MIAMI.- Next February 22, Premio Lo Nuestro will take place. Edition that pays tribute – with a special moment – to the artistic career of the group Ilegales, which is celebrating 30 years of musical history.
Given this celebration, DIARIO LAS AMRICAS obtained an exclusive with the founder and leader of the Dominican group – the producer, composer and singer Vladimir Dotel -, who revealed details of what the presentation will be at the Kaseya Center in the city of Miami.
How do you live 30 years of artistic career?
Always grateful to God that we can now celebrate 30 years of career, which is not easy at all. A career that has been very beautiful, but with many sacrifices. We have experienced many latitudes, with roller coasters of highs and lows.
Our music has endured over time because – as we say – quality has no expiration date. So we feel very happy that the Univision network, which, with its great prize, Premio Lo Nuestro, receives us and celebrates the 30 years of the group.
There are so many mixed feelings when returning to that stage where we were born, because I remember that in 1996 we were nominated for Newcomer of the Year and we won; we made a presentation with the classic The brunette. Then, you say, ‘wow, how time has flown.’
Returning to that stage and presenting the maturity of the group makes me feel very excited. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, of course, God willing we are confident that he is going to do something impressive; Let’s see what it is.
What can you tell us about what the Ilegales audience will see in Premio Lo Nuestro?
We want to present a recount of the great successes to celebrate 30 years of Ilegales, using the awards platform to launch our tour called The Party Tour.
The idea is to present an interesting fusion, mixing the classic with the modern. (It will be) a presentation full of energy, electrifying as is our repertoire.
On stage we are that group that carries that (special) energy, we are very characterized by that because you feel the Caribbean, you feel the Dominican Republic, that fusion of merengue house. So, God willing, what we are going to present that night is a fusion of energy between the classic and the modern.
I am almost sure that the public is going to be surprised because what we are doing -at the production level- is very, very, interesting… without fear of making mistakes. The idea is to break the stage and bring to Premio Lo Nuestro something new for us, for the concept and for the awards.
To whom do you dedicate this special recognition?
This recognition is something very special because we really have to thank God a lot, first. To the Univision network, to Premio Lo Nuestro, to all the people who are in production, who celebrate us these 30 years.
But it is something very special to the effort, the dedication, the work. We have been a group that has maintained itself over time, even though we do not have a record label.
We also want to remember our beloved Jason, who died in 1998 in a traffic accident. After the death, the group changed and that marked us. So, we can’t celebrate without remembering Jason; That special moment for him is and is special for me as the founder of the group.
In retrospect, what were the Illegals like from 30 years ago to those of now?
The Illegals of 30 years ago were young people with so many dreams, at the same time with ignorance, but with that hunger to achieve their dreams.
I have many beautiful memories of when we did tours, promotions. Now one feels more secure thanks to the maturity achieved by the years and by the big stages.
The new generation of the group maintains that essence of what Ilegales is; That is to say, when you think of Ilegales you immediately think of partying, rumba.
What has been the biggest challenge as founder of the group?
One of the great challenges has been to remain firm in an era in which we have lived and seen many things come and many things go; So, it’s about being consistent with the discourse.
When everyone was leaning towards a movement like reggaeton… we worked to maintain a coherent image. For this reason, we have been independent for years because we respect each genre, although we have the freedom because we are Illegal – hence the name, too – to fuse rhythms: we can fuse reggaeton with tropical music, and we have the freedom to do so.
So one of the most difficult things we have had is to remain firm in our concept because we respect our career and our public.
Illegal is…?
Party (laughs).
