How did a Uruguayan medic who grew up under an anti-music dictatorship win a best song Academy award? As he looks set to scoop up more prizes at the Latin Grammys, we meet the extraordinary Jorge Drexler
It makes sense that a Uruguayan doctor turned singer would write a song that begins: “Long live science! Long live poetry!” Guitar y Vos (Guitar and You) is also the first track that Jorge Drexler performs this afternoon at a music industry event in the basement of Madrid’s Movistar arena. The second is El Otro Lado del Rio (The Other Side of the River), which he composed for the Che Guevara road movie The Motorcycle Diaries. Drexler was still largely unknown when it won the best original song Oscar in 2005, so was not invited to perform at the ceremony. In a classy act of defiance, he delivered a short a cappella version in lieu of an acceptance speech.
That’s how he sings it today too, solo under a spotlight on the stairs, before joining his band on stage. Backed by three drummers playing in the Afro-Uruguayan candombe style, Drexler turns a corporate lunchtime gig into a midnight block party. From his latest album Taracá – nominated for eight Latin Grammys at the forthcoming awards on 12 November – comes Ante la Duda, Baila (When in Doubt, Dance). While his lyrics list Spanish kings and colonial governments who have banned various forms of dancing over the centuries, the singer duly shakes his ass and moves us to do the same.
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