Carlos Aguirre, an interview

Today you  I present the pianist, guitarist, singer and composer Carlos Aguirre, better known as „Negro Aguirre.“ I visited him at his home in Entre Rios in January 2011.

Carlos Aguirre is a virtuoso of all kinds of musical styles between Argentinean and Brazilian folklore, improvised music and jazz. 

Carlos Aguirre was born on July 15, 1965 in Segui, province of Entre Ríos. He loves the Paraná River, which he grew up with. Before interviewing him, we took a long walk along the river, whose fish were already threatened at that time, something that hurts Carlos a lot and against which he fights together with others.

At the age of 5, Carlos began to play the piano and perfected himself with various outstanding teachers. After playing with guitarist Luis Salinas for a few years, he founded in 1996 the Carlos Aguirre Cuarteto. He performs with this group on the most important stages of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos and quickly is known throughout the country. He shares the stages with other important musicians from the Litoral such as Jorge Fandermole, Liliana Herrera and Chacho Müller. 

In the year 2000, il Negro Aguirre founded the independent label Shagrada Megra to promote the music of the Litoral and, especially, young and still unknown musicians. Aguirre has released many wonderful Compacts with a very special design. 

The Paraná, river impressively wide and with a calm flow, gave our conversation a philosophical direction, in keeping with the nature of Negro Aguirre:

For Carlos, art implies a constant search for new answers. He wants to continue with what characterizes the music of his idols Eduardo Falú and el Cuchi Leguizamón: the connection between tradition and the development of Argentine folklore and other musical styles such as jazz and Brazilian rhythms. 

Carlos reads a lot and is inspired by these books for his music. In January 2011, he was studying the work of Italo Calvino. Another source of inspiration is the memories of old musicians from the Litoral like del “Zurdo Martínez”, which Carlos wants to preserve for future generations and for this reason he records them on Compact.

Listen for yourselves to everything Negro Aguirre told me that morning in Entre Ríos and what philosophy of life characterizes this inspiring and virtuoso exceptional musician.

Part of the interview

– Carlos Aguirre: Well, right now I’m rethinking that. At one time I had many students and I felt more and more the need to have my own time and to compose and live by playing, which made me end up with fewer and fewer until, currently, I have no students. But I feel that it is an important service, like that return that one can make to society, right? And so I’m seriously considering seeing how I do it. I don’t know, if through some public space or something.

Well, anyway, I even want to share or coordinate research. That is, of the things that interest me to study, do it collectively, right? that is, putting together a study group with the students who play and suggesting that they go on some trips, make recordings, surveys and, well, learn together, somehow, right? But yes, I am thinking about it, I want to find a way that I also feel comfortable and that I know I will be able to fulfill, because there are times of the year when I travel a lot, since I don’t play much in my city, I have to travel to play in other cities.

So, it is very difficult to hold a professorship in a school or something like that if one is practically not in the city, right? So, I want to find a way that is possible and that I can really fulfill as well, that doesn’t commit me to something that people are left waiting for later and me traveling to other cities, right?   

– Interviewer:  Of course, of course, and are there other attempts here in Paraná or are there young musicians who are already on their way?

– Carlos Aguirre: Mhm. Paraná is a city where a very particular phenomenon happens, which is that there are many musicians. And many studying, that is, training and also looking for their path. The sad thing is that there are not many places where these musicians can manifest themselves here, in this city, so many of them are also traveling. And to be able to meet them one has to go to the house, because you’re not going to see them playing in a concert here, right? But there are many, there are many. There is a guitar school that is very important.

There is a professor named Eduardo Isaac, who is a very important professor and who has generated that, well; in the first place, he appears as a first generation of teachers of that instrument with a very even, very high level and; On the other hand, every year here in Paraná there is a guitar symposium, to which musicians from different parts of the world come.

And the presence of this professor here in Paraná has made many students from different cities in the country come to live in Paraná. There are some Chileans living here in Paraná to study with that teacher. In other words, the movement of the guitar is a very strong movement. And many of them, well, already compose or generate their own music or get together in trios, quartets like that to play. Well, that’s great. 

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