site.btaSpanish Singer Bebe Says Birthdays Celebrate Life Ahead of Bulgaria Tour

A birthday is a celebration of life itself, Spanish singer Bebe said in a BTA interview on Thursday. The interview came hours before her mini-tour with concerts in Sofia and Varna.

This year, she is choosing the quiet of her family circle, where she says she finds the deepest meaning in the holiday. She believes life should be marked and cherished, and that the greatest gift is the chance to hear her parents’ voices for another year. That is why, every year, she thanks her mother and father for giving her life. One moment remains especially emotional for her: when her mother tells the story of her birth, a memory that still moves her. “Life should be celebrated, even if a person is alone,” Bebe said.

WHEN THE SONG NO LONGER BELONGS TO ITS AUTHOR

Two decades after the hit Malo was written, Bebe sees her songs differently. She says that, at the moment of creation, they are intimate and belong only to the author. Then, when musicians and producers join the process, they become a shared work. Once they reach listeners, they belong entirely to them.

Bebe admits she never imagined Malo would become a symbol of the fight against violence against women. She wrote the song several years before its release, inspired by disturbing reports about women killed as a result of violence. She recalls writing the lyrics one summer afternoon in the countryside and singing them to her mother.

At the time, she was not even sure she wanted to release the song, because the subject felt too painful and sensitive. Today, however, she prefers to see it in a broader context. For Bebe, 20 years in music have brought many other songs that also changed her life and found a place in people’s hearts. That is why she prefers to speak about music as a whole rather than about one particular work.

I DO NOT TAKE POSITIONS, I DO WHAT COMES FROM MY HEART

Asked whether a contemporary artist is free to take public positions, Bebe says briefly that this is not her subject. She describes herself first and foremost as someone who does what comes from the heart, and whose greatest dream has always been to make music. In that context, she offers one of the strongest lines of the conversation: “Every person is a slave to their words and the owner of their silence.”

Bebe also speaks about her special bond with Bulgaria. She says the reason she has returned so often over nearly 15 years is the love of the Bulgarian audience. From her first visit, she and her team fell in love with the country. Later, she even took a road trip around Bulgaria with her daughter, an experience she keeps as a particularly cherished memory.

Bebe says many songs made her cry while she was still writing them, and still bring both her and the audience to tears at concerts. At the same time, she prefers not to dwell on the things that make her sad or that she cannot bear. Instead, she chooses to focus on what brings her joy.

LOVE AS A SOURCE OF LAUGHTER

Asked what last made her laugh, she answers without hesitation: “a wonderful man who accompanies me” and whom she loves. She says the love in her life is the source of her most sincere laughter and of joy that comes in waves.

Although she has also worked as an actress over the years, Bebe has no difficulty leaving her stage characters behind. She is clear that, offstage, she remains simply herself. Above all, she is a mother.

Whether she is playing a role, giving a concert or going home, she does not lose her sense of who she is.

I LIKE BEING A MOTHER MOST...

Bebe’s greatest passion remains the creative process. She says she most loves the moments when she composes and works in the studio. For her, making music is the real magic, while the finished product is only the natural outcome of that process. In cinema and theatre, too, what draws her is the work of creating something new, rather than the final result.

Despite her interest in the performing arts, she is clear that nothing can replace music. Writing, composing and listening to music are what heal her, energize her and help her stay connected both to herself and to the world. “Music gives me much more. A lot of excitement, a lot of emotions. To write music and listen to music, to compose music, that is something that heals me and energizes me. It makes me reflect and be with myself and with the world,” Bebe said.

Asked which word best defines her as a person, Bebe chooses neither “singer” nor “actress”. Her answer is: “Mother. Everything else is circumstance.”

She believes the relationship between mother and child is a constant process of mutual learning. She describes her daughter as her medicine, her everything and the engine of her life. “Even before she was born, when she was in my belly, we learned from each other all the time. This is the engine of my life,” Bebe said.

And when asked to complete the sentence “I am a person who loves...”, Bebe chooses the simplest and most precise definition of herself: “I am a person who likes to love a lot and well.”