Latino Hispanic Culture, Art and Film at Bullfighter’s Cafe

Silvia Soto aka Silvia Soul says she is “a woman that has a passion and mother that has a dream…just like you”. Fortunately, Silvia is sharing her dream with us and after her hearing one song we are sure you’ll find yourself lost in your dreams.

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BFC: You come a long way from home…
I grew up in Chile, that thin long country at the south of the world… I had a great childhood surrounded by family and friends…

I remember as a child I put shows together with my twin sister Gloria (one of my 5 other siblings) and would force our relatives to sit and watch the show… ha ha ha, they were so patient!

Always dancing, socializing and having a great time, our culture is very much like in Latin America, very warm welcoming people, with a lot of fresh seafood and wine on the table…

We always had music playing… all kinds of music since Gloria and I are the babies of the house all my older siblings would play from60s music like Zeppeling, Pink Floyd or Doors to Heavy Metal like Metallica, Iron madden to Salsa and Latin like Celia Cruz, Juan Luis Guerra and many others…

I specially was so intrigued by the Latin pop movement like Soda Stereo, Fito Paez, Charlie Garcia, Los Prisioneros, etc… while being in Chile. As you can see I had a very musical life with a lot of different styles… “Música para todos los gustos”!

BFC: Did you always want to be a musician?

I think as you grow you experience so many paths but my true love for music came as a teenager… I got a guitar and started composing and it came naturally… I have taken painting and drawing for years, flamenco, make up and hair… but music always made me feel like no other activity, this passion that I love to share with others. It’s so personal for me… It’s kind of the way I connect with the universe and our creator…

Who were your musical influences while you were growing up?

Soda Stereo, Charlie Garcia, Mecano, Bjork, Joe Vasconcellos, Celia Cruz, Juan Luis Guerra, Fito Paez, Raffaella Carra, 70’s music like the Bee Gees, Nat king Cole and Nathalie Cole, Pat Metheny, my mother loved Jose Jose, Julio Iglesias of course and Jose Luis Perales, so many more bands…. I could spend the whole day naming bands…. Ha ha ha…

When did you decide to make music your full-time career? how did you start?

My passion started when I moved to Mexico when I was 18 and started going to school there, I was living surrounded by musicians in Mexico City and Cuernavaca in Mexico, I felt this was the path, my path…

I decided to do it all the way after having my kid, I took a break after graduating recording school to stay with her home and after of being home with her for about 2 years I said to myself, well I gotta show Imani how to make things happen in life, how to achieve your dreams even when you have obstacles, work around them with a vision clear and never forgetting where you are heading… Let her know that dreams are achievable, there is always a way when you want to do what you love…

About 3 years ago I started looking for help and through this wonderful journey I have encounter wonderful new musician friends and inspiration to continue doing what I love… I am just like any other woman out there, a mother, a wife and a dreamer with a dream!

BFC: Now that you are making your music, what do you like best, the writing process, recording or performing your music?

I love the process of creating, writing and feeling the songs allowing them to evolve into something beautiful.

The recording process it’s so much work so it takes me a little but I think mixing and the end part of the process is what I love the most, because I see the final product and it’s an amazing feeling to say… “I love it”! To feel so emotional… Even though we “independent artists” don’t get paid the big bucks to do this we do it with so much love and effort… its almost like the birth of a child you have waited for so long to finally see and it’s here now! Of course without the pain… LOL… It’s so so gratifying to finally say it’s done…

My culture will always influence my music… I am Latina and that’s always going to be me, no matter where I go. I love my culture and it’s all over my music, some samba, Bossa Nova touches and Spanish flamenco, a little jazz here and there, it’s a fusion of all this forms of wonderful expressions… all those sounds I grew up with while being home in Chile.

BFC: how would you describe your music?

My music full of Latin flavor and adventurous sound, immigrating from the souls of these creative musicians. Truly a world sound to inspire your soul…

Enter my world, listen to my soul and let me take you on this journey of dreams, love and good music…

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present my music to you and for allowing me to be an instrument of art, reflecting the space I live in… But most of all my message is the daily grind. And my music reflects a simple and sometimes complicated story….The life of a Latina inspired by my family, my people, my dreams, my fears, my life and you… Baking while programming, taking my kid to school while laying down some tracks… In other words I am a woman that has a passion and mother that has a dream… Just like you!

Dream with me… Enjoy!

www.silviasoul.net
www.facebook.com/silviasoul

PM09/09