19 martie 2024
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București

Mariano Jose Castro, the Argentine artist that love has brought him to Bucharest

Mariano Jose Castro is an artist with international recognition, an artist who has sung on big stages of the world, but who calls the city of Bucharest „home”. The one who urged him to settle in our country was love, Simona, his wife, being Romanian. They got married in 2013, in Buenos Aires, and decided that it was better for them to live in Bucharest.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mariano discovered music early. At six years old, he was already studying, at school, flute and guitar, and towards adolescence he also went to the piano. He went to college (Melani Music Conservatory) in his hometown, with the great advantage that Buenos Aires is a cultural capital of Latin America, due to the fact that the city was created and developed by European immigrants.

He has double specialization: piano and guitar. The Argentine artist is a complex musician (pianist, guitarist, composer, orchestrator, etc.), who has supported over 30 international tours in cities in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Romania, France, Russia, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Lithuania.

Mariano Castro has been nominated twice for Latin Grammy Awards (2009 and 2010) in the category „Best Tango Album”.

„Probably what pushed me to this field was the opportunity to express feelings without words. I wasn’t aware of this when I was a kid. As a child, it was hard for me to express my feelings in words, but at the same time I was sensitive. Through the musical language I have found a way to express my feelings, to show my sensitivity and to be closer to people”, says Mariano.

It is not easy to develop a career in this field, as professional artists have to fight daily to succeed. The Argentine musician has not given up on his dream for a second, he is confident in what he feels and in what he wants and works hard to get where he wants. „It’s not easy, even now, but it’s a worthy fight,” points out Mariano.

Mariano Castro participated in double quality, pianist and orchestrator, in the symphonic project „Tanase Fits Piaf”.

It also has an advice for children who want to follow a road in art. „If they like what they do, to go ahead, follow their dreams. It is very important to know what they want and what they like, not to let others tell them what they should like. When you do not know what you want or what you like it is harder to decide to be an artist. Of course, talent alone is not enough. During the time I was a teacher, I was able to verify that a child who was not „so talented” but was constant, knew what he wanted and worked for it, and after a while he easily outperformed „talented” children. Talent does not provide anything. It helps, but without work and perseverance it is almost useless,” explains the musician.

Bucharest dwellers should appreciate that they have a safe city

Mariano first arrived in Bucharest in 2009, during a tour of Europe. „I was impressed to see how welcoming people are, I’ve always felt good here and I’m very grateful for that. The first impression and the first impact was related to the architecture of the city. Here you can see aristocratic palaces, impeccable parks like in Austria, located next to a block in communist style. It is a „mixture” that I did not know until then. Overall, the first impression was positive. In fact, little is known about Argentina in Romania, so I came without preconceptions,” recalls the artist.

The visit in 2009 was followed by others, and in 2011, when he had a new tour through Europe, he met his future wife in Bucharest and so his destiny changed. “I settled in Romania after I married Simona, a Romanian, in Buenos Aires, in 2013. We decided to settle in Bucharest, where she works, because it was easier for me to be in a foreign country. I took into account the fact that I had many concerts in Europe, so we decided to settle in Bucharest”, says Mariano.

In 2018, the Argentine musician made orchestral arrangements for 18 songs from the repertoire of Maria Tanase.

And he’s not sorry he’s made such a choice. The time he spent in our country made him love Bucharest. He likes that the city has well-kept parks, he enjoys the quiet here. “Coming from Buenos Aires, I consider Bucharest to be a peaceful capital. It is crowded, but with a lower population density compared to other capitals. And I like that peace. I like the cultural life (theaters, museums, etc.) and I like to spend the winter here, a winter quite different than in Buenos Aires. I also like that I feel safe in Bucharest, among many other things. Bucharest is a capital where you are safe. Maybe a lot of people here do not realize this, but compared to other big cities, it is worth noting. For example, my cousin lives in Bologna, Italy, and told me that she can’t leave her bag in the car parked in fear that her car will broken by thieves. In Bucharest, musicians leave their van parked in the street, full of equipment and instruments, without fear. What I don’t like is seeing so many cars on the street. I do not drive, this is my contribution to the traffic in Bucharest. And other things that I don’t like, generally, anywhere in the world, are the lack of respect, the dirt, the corruption, the lack of codes and principles, things that you find both here and in Argentina,” says the musician.

The parks in Bucharest delight him, and with Herăstrău he has a special feeling, because it is the place where he held the concert in 2011, when he met his wife. Simona was one of the organizers of the event. „Now I like to run and ride my bike through Herastrau Park. Another place I love is the Romanian Athenaeum, it is a magical and important place for music and culture in Bucharest. A great personal joy was to get to sing on this stage, where huge personalities of classical music have stepped in,” says Mariano.

Mariano Castro has over 30 international tournaments.

And the Old Center is one of his favorite places in the Romanian capital, because it resembles similar areas in other cities of the world. In addition, it is the place that reminds him of the first visits he made in Bucharest.

Also, Henri Coanda Airport gives him a special feeling, for Mariano airports are windows to the world. “I also like the Argentine Embassy. In fact, the ambassador’s residence, because there we meet all the Argentinians who are in Bucharest, we spend the national day, we do cultural activities, concerts and, at least when we are there, we feel like we are in our country and we enjoy together. When we have free time, we go to concerts, dinner with friends, to different cultural events. I try, along with my wife, to have a social life, and this does not necessarily mean a specific place. Otherwise, I also spend a lot of time in my studio, the place where I work, but where I’m experimenting. It is important for me to have a place where I can create, the creative moments also appear in my spare time,” Mariano tells us.

The capital of Romania has developed a lot in recent years

All the foreigners living in Romania for some time claim, without any hesitation, that Bucharest has changed a lot. The city has developed a lot culturally, there are more concerts, festivals, the entertainment industry has grown. All these changes help the Romanian capital to have a greater presence in the European or global cultural landscape. “The truth is that a festival like the George Enescu Festival is not easily found anywhere in the world and I am glad that it is a festival appreciated both in Romania and abroad. Romania is a talented nursery. And it’s not just me saying that. There were many foreign musicians who stated this. Music high schools, where children learn from a very good level, are the ones that help a lot. For example, I was invited in November, last year, to Lugoj, to teach a piano MasterClass for the students of the high school of music there. I had to work, in particular, with two of these students. They won an international piano competition, with a work by the Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. I was surprised when they sang for me. They performed excellent! And about the specialized education in Bucharest I have a very good opinion and here I refer mainly to the National University of Music Bucharest. I was fortunate to play with almost all the orchestras of the Philharmonic in the country and it is immediately seen and heard that the instrumentalists are very well trained. I personally know teachers from the U.N.M.B. and they are excellent professionals, internationally and very loved as teachers. From a pedagogical point of view, I do not 100% agree with their methods, but the university gives musicians with an excellent level, much better than in other countries. This can be seen, because Romanian musicians meet in all the major symphony orchestras in Europe. It means that music education is good in Romania”, points out the musician.

Mariano Castro is an international artist extremely involved in the cultural life of Bucharest, over time being part of many important projects for the scenes in our country. Often, he exported these events also outside the borders, thus becoming an ambassador of Romania.

Author: Ștefania Enache
Photo: Corina Gheorghe
- Publicitate -spot_img

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