If there is a word that can define Lola Indigo and it is: unstoppable. “I have lived a thousand lives in a very short time,” he tells us, about to close off a rare year, but one that has had its good points. Not even 2020 has been able to stop the career of the artist who can make a positive assessment of this atypical year in which her streaming figures are already in the millions and in which the recording of her new album (has passed the final stretch of the year in Colombia recording) has put the icing on the cake.
If we take stock of 2020…
Musically, objectively, it has been the best year. As for releases, streaming figures… But it is true that I am a stage bug, it is very difficult for me not to have the activity that the stage gives you, the tour. It is true that one always misses what one cannot have because last year I had a bit of anxiety because I had too much workload, it was my first year, my first album, everything came to me very suddenly, I don’t know, many things new to me. But of course, this year I had more desire because I had already learned from what was wrong. And suddenly this whole new and good situation comes along. It’s true that I’ve had more time to get to know myself, to know what I wanted and what I didn’t. And I think that, as for almost everyone, it has been a time of reflection. But on a creative and launch level, it has been the best year.
How did you get through the lockdown? Have you trained at home? We have seen you in some live…
I have been in the countryside, in a small town in Granada, to be close to my family, in case something happens. And he did a lot of sport, really. He trained on Facetime with Antonio Ángel, from Radical Trainer. We actually did a workout for Women’s Health Live together, and we did that once a day. And then he would go out for a run, on schedule, across the field. I didn’t really want to compose, because since things weren’t happening to me, and I write about what happens to me … I am inspired by movement and if I have no movement I have no inspiration. So I focus on training. Sport saved me because it makes me feel better and makes me want to continue improving, it sets goals for me, and improving my physical condition was my goal.
How do you prepare yourself physically to face your tours, your concerts…?
I do a lot of cardio. And I rehearse a lot. Rehearsing makes you notice the moments when you have to breathe. So I have choreographed until the moment when I catch air in the show – people laugh a lot at this – but it’s true, it’s the only way it works. I train with Magali Dalix in her new space that she has opened in Madrid ( La Sala Magali, calle Belén 15) and that I am super happy that she is already here. We do HIIT sessions. This type of high-intensity training is very good for the type of show that I do, because it is 30 minutes to death! After that, singing and dancing is a walk. I combine that with strength and bodybuilding workouts. I always find a hole.
And I also do dance classes. In the end, I train almost daily. I would love to have 8 days a week to rest the eighth, but surely the eighth would follow. Not every week I follow the same rhythm, that’s the way it is, but my free time is never free time because if I have a while I say to myself: “let’s see whose class there is today in Elite (the dance studio)” Well, Monica is here Peña, one of my dancers, Juan Montero, who is my choreographer, or Carlos Díaz … there are many teachers and I like to go to their classes because that is how I keep recycling. I am very demanding and I try to stay fresh with this.
Do you also adapt your diet?
I could live eating avocado the truth! But I take care of myself. I try, for example, not to make heavy dinners, although it is complicated because it is my time to socialize. It is the only time I have free in the day. But normally what I do is a powerful breakfast (avocado toast does not fail) and I try to increase the proteins in my diet especially in times when I am preparing for a specific thing, a show, a video clip … Last summer for example, I relaxed, but September came and I resumed my good habits.
What are your beauty essentials? Do you have a lifesaving beauty tip?
I am a cremaholic. I attach great importance to hydration. Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Botanical Cleansing Oil is my favorite product. I apply it every night to clean my face well. I have complicated skin and I love this product because it helps me find my balance.
Coaches also act as motivators, as does music, what song motivates you to train?
They say that my music is super motivating to train, although I do not make mine clear. I love the music of Rudimental, The Prodigy … And for running (you can see me running around the center of Madrid any day, although now I go unnoticed with the mask, really), I always listen to the Run ‘N’ playlist Bass on Spotify. They are songs at 170-175 BMP (beats per minute), and since I am a dancer I always move to the rhythm of the music and this makes it go faster.
Would you dare to sign up for a career?
No, because I don’t like to compete. I like to train in a group, for example, but without competing. I like to fight against myself. But I don’t like the things that involve racing.
From the Mimi that entered Fame to the Mimi of now, what has changed?
