The day after filling its third Movistar Arena and adding 45,000 spectators, Pablo Tamagnini, Nelson Aguirre and Diego Granadè they wander as calmly as possible through the offices of their record company. They are the singers of the Congathe phenomenon of the year that had previously sold out ten Gran Rex and that on March 18 it will arrive in Vélezwhich is already sold out.
The K’onga is a quartet group which many believe is a boom of the last two years, but they actually have a twenty-year career.
“We gave our all – Diego says – so our chests are swollen, even if a little tired. I feel like a cramp”.
-You came from singing three nights in a row! It stands to reason that you feel tired the next day.
Pablo: -It happens that it has been a long period of non-stop work, and you don’t realize when you are in the vortex of continuing to do things. Now we were doing these Movistars and at the beginning of the year there was the Gran Rex. Now a summer is coming with shows everywhere, so how can you not be tired?
Now that we know that the end of the year is coming and that last night was the last night before going on vacation, there are aches in the body, tiredness, absences and absences. But very happy to have shared three Movistar Arenas with the Buenos Aires public and people who came from other provinces to see us. For me it was a dream moment, shared with my two colleagues who shone on stage.
“We made dreams come true”
-Did these stadiums feel like something special or was last night one more show out of the hundreds they put on every year?
Diego: It wasn’t just another show. We are happy because we are realizing dreams rather than goals. We are super happy and also very serene. We really enjoyed the people, band and artists that came to visit last night.
Nelson: -Let’s say goodbye to the year in the best possible way.
-After the first two dates, maybe they took care of themselves because there was another show the next day, but were they able to celebrate last night?
nelson: -Let’s celebrate! We all hugged and there was loud applause for the band. It was as if we had qualified for a World Cup final. And we wish each other happy holidays, because starting today we are enjoying a well-deserved rest, after a year in which we worked hard and where so many good things happened, as Pablo said: the Gran Rex, the Gardel awards and the scenarios we have trodden. We closed last night in the best way, with an impressive Movistar Arena, where you can listen well, look good and enjoy it all. A lust! We will see you again on January 3rd.
“Every day we grow”
-Does it make you proud when you talk about the La K’onga phenomenon, or do you think “Wow, we’ve been in this for 20 years and they’re just realizing it now”?
Pablo: -It’s moments. We do everything from the heart, and I speak in the plural because there are three of us singing but in total we are 31 people on tour. We do everything to make everything shine, everyone with the belief that we are doing the best, and we grow every day. It’s part of that unconscious process of all things happening and sometimes with little time to enjoy it.
Kind of to round off what Nelson was just saying, we recorded Movistar yesterday as it was the last of a whole year tour, so we took the time to hug and tell each other all that each one is worth.
-Did digital platforms help you leave Córdoba and arrive in Buenos Aires? The quartet has always had a hard time making that leap.
Diego: -In these 20 years we have always been very involved in making the country. We have done the work of the ants. Of course now technology and networks and all things are getting easier, but at the same time it’s also getting harder because we all have those tools. There are multiple artists and they all have this option. But we have been a band that has traveled the country and we have traveled many miles.
Our big bet has always been for people to come, to watch and listen to us and spread the comment that we are good live. That’s been the real 17-year journey, because it’s only been about 4 years since we’ve been hard at work with YouTube and everything, which of course has been helping out and everything has expanded. Everything has gotten bigger.
A boom in the midst of a pandemic
– Paradoxically, the pandemic has blocked all entertainment activities, but it has given you a boost because you have uploaded a lot of material to the networks. How was that decision?
Nelson: -We had time because we couldn’t go on tour and we were slowed down by work. We couldn’t get on the bus to travel and tour the country, so we started meeting via Zoom or Whatsapp to try out each home business. For example, I’ve set up a recording studio in my apartment. He recorded the vocals, mailed it to the boys and they mixed it at Villa Dolores. I was in Córdoba.
Furthermore, each from his own home, we also made video clips with cell phones, because we had to find him.
-Is it true that they upload one topic a week?
