When he was 18, Flavio Rigatozzo, from Buenos Aires, nicknamed Tota by his friends and relatives, discovered Muddy Waters and everything in his life changed. "I discovered the stages and the nightlife of bars and venues with live music. And, from then on, I dropped out of the Electronic Engineering degree that my parents wanted me to pursue and decided that I wanted to be a musician, and that's what I've been doing for the last 30 years," explains the bluesman and composer, beer in hand, at the bar.
Based in Barcelona for two decades, where he has consolidated himself as a major name in the blues scene, he arrived at the Bar early ---"since I became a dad, I'm more of an early riser"---, and in the background, he asked for the concert that the great LaVern Baker gave in Hollywood in 1991 to be played.
Then, he closed his eyes, lit up his smile, and went back to his beginnings, clearly remembering the dividing line moment between what he had been until then and everything he was going to be from then on: "It was when I went up on stage to sing some backing vocals with a band of friends and felt that that was my place. Without any fear, a pure adrenaline, as if I had always been there. I felt I was born for that. It hadn't happened to me with anything else."
Next, he fell in love with the harmonica and that's where that "everything" began that makes him especially proud. "I had the courage to leave what was, let's say, prepared for me and pursue my dream against all odds, against the family's anger, against everyone's phrases and warnings, who told me 'you're going to starve to death'." He laughs and takes a moment before adding: "Which wasn't far from reality... Especially at the beginning!"
Even so, despite the great gamble of pursuing a dream, the musician cannot help but "invite people not to give up. Many times it seems difficult or even impossible, it requires a lot of effort, but I assure you that the reward is huge." And he quotes a reading he once came across a long time ago: "If you put your dream aside, sooner or later it will come back for you."
Making music, bringing music
The main project of the singer, harmonica player, and guitarist, for 30 years now, is his band TotaBlues Band, with which he has toured stages of all kinds and recorded albums such as the acclaimed Hard to make a livin', from 2018, the most recent in his discography. "I also have a duo with my guitarist and brother for life, Martín J. Merino, which is TotaBlues Dúo, with whom I have also been working since the beginning."
Lately, he confesses that what he invests the most energy in, "and it's working very well," is the project El Blues de Ellas, together with singer and actress, Queralt Albinyana. "It's a talk-concert explaining the history of blues chronologically through its female singers and authors. It's super good. Martín J. also participates, we usually go as a trio."
But, in addition to making music, Tota also brings it. "Another project I've been involved in for years is for the production company Blues'r'Us, for which I cover the Catalonia part, bringing those American blues artists who are still alive, setting up the tour, organizing everything and, in addition, playing with them. It's quite a stressful job, although the reward is enormous. Suddenly being on stage with a real 80-year-old bluesman. One of those I used to listen to in Buenos Aires on a cassette tape and who seemed unattainable. And you're there, next to him. It's a flash."
The most recent feat, in this sense, has been the tour of the legendary Willie Buck through Catalan stages, offering the local public the possibility of seeing a veteran Chicago bluesman backed by an impeccable band led by the local musician.
A city that has behaved very well
The musician remembers when he came to Barcelona with nothing. "I played in the street, I had no papers. When I arrived, I didn't even know where I was going to sleep the first night. I was chasing my dream."
Twenty years later, he acknowledges owing a lot to a city he remembers as very different when he arrived. "It was much more bohemian, there was art everywhere, the nights were eternal, everything was much cheaper, money stretched much further. Now it is becoming a city just for tourists, it is losing its identity, I think. But that is not the fault of the city or its people, rather of political decisions that pursue ambitious goals without thinking about anything else… in fact, I have nothing against Barcelona, but I do have something against some of its politicians."
"Barcelona was much more bohemian, there was art everywhere, the nights were eternal, everything was much cheaper, money stretched much further"Leaving that aspect aside, what he loves about the city "is above all that its people here helped me a lot. In general, Barcelonans have been good to me. Today my wife, my son, and my home are here. I managed to work doing what I like here, so… What more can I tell you?"
--- Well, since you're here, you can tell me what you'd like for lunch: our tapas, raciones, bocatas, or even a set menu. Everything here is delicious…
Flavio Rigatozzo examines the offer, sketching a smile that shines on stages, and after shrugging his shoulders, chooses "ración," before finishing his beer and quickly ordering another.