Well, everything. I see myself in videos and I was a girl- Very sensitive. I had not experienced so many emotions and I got into a program that had to compete and it was not my place. Contests are not my place even if I insist on them. And now I am totally different. I feel like I have lived many lives since then, and that I have lived very fast. Because after that I was a dance teacher, I turned to teaching. Then I went to China to live, then I went to Los Angeles, I was in Thailand for retirement… I have been many people and I have lived a thousand lives in a very short time.
Just a year ago you picked up the EMA for Best Spanish Artist. And also the award for best revelation artist of Los40 and you wanted to dedicate it to the community of dancers. What has this profession taught you?
He has taught me everything. Being a dancer teaches you never to give up. Because you receive so many no’s in such a short time. I have been able to do 5 castings in a week and not choose any of them. And that helps you not to give up, not to compare yourself. You understand the frustration. I have already learned not to be fruitful. I have done personal work since I started as a dancer. I say to myself: nothing happens, keep going, keep swimming, keep swimming … And it also teaches you companionship, unity. It is the best of professions. They have little recognition and they are the ones who work the most.
You were in Fame, then you went to China, you came back and entered OT, you were the first expelled… Is surrendering a word that is in your vocabulary?
No. I tell my friends that I have a rule: I leave myself two days of ‘mourning’. If I’m wrong, I’m disappointed, something falls, obviously, I’m saddened, but it only leaves me two days of ‘mourning’. I think it is a good rule. One should not gloat in sadness, in discouragement.
Your album is called Akelarre, are you a bit of a witch?
Yes. I like to believe that there are things that are already at your destination, on your way. And it is true that everything esoteric is something that has always been very present in my family. Believe. It is part of the Andalusian culture.
One of your 12 tattoos is a phrase that says “Believing is creating…” Have you always believed in yourself?
Yes, since I was 5 or 6 years old, I stood in my living room and told my mother: one day I will perform in a stadium full of people.
Do you think it is important to love yourself and take care of yourself to achieve what you set out to do?
Very much. Especially for mental health. Now that I am far from the time when I suffered anxiety, I can speak it and I can try to use my position to say: if you need help, ask for it; Surround yourself with people who love you well, and if you have to stop, stop. Because when you stop you take distance, and if you take distance, you take perspectives and thus you will realize if you were doing things the way you wanted.
Aitana, la Mala Rodriguez, Danna Paola, Tini… they are just some of the women with whom you have collaborated and you are always surrounded by women … what does sisterhood mean to you? Do you think that support between women is essential?
Yes, especially in the urban genre. I have a feeling there are a lot of boy groups. And maybe they include a girl. We also have to unite with each other. It has happened in ‘Santeria’, in ‘High’ and it will continue to happen in 2021. I love collaborating with boys too but it is very necessary to give us visibility among ourselves. For example, I just published the song ‘La tirita’ in collaboration with Belén Aguilera, who is my friend, I admire her and I think she has a lot of talent and is also very aware of the role that women should take: piloting our projects, designing it, direct video clips, be the director and owner of everything you do, the image you want to project. From composing the song to choosing the order of the songs on your album, to staging the live. Because you are a very woman and you are young, they take it for granted that the record company decides for you. And not. I choose. I decide what is best for my story. Nobody decides anything for me. Because I have had a life in which I have had to build a foundation for survival through my art. I’ve been living my whole life from my ideas, from my imagination. For me it is important and I will defend to death that we are respected. Products no longer exist, less and less, because one already has the means to learn to be an artist. For me it is important and I will defend to death that we are respected. Products no longer exist, less and less, because one already has the means to learn to be an artist. For me it is important and I will defend to the death that we are respected. Products no longer exist, less and less, because one already has the means to learn to be an artist.
Has 2020 changed you at all?
Yes, it has taught me to let go of the things that weighed on my back. Insecurity, people … I’ve always had a lot of energy for everyone. I am very caring. That takes a lot of energy out of me many times, because you can’t always be the hero. And then who is there to help you out? Now I am a caregiver, but now I have learned to choose the people I have to take care of.
What do you ask of 2021?
A vaccine. An effective one. And above all that we do not lose the spirit of valuing the things we have. That since we have learned to miss each other and take care of ourselves, that we do not lose it.