Pablo: -In one year we uploaded 42 songs with videos. And every musician at home, as Nelson said, because the pandemic hasn’t allowed us to move. Everyone contributed and it was all sent to the studio, where the boys juggled and came up with songs on a weekly basis.
Nelson: -People waited for Friday to arrive to hear a new song and see a video of La K’onga.
-How was the creative ping-pong between the three of you to decide which song or version you would record?
Diego: -Let everyone sing what they want to sing. I think that the more fun it is for those who manage to interpret it, the better the result will be. There’s also the possibility that if I really like something and the guys see that I don’t like it, you have to open your ears and weigh the decision whether to do it or not.
– Were two votes enough to “win”, or did it have to be an absolute majority of three out of three?
Diego: -There are three of us to sing, but in reality we are seven to vote. We are open to what the whole band says. We have no problems with that. I think we are smart and we all have the same goal, then an agreement is reached. But if Pablo or Nelson want to sing something and they’re sure of it, I support them.
Pablo: -In a pandemic it happened to us with the same air: I was the only one who liked the topic and wanted to move forward while the others said no. And we are many to convince! It was a struggle and on top of that everything was very precarious and the video could only be made with a selfie type cell phone.
I defended him: He said a version of Camilo’s hit needed to be done, and it came on a Friday when it was the only song ready, so I won by abandonment and nitpicking. In the end it ended up being a great song and for me it was one of the pivotal songs of my career and my contribution to La K’onga.
-Who completes the seven grades?
Diego: -The musicians of the band. We are all musicians and producers.
Pablo: -Alejandro Melián on bass, Ariel Melián on percussion, Mauricio Cortéz on guitar, congas and YouTube videos, and Pedro Ocaña on keyboards and recording studio.
At Velez and beyond
-Another dream would be to do more shows in Vélez?
Pablo: -An exhausted Vélez is reaching a dreamed 2023.
Nelson: – We’re fine like this. Let it fill completely.
Diego: -I would like to make a complete one and then move to another stadium. (wink)
-What have they done abroad and what is coming?
Pablo: -Before we only did Bolivia. There is the idea of going to Mexico, even if moving the group is not cheap because there are so many of us. We are about 16 on stage, plus technicians and assistants. Agreeing with a manufacturer on this is difficult.
Diego: -That was also one of the brakes. We’ve always wanted to stand up for the whole band.
Nelson:-A tour to Uruguay is coming in March and Spain in June, which is also something very cool that will happen to us. Bringing our music to Europe is another dream to come true, another of the goals we have.
“We work 24/7 for the band”
-When they started, or when you joined, Pablo, did they imagine that all this was possible?
Diego: -The time has come, we are doing something very important for us, for music and for the history of our genre. We didn’t know how or when it would go, but today we are here and we continue with the same tranquility as always, taking things calmly and with a lot of responsibility.
Nelson: -I told Diego a couple of years ago that I knew we were the best, but people had to realize that. Internally I knew the product was good, but I still had to score a goal. So here we are, with a spectacular gift and a lot of people are going to see us.
Pablo: -We are sure to always project good things and grow, develop something better and never stand still. We work 24/7 for the band to continue to offer the best to the public.
sing with guests
A La K’onga hits playlist includes several hits with guest singers, for example Nahuel Pennisi (Parallel universes), to run (Forget), Fortune Ra (I would lie to you), Sergio Dalma (The world), Axel (If it will be… it will be), Marama (I’m fine without you) and Band XXI (I do not want to hurt you).
-Are you surprised when you get an immediate and positive response from a musician you want to invite?
Diego: -It makes us very happy. We are children in this: we admire and see what others are doing. Perhaps what we do is not so appreciated, because we have been so used to doing it for so many years that we consider it normal.
Whenever we have to share with a great artist, we receive him with heart in hand. It’s nice to meet people and we met some very nice people. We know we still have many people to meet, so we are going down that road, calm and eager to reach out to the vibes and share the music.
-Who would you like to share a topic with?
Pablo: -Alejandro Sanz and David Bisbal.
Nelson: -Juan Luis Guerra and Marc Anthony.
Diego: -Abel Pintos and Ciro, two internationals. Abel, telephone! (laughs)
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Source: Clarin
