The singers installed in Guayaquil since they left their native country. Both speak with this newspaper about their recent premiere that went viral on networks.
They are originally from Venezuela, however, it was Ecuador that united them for three and a half years when they decided to create a musical duo. Veriuska Del Valle Tolpa, 28 years old, and Maria Cecilia Arcay (26) make up the duet Virgi y Matty, which recently set a trend in social networks with the premiere of the video clip of his single On Top, on digital platforms.
The proposal of the music video, in which they appear dancing, men with their torso discovered in the middle of magic that they perform from their thrones, took place in the chapel of the San José La Salle school, a situation that unleashed controversy and unrest in the community of former students of the institution because the scenes in this production are considered disrespectful to the institution and the religious community.
In the midst of the support of those who follow them and the criticisms of their detractors, the artists talk with this newspaper about their incipient career and about the work they are creating and that they consider is an artistic proposal different from the conventional ones.
The duo has signed with Greenlite Music Group, a record label distributed by Sony Music Latin and they plan, without specifying a date, to move to the United States to continue promoting their music in other countries.
How did Virgi and Matty start in the world of music?
Virgi: We got together almost three and a half years ago and really at the beginning we were The Queens and we really got together much earlier as friends, and because a friend of hers suggested that we join together to sing, because we had the image, we had the voice and although we did it in groups separately, we asked each other why not give it a try. In a pandemic we entered a collapse that we did not know what to do, we met our music producer, and at that moment, which was very hard for all of us, it was a moment of inspiration to be able to create our own songs, because we did not have any song playing and now we were going to really have quality material, that’s when we started to create the songs that you have already heard.
Matty: Our first show we did it as ‘there is what laziness’, and a person who had hired us gave us constructive advice and we began to do more shows, choreographies, reggaeton mix, cumbia, vallenato with everything, our show it had always been very varied.
What city in Venezuela does each one come from?
Virgi: We are both from the coast, I am from the state of Anzoátegui but I grew up in Puerto Piritu and I was born in the state of Aragua. And she (Matty) is also from the coast, she is from Sucre state.
What motivated you to settle in Ecuador?
Matty: We have been four years. In both cases it was the first opportunity we had. Ecuador, apart from being a beautiful country, was close, it opened the doors for us, apart from it is a country that at the time we came had a wonderful economy, so we came by bus. We in Venezuela lived very close, but we did not know each other, we came separately. I studied in the same state as her, in Anzoátegui and lived in the Sucre state, which is like saying Babahoyo-Guayaquil and we met here, singing in cumbia groups, for the music. It was a connection, we started talking, we fell down super well, she helped me a lot in the work part, we exchanged numbers, we started singing together, but not in the same groups.
Virgi: It was a very personal experience for each one. We met here. I saw something in her (Matty), that when I saw her in the middle of the group, she would tell me: ‘the only one that stands out is her’. I am also here for four and a half years, I also came because of the situation in the country, I came by bus, I loved Guayaquil, I arrived in Quito, but I loved Guayaquil when I arrived because obviously it is similar to my hometown, and I love the food, we love how varied it is.
Matty: At first I did not like food, but as one adapts, now I do not leave the onions, the bolones, the casserole and I love the encocado. There is a lot of sea food here and I love that everything is very fresh.
In his proposal as a duo he already has two previous premieres, Induce and HighWhat is each topic about?
Matty: Induce It is a very double meaning song, it is very mischievous. And in the second song (High) talks about a girl or boy who when they suffer from an experience of heartbreak, the first thing they do is go to a party, take a nail with another nail or drink, or do crazy things to get the person out of their heart, but the spite is more strong.
Who is in charge of the composition of your songs?
Virgi: Our producer is really the head of all these wonderful works and the good thing about having him is that you listen to our experiences and add them.
Matty: With Joe Roble, our producer, we have created many songs that have not yet come out and even with a new genre. He teaches us a lot about musical structure, but we also compose our songs.
How did the story of the single On Top?
Virgi: It was a day that we were with our producer talking, about our personal experiences, about what we have lived when a man wants to conquer us, that they believe that everything is solved with money and we wanted to talk about the empowerment of women, and it was like a moment of talk, and this letter is born in his head, and then all the ideas began to emerge. And we wanted the video to be something more extravagant, to be tremendous. The main idea is given by a friend of us, and he recommended us to play crazy psychologists.
Matty: We did not want to look pretty, but to see ourselves as crazy psychologists who took advantage of men who had emotional weaknesses at the time, for a couple or something, and who were bewitched in the office. That’s why you see a lot of fiction, and in the part of the castle you see as magical powers.
Why did you choose the chapel of the San José La Salle school for the video?
Virgi: We needed a beautiful castle and when we got this proposal from La Salle, we loved the structure of the church and it was something that we fell in love with very much and we are very grateful that we were able to use it. What was seen in the video was wonderful, the truth was that there were negative comments, but there are also wonderful comments because it is also art.
Matty: We really wanted a castle, but as you can see we had removed all the things that were religious at that time, but we could not remove the benches, so it was a really borrowed place, they had given us the opportunity, the La Salle school lent us this location by supporting to the talent and the truth we thank you very much. We did not know that it was an emblematic place, but little by little we were discovering it.
But it was precisely the decision to record in a chapel and because of the content they handled that the controversy arose …
Matty: The controversy, suddenly, the negative comments are heard only here, but in other countries, because that is already rolling and continues to grow, people will say where that place is. And people are going to wonder where that place is, because it looked beautiful.
How long ago was the video shot and who did your production team contact for the shoot?
Matty: Well, the video was recorded about eight months ago and we really don’t know who they contacted. We paid a person, who was the producer of the video (Samuel Prieto) and he was in charge of finding locations and he showed us what he had achieved. And in Ecuador there have not been videos like that, there was not a reference of this person, he did not have many proposals, all the production companies had more references of works of commercial brands. All production is Ecuadorian.
Virgi: We only had three weeks to do this mega production and it was a video that was shot in one day.
When you saw that you were going to record in a church, did you consult with the production if there was no conflict of interest?
Matty: We are artists, we have a lot of experience not only here in Ecuador but also in Venezuela. We saw it as purely artistic. The least we think is that it was a church but rather a location. Besides, the producer of the video was so excited because it was the first time that a video like this had been made in Ecuador. We really didn’t mean to think we were doing it in a church. We are also believers in God, He has given us all this opportunity, because without Him it would not have been possible, but I also want you to know that this is also the beginning, that we are going to do many things and that you support talent. Rather, we want to ask Ecuadorians to support us because they do not know all the love we feel for this country.
Virgi: And everyone who was there saw it that way, but things happen for a reason and we apologize to all the people whose susceptibility we hurt. In art there are no limits, in terms of growing, many artists do many things, but they grow because they do different things. We thank everyone who believes in this project.
What other topics do you plan to present?
Virgi: We want to release all the songs that, as I told you, we have ready because we have 19 songs of our own, which we composed in the pandemic. According to calculations, our second official video and fourth single will be out in February.
Matty: This is going to be a little more tropical and we will always have a variety of our proposals. So far we have presented a reggaeton fused with trap, dance hall, among others. (AND)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
