Raphael (Linares, 1943) is 81 years old, and sometimes it's hard to decide if it's few, considering all the time he's been here, or many, due to the lively energy with which he greets you and his incessant activity. His new album, 'Ayer... aún', is a collection of French classics covers, and in December he will finish a tour only to start another in 2025 immediately. Upon finishing, he jokes that we meet every year, given the pace at which he launches new projects, and warns: "You won't get rid of me, you still have a few interviews to do with me."
QUESTION. The most Spanish of Spaniards singing to France as a good neighbor.
I have always gotten along very well with France, from the beginning of my career. Above all, the one I have always admired is Édith Piaf. When I stopped singing in the choir at the age of 10, I fell in love with French songs. At 12 or 13, I didn't listen to anything else, and this is my tribute to the wonders they have. Throughout my career, I have made Spanish versions of French songs that were tremendous successes, such as 'Ma vie' by Alain Barrière, but my idols had never been among them: Piaf, Gilbert Bécaud, Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel...
Idols have idols.
Of course, I have many idols that fill my life with beautiful things and beautiful words. Listening to Brel singing 'Ne me quitte pas' is one of the things that makes me happy. And Piaf has always been special because she cannot be compared to anything. She is not a stage singer; she is a street singer, the soul of the song. She was not a beautiful woman, she died very young and seemed to be 80 years old, but she filled everything. She always sang about love, but about desperate love, and that always attracted me. People don't know that we have a connection. They hired me, at the beginning of my career, to be her opening act at the Fallas de Valencia, but she got sick, couldn't go, and Juliette Gréco was sent instead. I still have the promotional poster with our two names. I was a little disappointed, and when I was hired to perform at the Olympia in Paris in 1967, I thought, "This is it, finally I will meet her." And three months before the concert, she passed away. That has stayed with me.
When you look back on your life, are there more things left undone?
No, my life has been full. Besides, I am not someone who is always talking about the past; I am not nostalgic and never have been. The question I ask myself every night is, "And tomorrow, what?" Look at all that I have achieved, but it doesn't matter to me. "And tomorrow, what?" I am a man of the future, although I do not stop recognizing the good things that existed before, and in terms of artists, there were wonders.
Are you interested in current music?
No. There are many active people that I like, of course, but they are also older. The young ones need to be given their place, their time, and show us what they are worth or what they can become. I had my chance, and I hope everyone gets theirs. Well, those who deserve it. What is being done now doesn't interest me anymore because it catches me at an older age, but surely there are still people who will make a mark. I came to stay, you know.
I was starting to suspect.
I'm telling you in case you hadn't noticed. I deserve it, right?
You tell me.
Yes, I deserve it.
What would you say to the Raphael from the Olympia in '67?
The things that await you, man, the things that await you [laughs]
Are they things that await you for better or for worse?
I love my life, I love the stage, and you can't ask me, even though they do, when I will retire. Never. It's true that one day I will have to leave because death is inevitable, but with this voice I have, I will continue until the last day.
Do you feel that, in a way, you are already immortal?
I don't stop to think about my legacy or what I have already achieved because life would lose interest for me. Everything would be done. I don't think about it, so every day is a challenge, every important stage is a challenge, and every tour is a challenge. I used to sing in theaters, and now I sing in stadiums. I wouldn't continue to be a star if I stopped to think about my legend. Also, you have to be careful with those things; you can never trust, not even me. In this profession, you never know.
Do you see yourself in the myth that surrounds Raphael? Do you laugh at it?
No, I never laugh at myself. I have worked on that myth. I feel like a recognized person, and it's very nice to see that people hold me in esteem, that I matter to them, that they receive me standing up. How could I not be moved when I enter a place and they applaud me? It's a luxury that makes me more motivated each time. When I finish a concert that has been a great success, I tell myself, "Now, let's see the next one." I am making it very difficult for myself. But, well, the Raphael myth is a happily married man, with children and wonderful grandchildren, who has breakfast every day like anyone else, and if I had to go down to buy bread, I would. It's just that they don't let me.
Who doesn't let you?
The family. When I ask for bread, it's already there.
You are about to start another tour. For years, hotel rooms and airplanes were your nightmare; you started drinking in them, and alcoholism led to a liver transplant in 2003. Have you lost your fear of them?
Do you know what? I like going on stage so much, one more time and one more time and one more time, that I don't care about the inconveniences that, as you rightly say, are the travels and the rooms. There are ghosts from the past in them that are always there, but I have already overcome all of that. Also, you see, before when you went on tour, you lost connection with everyone. You were alone with your fears. Now it's completely different. Having a phone is like being at home all day because I am asking my wife and children things every minute. I call every day; it's like I am even participating in the meal: "Are you eating already? Who visited today? Did they ask about me?"
Are you a doting grandfather?
I may be the first word you said, but not doting. No. No one calls me grandfather; my grandchildren call me by my name. I didn't ask for it, but since they were born, they call me Raphael, like everyone else.
You are one of those celebrities who only need a first name: Raphael, Pelé, Rosalía, or Conan. There aren't many.
Well, that was a bit intentional. When I was young, I wanted to be called only Rafael, and the problem with my name was that it was too short for album covers and posters. By adding the 'ph,' it lengthened enough to be readable everywhere and also in all languages. The 'ph' works in Germany, France, England, America... My manager told me that the downside was that in Andalusia, they would call me Rapael. But no one has ever called me Rapael in my life except my biggest fan, Rocío Jurado, and she had the authority to call me whatever she wanted.
You mentioned looking to the present and the future. Are you concerned about what you see in Spain?
Well, it should concern all of us. We have problems, and they need to be fixed. I have experienced many things, and I know that we are not so bad, but I see it, of course, from the point of view of someone whose life is sorted out. I know that there are many people who don't have things sorted out, and that can't be. I never get involved in politics, but it seems that neither side provides the answers that people need, and that's bad because it allows more dangerous ones to appear.
What do you mean?
Look at what happened in Valencia. It's a tragedy for which no one is to blame because these natural disasters will happen more and more as the planet is as it is and will only get worse. But when the authorities' response is not as expected, the spread of rumors and denialism occurs, which is dangerous. I don't understand how people dare to doubt climate change. Are you serious? Do you really think this is a coincidence and that everything will be fine forever? Do you think you know more than thousands of scientists? The reality is that things are getting worse, and we need to fix them before it's too late. The spread of rumors in Valencia has been tremendous. Very sad.
Does Spain hurt you, like it did Unamuno?
No. I adore Spain; it doesn't hurt me, and it never will. I adore it with its good and bad things, which is why I am looking forward to the bad things being fixed and the good, which are many more, to continue. We have been through worse situations, and I believe we will also get through this.