marwan Makhoul, a poet from Palestine, wrote: “In order for me to write poetry that isn't political I must listen to the birds, and in order to hear the birds the warplanes must be silent.”
Since Galicia became part of Spain, Galician was banned - from 1490 until the XNUMXs, after the death of Franco and the beginning of democracy in Spain. I am a proud Galician who loves all good people. As a singer of Balkan music, I have been to different cities in Spain (Madrid, Alicante, Córdoba, Cáceres…) and I have felt at home everywhere. As a teenager, I started listening to flamenco - music from the south of Spain - and I am infinitely grateful to live in a society where everyone understands two languages.
The people who created (and continue to do) linguistic imperialism have nothing to do with the people. The people who do evil, in any way, have a name and surname. No people, nor language, is to blame for that.
How do you view the concept of belonging, but also identity, and appropriation, whether of music, you as a performer, Galicia, culture...?
As a teenager I thought about this topic a lot, but not anymore. I am Galician, Spanish, and in a way Yugoslav. Since my partner is from Sarajevo, I am often called “our Sarajevan”. At the end of the day, we all have red blood.
For Galicians, our language is the most important thing for our identity. I feel like I belong when I fully understand what people are saying. When it comes to music, it's about energy. I enjoyed Balkan music even when I didn't understand the lyrics.
You study the Galician-Portuguese language, which stems from the medieval tradition of lyric poetry, love and narrative songs. Do you see a parallel between these old verses and the sevdahs, ballads or laments that you sing today? Is there something that binds or connects Galicia and the Balkans, have you found any thread of similarity?
Absolutely! At the end of the day, we are close. Europe is a small continent, the same peoples passed through our lands: Jews, Roma, people of the Roman Empire… The nature of the Balkans and Galicia is also similar, so when I am in a village with you, I feel like I am in my own village.
Between the Balkans and Galicia, I would say that one similarity is particularly striking, and that is that if you are a guest somewhere, people will ask you a hundred times if you are hungry... And you will eat more than you wanted. We are warm people.
What is your relationship towards Galicia and your native language, given that Galicia is often perceived as “exotic” within Spain, sometimes with a geopolitical context, even though the people may not want it?
Last year, statistics showed that, for the first time in 13 centuries, since today's Latin languages evolved enough to no longer be Latin, Galician is no longer the most widely spoken language in Galicia, but Spanish. On the other hand, a hundred years ago, in 1925, more than 95 percent of the population spoke Galician exclusively. The reason why the language is being lost today is, among other things, that at the time when people around the world started going to school, Galician was completely banned in fascist Spain at the time. Many people were killed just for speaking Galician in public. The same was the case with Catalan and Basque. All of this led me to want to study Galician-Portuguese language and literature.
You also use your popularity in the context of activism, so you are not silent on numerous topics that many people do not talk about. Do you consider this an obligation of every human being and how important is it to you to use the space and influence you have for these purposes?
I've been called an "activist" a few times, and that makes me a little sad. I don't consider myself an activist, I consider myself a human being. Activists give their time and energy to actively change injustices, like Greta Thunberg. I just occasionally post something on social media with the hope that people who follow me will think independently and critically.
When I have a more stable musical career, I would like some of my songs to talk about the problems of the world - to talk about injustices through music, just like Šobić.
How do you see the way the world is organized today, whether by ideological, consumerist, ecological or capitalist criteria? How can music and art influence these issues?
A few months ago I read the book “Fahrenheit 451”, published in 1953. Although it is a dystopia, countless details from that book are our reality today. I regret that we have become a consumerist society, where everything is valued through material things and where the world is ruled by psychopaths.
But, at the same time, I think this is the best time to be alive - we can all go to school, we are all literate, medicine has advanced, women have greater rights... That's why I am critical, but I am not a pessimist. Music and art are ways of expressing ourselves, but also of bearing witness to what is happening in the world. Songs are a great way to talk about injustices, violence, but also positive examples. Whether we like it or not - art is politics. If it weren't so, books wouldn't be banned.
Are you currently working on anything and can we expect you to visit us again soon?
I don't like to talk about performances and projects until I'm sure they'll happen. I'm currently working on my third single, which will probably be released in the fall. I composed both the music and the lyrics myself, and the song is about falling in love, as well as the doubts and fears that accompany that period. It will be called "Answered Prayer"...
Bonus video:
