Lorenzo Santamaría confesses to Beatriz Cortázar that his life will be adapted into a television series

At 80 years old, the singer Lorenzo Santamaría is preparing to embark on a new musical tour for the 50th anniversary of his success So that you don’t forget me, with more than 100 million views on digital platforms. The king of ballads with a Mallorcan accent is an artist who knows how to measure his timing and be moved by those ballads that have fallen in love with so many people who recognize in his voice some of the most important moments of their lives. We spoke with Lorenzo during the stop he makes in Madrid to get some air, talk about this tour, his life and warm up his vocal cords for the concert that he will offer this Monday the 20th at the Rialto Theater in Madrid.

50 years of “So that you don’t forget me“. A whole life that may have passed too quickly.

And so much. It seems incredible, but 50 years have passed since we released that song in 1975. That year was a very marked date in our history for many other reasons, but in my case because of the appearance of this song. I don’t think time has passed either fast or slow since the way I am, I’m one of those who prefer to live in the moment without thinking about the plans I’m going to make. Obviously the years have passed me by, but I’m still at the top of my game and that seems more than enough to me.

At one time he thought about retiring from the stage but today he goes on tour…

Last year I started a farewell tour because during the pandemic I considered that there was no more future and I had to say goodbye to the public. What happened is that we saw the great acceptance that my concerts provoked. People welcomed me with a euphoria that was a huge surprise and when we saw the result and reached the year 2025 we decided that there was no goodbye but to celebrate the 50th anniversary until the body could bear it.

There is a long fuse.

For now yes. The day I see that I can’t move, I’ll stop. I am very nervous and I can’t sit still on stage or sit still. When I find out that my physique is failing me, I’ll say goodbye. Luckily I’m not there at the time. It’s not right for me to say it but I admit that right now I’m in good shape.

What remains of that young carpenter who sang rock while he worked?

The years fill you with experience, as is logical, but when you reach an age you learn to value things differently. From that youth he remains the same as he was in many things, but when he started singing he dreamed of being the best singer in the world. Not because of fame or anything like that but because I was influenced by the voices of my idols such as Ray Charles, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley… What I didn’t think was that being the best entailed fame and popularity because if you want to be really good you have to prove it to the public.

You start, you record an album, and you end up in a dynamic where you are a slave to popularity since you have to sell out and receive applause. What really remains with me from those years is the excitement, especially these last few years. Obviously I have gone through low times but never depressive ones. I have had times when I didn’t feel like recording anything or I simply didn’t have the opportunity to do so, but I have never allowed work to get me down.

Well, in your profession you are lucky not to have thrown in the towel during bad times.

That did happen to me during the pandemic. It was a time when I considered saying goodbye because nothing made sense, much less being a singer because you couldn’t work.

To whom do you owe the most in your musical career?

Over the course of so many years, obviously, important people have passed by, but I assure you that, above all, I am a very family-oriented person and I have always preferred to be with my loved ones rather than do certain things.

What is it referring to?

To work topics such as gossip or appearing on television shows to talk about things that have nothing to do with music. My life has always been focused on music and all the other stories that help you gain popularity, whether participating as a jury or other television formats, have not interested me.

Maybe it’s because financially he has never had that need.

I am a very simple person and I don’t need to have a great economy to live. Materials have never really interested me and not because I have them but because I don’t spend anything. I don’t have any superfluous expenses or anything like that.

It has no ships or mansions…

He had a country house and that was that. In the years of my maximum popularity, in the 70s and 80s, I traveled around Spain in a Renault12 car when people drove with Mercedes. It is not a merit but my way of being.

He has been happily married for 30 years to his wife, actress Nuria Hosta, with whom he has two daughters. Another success that not everyone can count on, especially in their guild.

Because the important thing in my world is not to be influenced by show business. As I told you, I have stopped doing certain things even though they would have made me more popular because I have never wanted to separate myself from my people or my Mallorca. When I toured America I wanted to finish and return home. People didn’t understand it, but I’ve always been like that. I haven’t looked for anything strange or crazy things to grab headlines. I have given what I could with my music and I think that what people want from me are my songs and I don’t think that because I appear on TV a lot I will fill the theaters more.

They have defined him as the king of ballads and it is no less a responsibility that so many people have fallen in love listening to him.

After performances I like to go out to sign my albums and talk to the people who come to see me. Many tell me that they met their partner with my song or got married with my music and, the truth is, it’s fantastic. I usually joke with those couples and I have a great time. When the public loves you, they show it to you and it is very nice.

Who were those people to whom he dedicated his great songs?

When I was married to my first wife who was Dutch and then we separated, that was when it came out So that you don’t forget me and the press claimed that it was because of her, ‘but I can tell you that it was not true. The only one that had real inspiration was Rosia story that a musician told me, but most of the time I assure you that you write without having to put anyone’s face in those lyrics.

How do you get along with your contemporaries like Julio Iglesias or Raphael?

We met once in a while but we no longer maintain contact. The illness has been very bad for me. Raphael but the truth is that he is a beast working and putting together concerts. Obviously he did it because he felt like it and I think it’s very good. With Julio I have no contact and with Camilo I had it for a while. The one I see myself with the most is Jeanette and with Micky. We were doing a tour together. Tony Ronald He was also a great friend of music but it sucks that people you love very much leave.

As an expert in ballads, what do you think of the phenomenon of Luis Miguel, who we also have living in Spain.

I’ve never seen him but he thinks he’s from another generation than mine. He has some very beautiful ballads, he is very much my style, but I don’t know him except for what I have seen in the series about his life and that surprised me quite a bit.

Would you also like to have your own series or documentary?

This question is interesting because I’m going to give you a scoop: we are working on it. I can read that far because obviously we are at the beginning of the entire project.

He is closely linked to his native Mallorca, where he has several brothers, but he lives in Barcelona with his wife and daughters..

I live between Barcelona and Mallorca because an older sister lives there and I take care of her since she has no children. She took care of me as a child and now I take care of her.

Is it comfortable to live in Barcelona today with everything that has happened on a political level? Does it affect you?

These last four or five years I have spent between Barcelona and Mallorca and that has meant that I have seen and experienced everything but as if from a window since I was outside a lot. Barcelona is endearing but I am Mallorcan and you already know that we islanders are very attached to our island.

Have you had any problems when speaking out with the independence movement?

No. I accept everything that happens except extremism. I think you have to be very balanced because extremes cannot be tolerated. And I prefer not to continue talking about this topic anymore.