Donald: 'My brother was responsible for the success that Luis Miguel had with boleros'

Geraldine mitelman

07/24/2021 18:47

• Clarín.com

• Zonal

Updated 07/25/2021 7:49 PM

Sucundum.

The interviewee's WhatsApp status overcomes any lack of Sherlockholmian instinct.

It could be none other than

Donald

, on the other end of the line.

To the long list of onomatopoeias of his authorship, such as Sequeten Sequeten, Scaba badi bidu and Chequendengue, we add in this interview

"Res-Res", a word that he invented for his five pets

and that could replace the popular "

juira, go spoon

".

He no longer has late-night musician schedules.

The pandemic finds him in bed at 20 and more than once, awake since 4 in the morning.

At the age of 75, the

last representative of the extremely talented McCluskey clan

- who was born to his father Dean and his brothers Alex and Buddy - planned his

first streaming show

: Donald sings to love.

It was this Saturday, at 9:30 p.m. 

He comes from spending almost

three months in Hawaii

with two of his children and grandchildren (he has 9 in total) and now he is back in his beloved San Isidro, a neighborhood that he always felt was his root and from where he prepares to

celebrate with the public. his 60 years with music

.

Donald McCluskey

"People ask me, why are you coming back? Because this is our house, in reality I always say that it is where Vero, my wife, with whom this Tuesday we have been married for 48 years, is," says the

author of The waves and the wind.

.

On that day, Donald remembers that his wife chose the church in Martínez and that there was a massive party at the Alvear Palace Hotel.

"It was already well known at that time, my best moment, similar to now, which is like living again," he is sincere.

He is also going to say that the mother of his four children is his best decision in life, that he was fortunate to find his soulmate very young and that part of the secret to sustaining love was having agreed "never to go to sleep angry. And we fulfill it to the letter ".

You turn 60 with music and you celebrate it with your first streaming show, how do you get along with technology?

I just turned 75, on July 9 and although it is something new for me, I have the help of my daughter Melody who did all the artistic production, took care of the costumes and everything.

Today it is a vehicle of communication towards people that cannot be wasted.

In fact, I remember that when I started singing on television: you didn't see the audience, you imagined it.

I feel that in this case it is the same.

And who do you imagine or what did you think of in those shows?

Generally a loved one, as I am a dreamer.

If this was my last show, I'm happy, I dumped everything I received over the years.

I am going to have very very famous guests and others not so much but very dear.

There will be Dany Martin, César Banana Pueyrredón, Rubén Mattos, Adriano Moris who sings with his daughter Fiorella - we will sing the song "Unforgettable" - and all the sound of the streaming will be inspired by the orchestras of the early 60's ', to the time of the bolero.

And I'm going to sing four or five of mine. 

A scene between Diego Boneta and César Santa Ana, the Argentine actor who played Alex McCluskey, Donald's brother, in the Luis Miguel series.

You mention boleros and Alex McClusckey, your brother, was Luis Miguel's manager. Did you watch the series?

By bits.

Verónica, my wife, is a fan and saw it all.

It mortifies me a little and it annoys me because Alex, who was also my representative and with whom I had a difference of 10 years (Donald is younger), was not given the place he had.

My brother was directly responsible for the absolute success that Luis Miguel had with the boleros, for me he was the real responsible for having brought him to Armando Manzanero, for choosing the repertoire with him and for bringing the record's arranger, who was also a friend of his. 

Did you have contact with him, did you meet him?

I met him when Alex once took him home to Punta del Este, one summer in '91-92.

I remember him as a phenomenon boy, my two daughters who were teenagers at that time were crazy, especially Marina, and when she came in and saw her she said "how beautiful the girl", and from that moment my daughter locked herself in the bathroom of the shame and did not want to see it.

We always remind him (laughs).

For me he is the most extraordinary singer that exists in Latin speech.

And if we don't sing that day together, it's because he's a tenor and I'm a baritone, I can't reach his tone.

I always sang with a limited vocal range and it was too good for me.

You were a councilor of San Isidro, from your time in politics, what was your greatest contribution?

Honestly, I would have liked to continue in politics.

It's not that I left her, but that politics left me.

Of the projects in which I was involved I remember "La Banca 25" for the neighbor and the Ombudsman.

I was not qualified to continue in a political career, I feel that I did not achieve my objectives, which were very ambitious, but the times of the world of politics are not the same as those of the common citizen.

My greatest achievements in life were receiving me as a lawyer and marrying my wife. 

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