Head to Fnac where the band’s leader is holding a book signing for “Chico, the Soul of the Gypsies”.
Among his audience, one man was waiting more eagerly than others. This man is named Jacques, he is an investigative commissioner. Chico is his friend and he had notified him by phone about his arrival in Nice. Our eyes meet and here we are, seated at the Fnac cafe, discussing this exceptional artist. “Chico embodies kindness and generosity at the same time. Despite his career, the awards he has received, and the people he has met, he has remained a simple and sincere man. I will always keep an image of him characterized by simplicity and friendship. I’ve attended many of his concerts and each time, they are magical moments synonymous with conviviality. He evokes rare emotions. At one of his concerts, he brought his 5-year-old grandson on stage and it was extraordinary, even at that age, the child inherits that famous gypsy beat. It’s safe to say that the legacy is secure. An evening in Camargue with Chico is unforgettable. Imagine, in three hours of concert, I made so many friends. It’s incredible what their music produces: it brings people together, creates bonds of friendship. After a Chico concert, you come out transformed!”
Transformed? To that extent? We’ll verify that same evening at the private event organized by France BLEU Azur, to see if these statements hold true. But before diving into this musical world, Nice-Première caught up with Chico over a coffee.
Nice-Première: What sparked the decision to publish your biography?
Chico: I have had a quite enjoyable musical adventure and life. I think I wanted to write down thirty years of my life for several reasons. The first is that I wanted my children to know my own story because they don’t know it. We never had the chance to talk about certain things. And especially for the public who loves our music, I wanted them to discover the people behind it all. Behind these people, there are stories we wanted to share today.
Nice-Première: For them to get to know you better?
Chico: For them to know us better, yes. And at the same time for them to discover that nothing is simple in life. When we party, it seems like happiness is there and everything is fine, but actually behind this happiness, there are sometimes tragedies, incredible joys too. In music, there’s a lot of emotion. Sometimes in a party song, if you understand the lyrics, if you feel the emotion we want to transmit, there is suffering and pain. At the same time, that’s why we are successful, because people unconsciously soak it in.
Nice-Première: In a few words, how would you define “the soul of the Gypsies”?
Chico: The soul of the Gypsies is a way of life, values, incredible artistic quality, marvellous happiness, and I believe it’s full of ingredients that make it something very strong that endures and is shared.
Nice-Première: In 30 years of career, what has been your greatest reward?
Chico: The greatest reward is when the public comes to me and says: “Thank you for the happiness you share with us.” That’s the real reward.
Nice-Première: And your most memorable encounter?
Chico: We’ve had several encounters so it’s a bit difficult to choose just one. Charlie Chaplin, Brigitte Bardot, Shimon Peres and Arafat shaking hands at the same time, the Dalai Lama, but also people who are not known but who have something very strong within them. So, it’s hard to say this one more than another.
Nice-Première: Did you imagine having an international career?
Chico: No, I never imagined anything. We lived day by day. I always believed in success because I could see the reactions of the people when we played or sang. But the extent of success, no, we didn’t expect that. It would have even been presumptuous to say we knew.
Nice-Première: If you hadn’t been a singer, what profession would you have pursued?
Chico: If I hadn’t been a singer, I would have been a musician (laughs). No, honestly, I never questioned it because I loved it so much it couldn’t have been otherwise.
Nice-Première: Chico, your stage name means “little child”, what is the origin of this name?
Chico: Yes. Actually, when I was very young, I must have been ten or eleven years old, and in the neighborhood where I grew up in Arles, I was always with the older kids. Among these older kids, there were a few Spaniards. Since I was the youngest, they nicknamed me “Chico”, and this nickname has stuck with me and suited me well.
Nice-Première: You are a man from the south, what does the French Riviera inspire in you?
Chico: For me, the French Riviera is contradictory. It’s a land of pleasures but also a land that can be very difficult, it’s a bit of a fool’s paradise. It’s heavy because the sea is beautiful but at the same time, in the hinterlands or in the big cities, there is suffering. Many people think: “I’m going to go to the sun in the south because it’s less difficult.” That’s not true. The difficulty is the same everywhere. The French Riviera inspires in me these two sides. But at the same time, I have many friends here and I am very happy when I come.
Nice-Première: If I say “Premier or Première”, who or what do you think of?
Chico: Well, your newspaper!
Nice! This is the first personality to give us this answer!
Website: [https://www.chico.fr/](https://www.chico.fr/)
