Jorge Ruiz, leader of Maldita Nerea: "I know the record industry inside and out. They gave me a hard time for being good people and I won all the trials"

Luis Blasco Madrid

Madrid

Updated Wednesday, February 14, 2024-00:31

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It only takes him a few minutes to recognize that the pandemic also

devastated

him like a tsunami and took away his inspiration. But just as quickly, and without hesitation, he points out the lifeline to which he clung: "meditation" and the "love of his family." Because if Jorge Ruiz, leader of the Maldita Nerea group, is rich in something, it is

love

.

Love for his family, music, good people and

Education

, in capital letters, another of the passions of this teacher in Hearing and Language. A profession, the teacher, "incredible", but which is not talked about "because it is not news." And we are, according to Jorge, a "world power in educational innovation."

His passion for Education is so intense that his latest album, dedicated to children and the educational world, has a song created ad-hoc for the classroom, a way of "adding value", and with which he launched a

contest

to Let the teachers and students themselves make a video for it.

Hundreds of schools responded to his call, something "incredible" that has "transcended" Maldita Nerea and that values ​​teachers

,

a key part of the educational system. As a prize, a concert at the winning school.

A response similar to the one he hopes his

tour of his latest album 'Manual para estars marvellos'

will have , which begins at the WiZink Center (February 17), and in which he wants more and more children to go, "the most important that a country can have.

It's been almost four years since the last album. How has this time been for Jorge Ruiz?

It has been living this Kafkaesque, almost Orsonian reality of the pandemic. And then, when let's say I started to reap the fruits, that is, to see what he had composed, I found myself in a creative crisis, the biggest of my career. This album reflects what I have suffered when going through that compositional desert, that composition crisis, which is the same as telling a musician an existential crisis.

And how have you saved that crisis?

With meditation. I am very well surrounded, I have a spectacular family. I am very surrounded by love. Normally artists collect energy from other places and I'm not going to go into that. I have collected it from love and meditation. I am a person who takes good care of myself, I train, I sleep well, and I have healthy habits. The definitive variable has been the type of meditation I have practiced, which is what has made me write from another place. Now I compose from another place.

Did you ever think you couldn't write a song again?

Not so much. That would almost be the denial of myself. But you are so lost that you don't know where to hold on. There is a song called

Duele

, which is very rare in my repertoire because it is what you see, what I saw from the bottom of the well. There is no light there. My songs tend to tend towards light, because I like it, because light has substance. There is no darkness, it is like writing about nothing.

Duele

, which is on this album, is so strange because it is the bottom of the well without any light, without hope and the most egoic thing I have written in my life. Curiously, it is the one that is having the most streaming naturally, incredible.

Have we left mental health aside for too long?

There is a debate about this. The term became fashionable, but what is left aside is education. Mental health comes later. The answer is yes, but I think it goes much deeper because now it's like: "Come on, everyone, see a psychologist." No, it doesn't work that way. We are talking about self-knowledge, which is in our culture, it was written thousands of years ago. Ours and all cultures talk about this. But self-knowledge begins in the first years of life and that is education, not only the educational system, but also what happens at home. It is one of my centers of interest, education.

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This latest album, 'Manual for wonderful beings', is dedicated to children and the educational sector.

Basically to the world of childhood. I've been working on this for quite a few years now, but this is the first time I've made an ad hoc song for the classroom, which is 'Inevitable'. If there was a theme, a subject called the human being, what would be theme one? You open the book and what do you find? I think that to start talking about human beings you have to talk about love. 'Inevitable' is my interpretation of love.

As a teacher in Hearing and Language and ambassador of the Promete Foundation. How do you see education in our country?

Well, at the media level, as José Antonio Marina says, it is never among the concerns of the Spanish people. The media collect what the surveys say and it is never among the 10 concerns, being without a doubt, the most important thing that a country, a nation, can have, which is its children. There is nothing more valuable. At a formal level, little forgotten. On a political level, as always, for more than 40 years, it has been directly manipulated. It is used politically by some and by others. There's nothing new there either.

Speaking of politicians, do you think politicians have failed children?

It's a tricky topic. It's not that they failed the children, it's that they failed themselves. When having a degree no longer has value or you publish a copied final year project (which is on all sides, I don't want to personalize), you are saying a lot of things. You are saying that you don't mind lying, you are saying that you don't mind copying, you are saying that you don't give any value to your first literary work, and in many cases the only one. Then, however, if a child lies... They are not a good example, although there are honorable exceptions, but the usual thing is that people who work in politics do not pay too much attention to that.

Would you ban cell phones like they are doing in the classrooms?

Well, that is already in many schools. There is a lot of confusion. It is not about banning cell phones, but about improving customer service processes. In my children's school, which is a normal school, there are some that are not, but I mean that there are public schools that do it, it says it in the registration: "The cell phone, in the locker." It's been going on for a long time now. The drama is not the motive, we love to put a demon. The drama is how attentional processes are degrading for many reasons, including screens. But there is no talk, for example, of the unattractive content that we give to children. The nonsense of "learn from 10, memorize 10 and you have 10", because children are not interested when they have content that is completely moldable by them. But the devil is not the screen. Prohibiting for the sake of prohibiting, well, schools prohibit it, but when they get home they will do the same.

