• Weddings: this was Marcos de Quinto's link with Angélica Rivera
  • Politics.The new life of Marcos de Quinto: deputy and a girl on the way

We are welcomed by Marcos de Quinto (61) in his chalet in Torrelodones escorted by a pair of huge super huggable mastiffs . "They are only one year old and see how they are." He shows us a small farm with other animals, including an alpaca "who takes a bottle and kisses", presumes the deputy from Ciudadanos, teleworking at home this Wednesday as a precaution against the coronavirus. "Well, tomorrow I am going to Congress, I am the only party that will attend the Health Commission," he says. Marcos doesn't want to talk much more. It takes us directly to the living room, presided over by a beautiful grand piano. This time, the interview is not with the former vice president of the Coca-Cola Company, but with his wife, soprano Angélica de la Riva (42). Angélica is a beautiful voice who has sung at the Lincoln Center in New York, at the opening of the Olympic Games in Brazil and who has come to live in Spain for love. "Here I feel at home," he tells us with an open smile. She is happy between Torrelodones, her Cuenca estate (where she married Marcos two years ago), and her apartment in the center of Madrid. She grew up on a hacienda, her great-grandparents were Spanish ... Now she has a girl from Madrid. The circle closes.

Where does your passion for lyrics come from? I have had a very privileged childhood culturally. My father sang a lot, at home, in the car ... especially arias and Snowball themes. He is Cuban and left with the entire family on the island after the Cuban revolution. First he was in Miami, then he traveled to Brazil, where he met my mother. There he continued the family tradition of the so-called sugar mills, sugar and alcohol processing factories. Where do you feel? I was born in Rio de Janeiro, but I have spent more than half of my life in New York. My ancestors are also Spanish, French and Portuguese. Now I have a girl from Madrid. The circle closes somehow. When did you start singing? My father always made my brothers and I sing at all family parties. We all carry music in our veins, but only two of us are dedicated to it. My older brother, Fernando, is a technology consultant. My sister Marina is a pop singer, and then there is Margarita, a top executive. They all live in Brazil, when did you discover your gift? My father said that as a baby he cried like a Valkyrie. I never believed him until I heard my little girl, who has incredible vocal power. At age 14 I started studying voice. For me it is the ideal age, because until then many changes occur in the vocal cords. I combined my hobby with law studies. I worked as a lawyer in Brazil but soon realized that it was not my thing and decided to graduate in theater. I did Beauty and the Beast in Sao Paulo and from there I went to New York to finish my musical training. Where exactly? I spent six months at the Juilliard School, then I went to the Mannes School of Music because I wanted to study with a specific teacher. What are your musical references? Like many, the first reference I have had was Maria Callas, my father's favorite. Also Renata Tebaldi. But it depends on the repertoire. If I listen to Tosca, I want Callas to sing it. If it's Madama Butterfly, Tebaldi. If it's Mimi, Mirella Freni. There are so many spectacular sopranos! Mariella Devia, Edida Gruberova and in the new generations also like Nadine Sierra. What is the piece you like to play the most? Now I am preparing a concert that I have on April 11 at Cuenca's Religious Music Week. I have focused on pieces from Cuba and Brazil. I started to investigate and found some impressive jewels, such as a wonderful prayer by Ernesto Lecuona, as well as very beautiful, in addition to four world premieres by Brazilian composers (Guilherme Bernstein, Eli Eri, Eduardo Frigatti) and Cuban (Flores Chaviano). I always fall in love with what I'm working on at the time. I will also perform Mozart's Requiem on April 3 at the Madrid National Auditorium. Queen Sofia will go, for which I sang a week ago at the Ibero-American Patronage Awards ceremony. He told me that this Requiem is his favorite piece. Is it easy for him to make a name for himself in Spain as a soprano? The truth is that I can't complain. When I arrived in Spain I was already pregnant and already had a year of concerts scheduled. Then I had the girl and I have only been working for two months. As for the reception of the Spanish, I could not be more grateful. Who likes the Spanish lyric? In bel canto, I am fascinated by Montserrat Caballé for his support, which is his support for breathing. I did not have the honor of meeting her but Teresa Berganza did, she taught me and she is wonderful. I admire her very much. As for composers, my favorites are Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados and Antón García Abril. On your Spotify, what does it sound like? I like everything. But depending on my mood, I hear one thing or another. Adele, Rosalía, Alicia Keys, Mozart, Beethoven ... Until two years ago I would have told you that I would never listen to heavy metal, but at a concert I gave the other day at Joy Eslava they asked me to play Iron Maiden and Evanescence and it was a great experience. For me the lyrics lift the spirits, I would listen to them if I were in the trenches. He had prejudices but no longer. Tell us about that he did rowing at the highest level. I was called in 2014 to return to the Brazilian Olympic rowing team for Rio 2016. Finally I had to choose between my career or rowing ... and I was clear about it. I learned a lot, there is nothing more similar than an athlete to a musician. Level of discipline and search for perfection. What musical projects do you have right now? I'm going to tour under the title Music Fiercely Human, where I mix genres with anecdotes from behind the scenes. I grew up listening to bossanova, jazz, rumba, chachachá, opera arias ... From Puccini to Ella Fitzgerald, passing by Tom Jobim or Leonard Cohen. It was an idea from Marcos, he helped me write the script. I am talking about my things, about what is happening in the industry, the abuse of power ... For example, I am talking about a teacher who was bullying me. To get an idea of ​​what it was like, he broke two ribs of a colleague ... What does he say about the Plácido Domingo affair? What has come to light was well known in the world of opera. Let's go with Marcos de Quinto. How did you meet him? We were introduced by a composition teacher from the Juilliard school, Ricardo Llorca, his classmate at the Estilo school (whose educational system was directed by Josefina Aldecoa). He brought it to a business meeting that ended in dinner. Have you been married before? No, I have had long partners but none to say "He is the man of my life and the father of my children". Yes. We met on December 9, 2016, and shortly after he invited me to go with him to the Africa Race track reconnaissance (the test that took over from the Dakar in Africa) and spend New Year's Eve there. From the first day we call each other several times a day. In a short time he went to Brazil to ask my father for my hand. Were you ever scared of the age difference? I didn't mind because he has more energy than me. Also, I had been with people my age and I have not had so much in common with anyone. He is a great music lover, an SUV, loves nature ... We are very compatible. I learn a lot from him. He is one of the men with the most ethics, values ​​and nobility of spirit that I have ever known. I am sorry I have never met him before, Marcos has been one of the Spanish executives who has gone the furthest working for others. Curiously, he got into politics soon after meeting her. Some parties have haunted him, but he always refused to take the step, despite being very active giving his opinions everywhere, on Twitter, etc. Things changed when he met me and I got pregnant. He felt the responsibility to change things, that they were getting out of hand in his country, especially because of the arrival of our girl, who motivated him. How are you getting along with Marcos's children? I get along very well with them: Javi and Coke, the oldest, are the result of Marcos's first marriage to Elena Mangada and they are already working. Alejandro, the little one, had it with his second wife, and is still studying. I try to get them all together every two weeks for lunch or dinner at home. I am very familiar, it is said that Marcos, always related to the left bourgeoisie, moderated himself for you. Marcos has always had his own ideas and he is still a center winger. He liked Albert Rivera's project, but he is also delighted with Inés Arrimadas. In any case, he is quite independent, free. Have you met Rivera and Malú? Yes, she was pregnant when we agreed. I suspected it because I didn't take anything, I wore a flat shoe ... I didn't either, because I was breastfeeding ... They are lovely. Albert has done a lot for Spain and the party. Did it bother you to declare your heritage? Marcos is the richest deputy in Congress (declared 47.7 million). Well, by law in the US all senior executives of listed companies declare their salary. So it seemed normal to us. He worked a lot all his life, they have not given him anything. Are they already staying forever in Spain? On meeting me, Marcos told me he was retiring, but soon he got into politics. I adapt to everything, for me everything is fine if he and Sofia are close. Anyway, now with the coronavirus we cannot move. Many things outside have been canceled.

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