With Betto Justiniano - Portraits in Times of Pandemic
Guitarras Alhambra asks Alhambra artists from all over the world what they think and how this pandemic has affected their lives.
Interview with Betto Justiniano
1.-How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your artistic activity?
I think every artist is affected by everything that is happening in the world. Mainly, for us it was the delay in the presentation date of our new album Bonanza 30 years with the national record company and we still do not know the date when it will be released, but we hope this will be solved soon so we can get to launch our album officially. Well, also many shows were cancelled in my country, mainly it was the tour Bonanza 30 years that should start in May and surely we will reschedule the dates in all cities, causing great damage to the whole artistic industry as musicians, sound engineers, collaborators on stage, managers, businessmen owners of large equipment and many other people who are very affected by this pandemic.
2. Now that we all have to adapt and reprogram ourselves to this situation, in what new projects are you working on?
Is it strange that before time was our worst enemy right? The hours of the day were missing to complete the personal, professional and artistic activities. People always have projects and because of that lack of time they were not materialized and now it is all the opposite and we are now working all the time. We are working with my group in put on a new show for the tour Bonanza 30 years, where we want to reinvent ourselves. We want to show a new show to our public, also doing in this particular time a song dedicated to what is happening in the world, where it speaks much of not giving up and not losing hope nor faith.
3. In what positive way do you think this situation is affecting the society and the planet?
The coronavirus is freezing us in time, but it is also teaching us to value many things that we had lost. One of them is nature that is enjoying its greatest splendour, the rivers and their crystal clear waters, less pollution on the planet and I think that in a positive way we are humanizing the world with the purpose of changing our same habits and knowing that we can always be better people.
4. What hobby or other activity have you started doing that you did not have time for before?
Well, the most beautiful activity I have in all this time is enjoying my family, every second with them is the most rescuable of all this situation, being close to my children, that you do not have usually for them 24 hours, but that is life. Because of our work, the tours specially, we are not available to be the most important dates with our loved ones and well, I think this is the reward of all the time we have lost before.
5. What would you advise to artists and art lovers in general to focus and be positive on this global stage that we are going through?
It is always good not to abandon the instrument as well, there are many ways in this time of pandemic to make music, one of them is to rehearse at home at the time you see convenient and necessary. Nowadays with technology there are many ways to be in touch with your friends, artists, colleagues, musicians and that is that you can do it through the Internet with videos, with audio with home studios and make music, connecting instruments, voices and get a good sound and reach people.
6. After the coronavirus, do you think we will have learned anything and changed our lifestyle?
We will surely learn to value life, to take care of nature above all things and that humanity will understand that we must be good people who no longer have to fight wars between brothers, teach our children that this pandemic once existed, but with a lot of effort from everybody and together we managed to defeat it.
