PARS.- He has been an icon both for his punk and sincere attitude and for his era-defining hits, such as Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. At 71 years old, the singer United States Cyndi Lauper embarks on a tour parting.
The tour will take her through North America beginning in October before heading to Europe in February.
Lauper has sold more than 50 million albums thanks to hits like Time After Time y True Colorswithout stopping working despite being less in the foreground.
In 2013 he won a Tony Award for the soundtrack of the Broadway musical Kinky Boots.
She was expelled from two schools when she was young, where does this rebellion come from?
It wasn’t me, it was them! I confronted a priest who said my mother was going to hell. What kind of person tells an 8-year-old girl that her mother is going to hell? The second time I asked a nun if she still had her period and they kicked me out. She wanted me to go home because at that school, well, certain people shouldn’t take care of the children.
Do the hits still feel fresh when you perform them live?
Every time is different, but the reason people really come is to connect with the past. They want to hear what they remember. If you can add something extra, that’s good. Between the rhythm and the sound sometimes you manage to escape. That’s the best part about performing because I think people sing to escape, to feel better, to fly. When she was a child, the neighbor made the same salsa every Sunday, she cleaned the whole house and sat down in the afternoon to play the accordion and she always played Fly. I was a teenager and I thought: ‘they’re going to kill me… how many times do I need to be reminded that I’m Italian?’ But now I realize what I was really touching: I have wings in my heart. When singers give their all, inside they are like flying.
What motivated you to fight for gay rights?
I am a friend and member of that great family. And you can’t stand by and watch while they discriminate against your family. There has been a lot of progress, but now there is a lot of setbacks and again a lot of fear and anger. I think of my sister Ellen, who is part of that community. I could never have done anything without her.
What memory do you treasure most from your career?
I had to fight for everything I wanted, simply because they weren’t going to give it to me. I didn’t take advantage of certain opportunities because I wanted things a certain way. I was never willing to forget why I started in this world: to feel free, not to be a caged bird. The award that meant the most to me was probably the one from the magazine Ms. (Woman of the Year Award) in 1984. The magazine was founded by Gloria Steinem, a great leader in civil rights. He was very influential to me growing up. Of course, the Tony was important, and so were the Grammys. It’s not that he’s won many Grammys, probably because he never counted to 10 before speaking. Maybe it would have been a good idea.
FUENTE: AFP
