Palabras Claras went to San Miguel de Allende to interview Giovanni Díaz Conti, a musician from Veracruz who currently lives in that tourist city in the state of Guanajuato. For many years Giovanni was one of the artists of the Xalapeña nightlife, either as a member of various musical groups, or singing alone or with his group Acorde 3, in front of his piano and in cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, student dances, or private events, performing popular songs or compositions of his own. In that magical town where he now resides, he shared with us his particular way of seeing music and the nostalgic memories he has of his beloved Xalapa.
How did your path in music begin?
My path began when I heard my uncle Julio Pichardo Coronel play the guitar, who taught me the first chords and I learned a song that I sang at family reunions and vacation trips. In the house of my paternal grandparents, there was a piano where my father, Dr. Alberto Diaz Conti, is the one who teaches me the chords on that instrument and that is where under his guidance I learn to value the art of music.
At the age of nine years old, and only by ear, I play my first two songs; I continue playing and a third song appears and so I continue practicing and trying to interpret the songs that at that time I knew thanks to my cousin Humberto Frutis who kindly taught me to listen to the music of that time in the late seventies.
I rehearsed without my family’s knowledge, and my first performance was in front of all of them one December when I was 10 years old. That was the beginning of this wonderful dream called Music; that’s how I discovered what it’s like to live it, create it, work it and show it to people.
Which were the first groups in which you participated?
The first group I started with very little musical experience was Blancos y Negros, then I played for two years with Avestruz, then several more with Punto 7, to later move on to the now-famous Banda Rams. Later I played duets with Samuel Padilla at La Barranca and Victor Herrera at the Hotel Xalapa,
As you can see, I went through great groups in the state, and with my own project, I was able to accompany important artists of the moment in the world of nightclubs, where of course, I had to go through the difficult journey of harmonic and vocal learning.
From that time I played with musicians like Humberto León, Dario Arcos, Carlos Murillo, Alejandro Pale, Juan Galicia, Lorena Banda, Chimy Barradas, Pepe Hernández, Juan López, Sebastián Figueroa, el Santana xalapeño, Lupita Castillo, Lolita, Edna, Roberto Vázquez, Jacinto Castañeda, Nano Tobalina, Memo López, Rubén López Bucio, Víctor Flores, Pablo Domínguez, Yenca, Hugo Pérez, Alejandro Gutiérrez, Ernesto Moreno (+), Memo López (+), the members of Parámetros and many more, who now do not come to mind.
What can you tell us about musical life in those days?
I remember that at the beginning of my participation in the groups and consequently when I was performing at an event, it was exciting and you prepared yourself and waited for the moment with a lot of desire and responsibility, giving the best of your musical and vocal level. In those years, mainly, I think I was more interested in the excitement of making music than the money issue because there were times when money was scarce. We had little money, but with a full spirit. And yes, all of us local artists were well known in schools, cafes, nightclubs, neighborhoods, and popular dance places, playing tropical music, rock, rumba, bossa, bolero, cumbia, and salsa.
See and listen to great groups of that era in the cafés of Xalapa, such as Los Beens, Los Joao. Las ideas or La Parada suprimida, to name a few, was a time when the music of those times gave an extraordinary nuance to the youth and was fixed as part of our essence as people, sons, brothers, fathers, or mothers. At that time we got the idea that live music is always the best, because it is played and listened to and lived with emotion, with the soul and the heart.
Who did you admire?
My first musical influences were the bands of the ’60s on 45 rpm records. And in the ’70s, artists like Elton John. Carole King, Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire, John Mayal, and many others influenced my musical formation.
Which national artists have you met in your musical activity?
On stage and in rehearsals I have met some of them at different times, accompanying or alternating in their shows. And it’s always very nice to meet artists like Oscar, the comedian, the actor Ricardo Cortés, Arturo Castro, Los Joao, Mario Pintor, Yekina Pavón, Nanina Roberta, Los Cronners, Víctor Arcos, Agustín Lara Jr. Benjamín and many more.
Besides music, what other areas did you work in?
Fortunately, I was able to study at the Escuela Panamericana de Hotelería in Mexico City, and I was working in that field, always combining it with music, so I was able to tour several resorts in the Pacific coast in Sinaloa, Jalisco, and Guerrero. I was director of publicity in an important company and toured the cities (Vallarta, Mazatlán, Guadalajara, and Acapulco), I performed in nightclubs of large hotels. Then I returned to Xalapa, where I achieved some relevant projects and finally I settled in San Miguel de Allende, where I live and perform in different places, alone or with Acorde 3, sometimes accompanying artists who live there or who come to those stages.
What was the life of a musician in your youth?
Well, for those of us who have dedicated ourselves to this beautiful profession, life was the presentations in the fashionable cafés, in the student weeks at the UV, the Escuela Normal Veracruzana and the high schools, in nightclubs, discos, nightclubs and also in private parties in Xalapa and other municipalities of the state. Of course, there were the daily rehearsals to fine-tune and refine the songs to get to the weekend gigs. The musician used to play from Thursday to Sunday when the season was good, and in lean months, once a week.
