Established years ago as a benchmark of national rock, Adrian Barilari filled stadiums, toured continents and immortalized anthems of the genre such as “Mujer amante”. But before becoming the voice of White ratmusic was a hobby in his life. As a child he always combined it with another job: either on top of a taxi, in a cemetery or as a mechanical technician, until he managed to make the jump. And perhaps at the right time, since he confessed that he wouldn’t have been able to handle her at 18 years old.
At 64, his gaze still maintains the hunger and thirst to be a rocker. Like at 18, when he walked the streets of Lugano putting up posters, rehearsing and playing in bars even though they didn’t pay him. Today, with an extensive career, the singer faces a tour of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe with his personal project, Canciones Doradas II. He is also carrying out a national tour with Rata Blanca, with which in a few weeks he will travel to Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and USAwhere they will give more than 40 shows.
While he opens the door of his house to receive Teleshow, arranges a couple of chairs and proudly says that he managed to make a living from music. She looks at the three records that rest, like trophies, on one of the walls of her house. Framed, with their respective plates, The forgotten kingdom, The key to the secret door and The path of fire They stand out in the room as Barilari sits on a stool. The singer joined the band in 1989, lived its golden age and left in 1994, but returned in 2000. With 50 years of career, he looks to the future and reflects on what he leaves for the new generations: “We manage to keep rock alive for generations to come”.
– How do you see national rock today?
– There was talk for a while that rock is dying, it doesn’t move… Rock is not going to die, and even less so the rock of the golden age. In Argentina we have iconic bands that maintain the essence, a great like Iorio left us recently, he will be missed. Divididos, La Renga, there is a lot to discuss beyond the new trends, globalization, everything that happens on the networks, rock is always there, we will have rock for a while.
– How do you feel at this point in your career?
– I think this profession has no age limit. It’s good for me, it’s my profession, it’s what I love to do, I feel comfortable. One does not retire in music, I plan to continue making music as long as the body gives. Sometimes it is the body or the voice that decides how far you can go. As long as the body holds out I go.
– What did you do before becoming a musician?
– I drove a taxi, I worked in a cemetery. When the opportunity came, I worked in an office in Chacarita, I came on tour, I got off the bus and went to work. Sometimes people waited for me outside, took photos of me. I had a good time, I felt comfortable with what I did, I retired with all the contributions 5 years ago, I supported it because it helped me to be who I am, to not believe that being on stage means touching the sky with your hands.
– What was that life like?
– It was the life of a normal boy, who studied, graduated as a technician, did his military service. He worked for 40-odd years and then retired. Music was always a hobby that surrounded me constantly, from the time I was 64 to about 50 years old. That hobby was transformed into a dream and that dream became a reality. Everything I did led me to sing, I never denied it, I always sought success, I went through many ups and downs, many doors were closed to me, few opened.
– How did you combine work with music?
– Once I joined Rata, my lifeline was the work I had been doing for 20 years: going to work, getting up in the morning, going to the office. Fame didn’t fill my head. I had to keep living, I had a family, children. Today I proudly say that I make a living from music, but it didn’t come from nowhere. If this had happened to me at 18, I don’t know if I’d be telling you.
– What did you feel at that age?
– When I was 18 I was hungry and thirsty to be a rocker, for that I had to rehearse all day, go and put up posters, go to bars to play, not get paid, get frustrated, a career that is not studied. My family was the first to instill this career in me, they saw in me since I was a child, my brother had rock bands, my mom took me to the television channels to participate in all the contests there were. My uncle taught me to sing tango. In the military I had a rock band to have a better time. It was formed in Puerto Belgrano, they needed a band to liven up the officers’ days, in ’78 and ’79, the band was called Sidarta.
– You have experienced many format changes, what do you think about the platforms?
– Everything is done over the phone. A gold record, 20 years ago, was 30,000 units, and if you say that today it’s a joke, it’s almost a non-existent number. What I’m saying, without being derogatory, is that we’ve been in the business for 35 years, I hope any rapper can have a career of 50 years. Time gives a little to the situation of an artist, and to leave something for the people, what we’ve achieved is to leave music for the generations to come, to keep rock alive.
– Did you adapt?
– It is still difficult for me to record a complete album, lock myself in a studio for four or five months, use the best technology and have the album come out one song at a time, it is very strange. These are the times now, one adapts, today for us the best thing is to play live, because digital royalties, although they exist, are uncontrollable. It’s hard.
-And about urban music?
– I listened to Trueno, Bizarrap some things, they are very supportive. I like Trueno because he has a band, he really plays.
A flag bearer of rock, and also of Spanish music, Adrián Barilari will carry the Argentine flag throughout Latin America and the United States. With that pride and conviction, he will face the Rata Blanca tour with the certainty that with each step he grows his history and legacy.
