El concepto de Geovani se llama Too White To Be Mexican, con el propósito de burlarse de esos estereotipos raciales formados por la sociedad. Te parece complejo? Tal vez un poco, pero toma lo como un proyecto que une al mundo través de la música sin importar lo que 'esta supuesto ser' ;) Lo llamo sátira musical y me parece genial!
Too White To Be Mexican is the name of Geovani's concept which makes fun of the racial stereotypes formed by society. Sound complex? Perhaps a bit, but take it in as a project that creates beautiful music from around the world–becoming a bridge that knocks down what 'we're supposed to be or like' because of our ethnic background. It is what I call musical satire and it's genius!!!
Bionica: You have something called Too White to be Mexican.
Geovani: That is correct.
Bionica: Tell me about it.
Geovani: Well, Too White To Be Mexican comes from being here in the US as a Mexican. This is audio, but I'm pretty white, I'm pale. I am ChilaPatío, so I'm mixed. Chilangos are from the Federal District and Tapatíos are from Guadalajara.
Well each time I would go into a store, someone would ask 'where are you from' and I would say 'where do you think I'm from?' People would always say Italy, Argentina but never Mexico and when I would tell them that I'm Mexican, they would be surprised and go 'oh, really–you're too white to be Mexican' I heard it so many times that I finally said I would adopt a name for something. I wasn't sure what it would be and in the end I came up with this project of electronic music with collaborations called Too White to be Mexican.
Bionica: What's inspired your music?
Geovani: My music is like a statement to break down stereotypes. Obviously when you're told 'you're too white to be Mexican' it's like 'what did you expect?' It does have to do with race–there's everything. It's not the color of your skin that matters, we're all people and so the Too White To Be Mexican is ironic in a way.
I've invited a lot of very interesting people to take part in the project. There are people from Spain, Chile & even Israel which has to do with the fact that it doesn't matter where you're from. There's this Mexican actress, Diana Garcia involved, and she's been in movies like Casi Divas and is also a street artist. There's an Israeli singer, Maor Nawi who is also on the scene, Lara Bello is from Spain, living in New York with an incredible voice and Camila Meza who is from Chile and into jazz. As you can see, there are all types of different genres which some how brings us a little out of our comfort zone. It's to say 'this is electronic music, I'll give you the beat and you write what you want' and it's brought forth a lot of interesting things. The first song was release on the 2nd of July and you can go on to Spotify, Google Play & iTunes to hear Too White To Be Mexican.
Bionica: I like it because it's breaking down the racial stereotypes that we all experience as Latinos.
Geovani: It also touches base on the topic of identity–'are you Hispanic or Latino?' In reality you're Hispanic but you're from Colombia, Brazil or wherever…The Mexican is pretty clear, Too White To Be Mexican. When people see me they say 'of course, you're too white to be Mexican' and so I'm also making fun of that in a way.
I just dropped two singles and it's pretty interesting because the idea is to drop two per month and invite a lot of collaborations. Right now there's a song with Renee Mooi who is Mexican and she's amazing.
Bionica: So you put the beats together…
Geovani: Yes, I'll put a base together. The composition aspect is interesting too because I'll make the beat, send it online, they'll work on the vocals, send it back to me here and the result is something that I would have never imagined. Some people sing punk like Sandrushka Petrova who is Mexican, was invited to Russia and her music has nothing to do with being Mexican. The fact that you're Mexican doesn't mean that you play mariachi or even tequila. There are very different tastes in music and the idea is that everyone adopts what they like. Give me your personality in this song. If you play punk music that's great, dark wave or whatever it is–in the end it's electro music with a Mexican twist.
Bionica: Did you always like electronic music? What were your other influences?
Geovani: Well, I like all types of music. The influence that I have is arrabal, Mexican arrabal (arrabal is urban but in terms of music, maybe what was urban sometime ago)–up to the danzón (the danzón is a type of music with Cuban origins that incorporates an orchestra with wind instruments, drums, violins and percussion instruments–it may also be interpreted by mariachi as well). These types of music have their bases well fostered in Mexico and that's how it started. I used to have a project called Sweet Electra which was a mix of arrabal with electronica. You can say that it's the cousin of this project, just a little more intense with people from all over that are invited to do other things music wise.
Bionica: What did your family say when you told them 'The name of the project is Too White To Be Mexican?'
Geovani: <laughs> Well obviously it's controversial as many people will react saying 'that's too racist…' I'm Mexican, I'm too white to be Mexican–but that's what people say, not me. In reality it's a joke. It's been talked about a lot and people take it lightly which I like because there isn't a serious statement that's political, racial or anything. It really is just making fun of the fact of what I'm always told here in the US. I find it funny and my friends do too. <laughs>
Bionica: Thank you so much!
Geovani: No, thank you!
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