What was your musical project and what has become of Acorde 3 over the years?
It can be said that the Acorde 3 musical organization was formed with a piano as the central instrument, to which a guitar and percussion are added. That is the basic concept in which I develop in music. During my time in musical groups, I acquired some dear friends in Avestruz (1977-1978): Ramón Rodríguez on bass, Franco González on guitar, Marco Antonio López (+) on organ, Abraham Cortés Escamilla (+) on drums, and myself on piano.
Years later Franco introduced me to some of his compositions and we decided to record them along with others of mine such as Yo te conozco and Ella va conmigo at Miguel Galicia’s GLM Studios. So we did a production called Luna Jazmín, with Graciela Contreras on vocals and other guests, among them Chava Blues, Iván Sarmiento, Cheque and Joel Barranco. We managed to perform at the Rockola Coca Cola in the Xalapeño Stadium, opening for the groups Magneto and Caló. From that time, on YouTube you can listen to songs like Es el amor, Provocativa and Por tu amor.
Acorde 3 is a meeting and reunion point for us. Some years in Xalapa Sony and José Hernández participated. Here in San Miguel, I now have the wonderful musical company of Enrique (Kike) Carrillo.
There is an anecdote about a song that since I heard it for the first time I liked it and I said that one day I would record it. Over the years I had the opportunity to do it, the song is called Versos para Xalapa, with the participation of Rolando Sayavedra on bass, Pedro Miguel on percussion, and myself on piano. The piece is a poem dedicated to the capital and the state of Veracruz, which became a finalist in a composition contest: a beautiful nostalgic, and very positive song.
In this alliance with the composer, this year I decided to join his project Viaje con poetas, in which artists from the cultural sphere from various parts of the country participate. With Acorde 3 we are arranging three poem songs to record them next year.
It has been several years since you settled in San Miguel de Allende, what can you tell us about this new period in your life?
The change was positive and necessary, I subsisted, faithful to my musical ideas, in a very complex day-to-day struggle due to the economic situation in Xalapa, without reaching professional satisfaction.
My arrival in San Miguel de Allende was greatly influenced by an extraordinary woman who was always in my life as my girlfriend, partner, and friend, and with her unconditional support for 49 years, which I always received from her, whether we were together or not. I am talking about Dr. Leticia Beatriz Rodríguez Durán, who unfortunately passed away last October 16 due to complications unrelated to the pandemic. The three years and three months that we lived as a stable couple, I had with me a great human being and a presence that greatly influenced me and my life. And I will continue to fight and I will do it in recognition of that loving woman, my longed-for life companion in the last years.
In Xalapa, it was always frustrating for a 60-year-old musician to be considered old or finished. Here in San Miguel, talent, experience, perseverance, and art are recognized; there are dozens of keyboardists, but there are only four of us pianists who do battle musically, with a lot of work and support, and thanks to that Acorde 3 is still alive.
What is the nightlife like in San Miguel?
The nightlife here is exceptionally colorful. Thanks to the influence of the foreign community we can enjoy from a gypsy evening with Spanish rumba, or jazz very much in the style of American clubs, bohemian nights, trio music everywhere, talented mariachis, musicians, and singers in their different formats of soloists and duos, privileged voices that the circumstances of the road led to this magical place.
What contacts do you maintain in Xalapa?
To my beautiful mother, Mrs. Rosa María Pichardo Coronel, who has always been unconditional with me through thick and thin and who motivates me and teaches me day by day to continue being a better person, both as a human being and professional.
Of course my daughters Mara Giovanna and Carolina Claudette, my sons Giovanni, Jorge, Alejandro, and without forgetting my grandchildren María Fernanda, Juan José, Isabela, Jimena, Andrés, and Romina, always counting on Paola, Dani, Shantal, Stephano, Jana, Luna…and of course, without forgetting my sister Jeannina.
Here in San Miguel, I have Kike, Érika, Sara, Salvador, Jan, Ángel, Oliver, Luis Enrique, Diego, Suri and my family in general. And of course, the dear friends and siblings that life puts in your way, without being blood.
How is your repertoire formed?
Over the years I have searched for songs that are appropriate for each event or presentation. The public is diverse in tastes, so a repertoire of various genres will always give you that breadth to please the most demanding audience: boleros, ballads, pop-rock, rumba, bossa, and tropical dance music. And I can affirm that on stage, one day I discovered that good music never gets old.
You are a person who has always had to go against the current. What is your experience, and what advice can you give to young musicians?
Being a musician involves preparation and daily rehearsals because music is lived, eaten, and dreamed. They must prepare themselves day by day and do it with all the professionalism it implies, not only musically but also personally. Walter Elliot used to say that “Perseverance is not a long-distance race, it is many short races, one after the other”.
Musicians must always recognize that we are public figures and our image towards the public that sees and listens to us will always be a reason for good or bad comments. So let’s always keep a positive attitude, because that will be reflected in your life, in your work, and in your achievements.
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