And when you give a concert and you see that everyone takes out their cell phone, what do you think of that?

Living reality through the screen is absurd. It's like going to El Prado and seeing the Japanese looking at the painting through their cell phones. In the case of concerts, which I do know how it works, the need is really "I want to share this with my people." That's superhuman. It's a tool, I don't see it wrong. Wanting to share with your people something that is fascinating you, where is the problem?

What can never be missing in Maldita Nerea's dressing room?

Soda water. I'm quite Spartan. And after [the concert], my favorite dish, which is Spanish tortilla.

How do you take care of your diet during a tour?

After a concert it is practically impossible. You eat the sofa. I have been practicing fasting for quite some years now. I try not to eat almost anything throughout the day, very little. And at lunch or nap time, it depends on the schedule, I have some carbohydrates that are delicious and then I can last until the concert, and then I have dinner. My musicians have a bit of a sweet tooth.

And after the concert, do you go to the hotel or continue the party?

It can be a wonderful thing [to go out,] but it's also wonderful to get off the high in your room and it's okay to fall asleep. If the next day you have nothing and it was incredible, I celebrate with the team. We are almost elite athletes. Although it may not seem like it physically, singing for two hours is almost 4,000 calories. I try to do my best, which is why it seems disrespectful to me not to go on stage in full condition. I believe that this myth of "Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll" is from the last century. Look at Sting, who lived through that, or Bruce Springsteen, who are old rock glories but the guys are absolutely great because they took care of themselves. I'm more of that and enjoying it, because what is the real drug? It's music, it's love, everything else is temporary.

When you're at home, do you cook?

I deeply hate cooking, I mean, I have been invited to cooking shows, I don't know how many times. I do it only for my children. When it's my turn, which is many times, I do it and they suffer it. I like having someone who cooks well for me. I'm a disaster, I'm not good at anything.

Who would you cook your best dish for and what would it be?

To my children. And yes, a good hamburger is good for me. I don't eat meat, but they tell me "it's okay, the perfect meat..."

And who would you invite to dinner to get to know better?

To Pablo D'Ors.

Who would you never sit at the table with?

With a liar, narcissist and pathological. There are many, many. Very well known and usually men. The issue is serious, but that's the thing.

Are you one of those of 'bread, bread and wine, wine'?

I am a lover of wisdom ergo, yes. And I am from Murcia, what is, is. We are very close in dealings, but we want things to be clear.

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Why do you need salt shaker?

I'm the worst at dancing, that's why I don't dance. A clinical picture.

What do you spice up in your life?

To human relationships. Maybe people don't understand it. I do.

Have you ever been caught red-handed?

I guess so, I don't remember, but yes, I've been caught making a mistake sometimes, but I admit it.

Did they give it to you with cheese?

Yes Yes Yes. In the world of music you always have to have been fooled at least once, I don't know if the Rolling Stones or Leonard Cohen said that. You must have gone through the parable of the bad manager; If not, you don't know what the thing is about. My first contract was in 2000. I know the recording industry inside and out. They gave it to me with cheese and I won all the trials. I stood up to him as he faced me, I recognized my mistakes, but I won all the trials. They have given me cheese for being good people, but I think that has made me stronger.

Is the oven for buns in the world and in Spain?

The easy answer is that it is terrible, but it is not true. If you go back in history, we have never been better. Escohotado told this very well. There has never been so much love, that's why we are almost 8 billion people. The thing is that what is newsworthy is not that things are going well. So on a day-to-day basis, nowadays, it seems like everything is Mordor, but empirically we have never had it better. That's how it is.

Have you ever had to eat a dish that you won't like out of commitment?

But it's been a long time. I don't eat it anymore. Furthermore, I say it from minute one, very politely. I'm not up for that anymore. I tend to be very polite and very correct, but also very clear. We Murcians are very clear.

What stops your appetite?

The liars.

What do you binge on?

Yes it is metaphorical for love. I am a very lucky person for the amount of love I receive. In the world of childhood, if you like it, you receive much more love than you give.

What can't you stand at the table?

To a liar, to ghosts. To the flip-flops, to the streetlight huggers, of which there are a lot. I get up and leave, very gallantly, but I leave.

Have you ever been breaded?

I'm an idiot, especially when I'm composing.

What's got you fried these days?

Preparations for the WiZink Center concert. We are a small team and we are having a hard time, but it is going to be a historic concert in our career, so I am happy, too. Fried and happy.

When was the last time you rode a chicken?

Well, the biggest one is yet to come, but yes, I do it. I did it recently. When someone doesn't do their job well and that affects not only me, but more people, I don't keep quiet. Very respectful, but I say it very, very, very clearly. I think it is necessary, but with respect.

Is there something that makes your life bitter?

No, I have been a happy guy for many years.

What has been or is your sweetest moment?

It is yet to come, always.

Who do you think is the parsley of all sauces in Spanish society?

We don't know the real parsley's name. He's too smart, I don't know if he's a man or a woman. The one you think is good parsley is a jerk.

What dish could you eat every day?

A good plain rice. And metaphorically, making love. Make love as is, not the other, than the other, because it is a little more

fast food

. No problem, but making love is another level.