The Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) allocated 17 million euros in 2022 for 79 research projects. This year they hope to reach 26 million. All of this comes from private contributions such as the one that the Cadena 100 Por Ellas initiative organizes every year on the occasion of International Breast Cancer Day.
Conchita (Helsinki, 1980) has been chosen by Cadena 100 to compose an original and supportive song that captures the experiences of women who face this test of life.
On October 21, the singer headlines a macro concert at the Wizink Center in Madrid in which she will be accompanied by Rozalén, Sergio Dalma, Chanel, Abraham Mateo, Vicco, Edurne, Lorena Gómez, Álvaro de Luna and Álvaro Soler, among other artists. united by the same goal: raise money to promote cancer research.
How was the meeting with breast cancer patients led by Mar Amate, presenter of Buenos Días, Javi y Mar, on Cadena 100? I think you took part of the lyrics of the song from real experiences...
That's right: I went to a talk at the AECC in which there were about 20 women around and each of them told me their experience. I had a clear idea of the song, I wanted to speak directly to cancer, because it seemed interesting to me to turn the subject around a little and address it, to it. I have been able to verify that there were those who harbored a lot of anger, especially the younger girls, while the older women lived it with more serenity, they faced it in a different way.
What are you talking about?
Perspectives like 'I want to be his friend', in the sense that I want him to treat me well and I to treat him well, to allow a little light to come in and be with my loved ones, to respect me, given that I have to live with him . It was very nice to see how each one with her sensitivity, her experiences and her age approaches the same thing in such a different way. I have found that people who go through something very hard usually express themselves very well. I say that it is as if they were given a magic key to understand what life really is; They put the focus elsewhere, they talk to you in a different way and what is important is important and they don't pay any attention to the rest.
That is to say, human beings tend to find learning in the worst experiences.
Yes, I do believe that when you go through something like that, be it cancer, another illness or a hardship that life gives you, you place things differently and prioritize differently. Things that previously hurt you a lot or that you paid a lot of attention to, you suddenly know are not important. Being surrounded by 20 people who felt that and conveyed it to you was very emotional. In the song, when I say “she learned to broaden her life,” it is a phrase from Trini, a girl I met there. He learned to broaden life instead of lengthening it 'because I don't know what is going to happen, but I do enjoy each day as if it were the last: I enjoy the hug of a friend, spending an afternoon with my children and truly appreciating the moment'. That's what she told me.
And with all that, you finished the song.
That is. It helped me a lot to know the testimonies of people who have experienced it. They also asked me that certain words not appear in the song. As a 'fight', because it means putting a lot of responsibility on the patient in the face of something that does not depend on you; Attitude is surely important but it is not everything. The fight is led by the scientists who are fighting the bug.
This year it was your turn to compose the song. An honor or a commitment?
Well, for me it has been a gift because I also have very close people who have breast cancer and to be able to send a message like that for me has been to feel how beautiful, how lucky I am to be able to make songs and write whatever I want to launch a message to whoever wants to hear it. Furthermore, all the benefits go to research and I have verified that they arrive; They do not even go through me, but rather go directly to the Spanish Association Against Cancer.
You're performing next the 21st at the Wizink Center and I think the tickets are sold out, so how can your audience help?
Listening to the song. And if you don't like it, turn off the sound but click, let it play, because society is always asking for research and when they put it so close at hand... It would be incredible if many people listened to it.
Why the title And Nobody Loves You? It's disconcerting.
Noooo (laughs), if you listen to the song you understand it quickly. I mean cancer: within all the shit you have done, with the fear you have caused my friend – most of the time I write my songs in the first person but in this case it didn't seem right to me – and you have caused so much damage, At least you have given her that magic key so that she understands the world better and enjoys it more. Now she has realized that she is surrounded by people who love her, who support her, who accompany her. But no one loves you.
Has music ever helped you get over a bump, health, professional or emotional?
Music saves many times. And we all know what we need to listen to at all times: when you're sad you play certain songs, when you feel like dancing you play others and sometimes you're sad and you want a good one because you need to escape while at other times you need to cry.
What does the title of your latest album, Bola de Nieve, respond to?
It is an album that is written from a very luminous place: the snowball for me is like a metaphor for life that adds experiences and never ends, but also the other way around; Sometimes you are in an ugly, very dark maelstrom, but the moment comes when the ball begins to fall apart, with perseverance, with a lot of work and suddenly you say, I am incredible and I feel super good! This album is written from that place, from having overcome a bad streak. When you have overcome something like this you can tell it and I am receiving messages from many people who have identified themselves, thanking me because that song has saved me, thank you because I needed to hear this... And that is super nice.
What is your composing process like?
Normally I have an idea or a phrase from which I start, I do need to be clear about what I want to say, and from there I start to build. There are those who compose all the lyrics and then put them to music but I have never done it; only if I have taken someone else's lyrics and made a song, but if it is my songs, I intertwine the melody with the harmony and it is as if it itself spoke to me and took me to one place or another. I don't know how to explain it to you better, but I can't imagine my life without making songs. Even if I dedicated myself to something else, I would have to find moments to make songs because it is the best way to express myself.
How do you compose yourself better, being happy or heartbroken?
At first I was going through a very heavy heartbreak and I only wrote from there; It seemed impossible to me to write from anywhere else. And now I can write from all places: without being in heartbreak I can make you a song about it because I remember the feeling perfectly. But I love making brighter and fun songs. Depending on how the day is. It is true that when you are in the well, very heartfelt things come to you.
If I don't ask you, I'll burst. Your full name is María Concepción Mendívil Feito. When you decided to go on stage, did you think that Conchita would be a brand name or was she a bet on herself?
Well, the truth is that I regret it a lot. If I'm honest, if I went back, the first thing you would do is change my name, that's for sure. I think I've tripped myself up. It has been very difficult to shake off a prejudice, because with my voice, which is so small, if you add a diminutive to it, it is like a ball of meringue. I should have worn more contrast.
