Another time, Charles Vives surprises with a breakthrough in his career that opens up new paths and possibilities. Regard a return to acting, his first craft, after having abandoned it for almost 30 years. And this comeback will be big, with a starring role The Circle of GravesThat Disney+ opens this Wednesday 22.
Born in Santa Marta, Colombia, Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo has two Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammys in recognition of his music, which globally re-evaluated traditional genres such as cumbia and vallenato.
What few people know is that before starting that musical revolution, while I was studying Advertising in Bogotá, He made his debut as a soap opera actor and has spent more than a decade working in that field. It’s worth mentioning that he also recorded albums during this time, but his own style was more in line with his fame as a TV heartthrob: romantic ballads and Latin pop.
come back on tv
In a Zoom chat, Carlos Vives remember those beginnings and is surprised to hear the mention of Time without a tracehis first novel.
“This was done by a TV company called Punch, now defunct. It was a pretty short novel, about a young man who wanted to be a singer and his family were against it. My God! It sure was very bad, so I hope they didn’t I’ve seen nothing like that. They were very poor productions… then they got better! That’s why it’s amazing to think that I’m working on a Disney series now.”
He thinks for a few seconds and adds: “I hope there are no traces of those times Time without a trace! (laughs) No, you lie; I love everything good and bad that I have done. I have only thanks with life.”
-Would you like to make movies, for example a character from a Marvel blockbuster?
-I’ve never been a big dreamer of getting to Hollywood, maybe because I had my job here in Colombia. Maybe he didn’t have that kind of aspiration. I was always happy to work on that bad novel and now at Disney I feel the same happiness. But any pods for Marvel just let me know!
What was it like coming back to set?
-I’ll tell you what: I managed to break the ice when I went back to studying and I was in the TV studios and I recorded the first scene. It was then that I overcame the fear I had, because I had dedicated myself only to singing and it had been a while since I had studied screenplays and followed the directions of a director. And it gave me great happiness to feel the same emotion as the time I wrote that bad novel you just reminded me of.
A unique experience
-In addition to being in La Voz, in the last four years you have appeared in programs such as “La reina soy yo” and “Palpito”. Was it a harbinger of a return to television?
(laughs) -No. I think it was a bit of a coincidence, because they were appearances by Carlos Vives and he wasn’t playing a character. I’m very happy that life keeps giving me opportunities like this, because it was very nice to be in a series with a local cast. And the truth is, over the nearly 18 years I’ve been working as an actor, things have changed and improved so much that the truth is, I’ve felt great.
And for this Disney family I have other projects that I would like to do, and this is a good start and a unique experience.
Was it a surprise to be called to this series, or is it something you were looking for with your rep?
-I tell you. Before I started singing, I spent many years working here in theater and television. Some people from those production teams hooked up with Disney and started a very deep, multi-year relationship as consultants to Disney. So there was the dream of being able to do something with them, that they valued me and ended up putting together this story that has to do with me, my music and what I think about music.
The surprise was when they started thinking about this story that I could be a part of. First, because he never imagined working on a Disney series if he didn’t speak English. Later, knowing that Disney is inspired by something that has been my musical career, because this professor does not see our music as small regionalisms but as things that the world has left us.
Later, when the script was completed and became a reality, it was a special surprise for me that my daughter Elena was invited to cast.
-When was the shooting? Didn’t it overlap with your album “Cambiana II”, released last year?
-Let’s see… (remember) We started after the pandemic and we still had restrictions. A year ago we finished the production of this series and I just made the album Cumbiana IIin the same studio where we also made an album that has to do with the songs of the series, with young musicians who are part of the cast and put their own into it.
How is “The bass club”
In this new Disney series, Carlos Vives plays Amaranto Molina, an unconventional music teacher who arrives at a college specializing in music education, where it is customary to screen out students who seem less talented and group themselves as “the Graves”.
Molina is assigned as their teacher and embarks on a transformative musical journey with them that will inspire each of the youngsters to express their talents.
There are ten 30-minute episodes available to watch on Disney+ starting Wednesday, February 22.
The Grammy Show 2023
Just two weeks ago, Carlos Vives surprised with a brilliant appearance at the Grammy Awards, where he sang his hits from his album Provincial classics, who turned 30. She uplifted all attendees at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles with topics like the cold drop.
“We were nominated -he says- and I think that’s why they invited us to sing. They also paid tribute to me for the 30-year record, which the presenter said revolutionized the scene. And of course, since all the audience was musicians, I had everything in front of me, country, gospel, rock and roll and pop. It was a wonderful five minutes. And when I finished singing everyone wanted to take pictures with me and asked me what kind of music it was! I was so happy to see that our music continues to produce that.”
Passion for Argentine rock
Carlos Vives’ passion for Argentine rock is known. He talked about it on many occasions and also He has recorded with the likes of David Lebón and sang with Fito Páez. However, he caused a stir in November of last year when he took to the stage at the Latin Grammys and said that as a boy he hadn’t been influenced by the Beatles but by Argentine rock.
“I declared – he explains now – my pure love for Argentine rock. At the Latin Grammys, sound engineer Eduardo Bergallo invited me to a producers’ talk, and we paid homage to Argentine rock. I said incredible things and some they wanted to hang me up, for example I wasn’t influenced by the Beatles and I don’t know any of their songs. They all wanted to kill me and even Fito made a disgusted face!”
And he adds: “But I said right away that I had Argentine rock. The Beatles didn’t come to me but I didn’t need them because I had Spinetta, Charly, Pedro and Pablo, Tanguito, Porchetto and then Fito, Soda, Celeste and Sandra. I grew up there! That was my education!”
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Source: Clarin
