We were lucky to catch up with Alberto Puerto recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alberto, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

As an artist, I find a great deal of joy and fulfillment in my creative pursuits. The act of expressing myself through art has always brought purpose to my life and unity to those around me. I have hedged the challenges that come with this path by adding the educational component to what I do, which provides the stability and certainty that are necessary for any artist while I enrich the lives of others. The educational component itself can be an art form when it is balanced properly with my creative projects, so I have never seriously considered a “regular” job since I have successfully integrated this component rather than adopting a more conventional career. I cherish my creative space, and so I balance these pursuits as artfully as I can.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am fortunate to have been a career musician all my life. My formation through the Cuban school of the classical guitar and the University of the Arts in Cuba led me to work as a professor in South America for a number of years. At this point, I am continually working on artistic collaborations in the Miami area that challenge the range of the classical guitar, and I provide individual guitar lessons of the highest caliber, along with a master class program for my students. I have also been collaborating with visual artists, and I just curated the music for an immersive exhibition in Coral Gables along with visual artist Hollye Davidson. There will be more collaborations with visual arts coming up during Miami Art Week, so stay tuned. Coming up this week, I will be releasing one of the tracks of my Latin American Songbook in collaboration with singer Eduardo Moreno. The track will be released online around November 1st so keep an eye out if you love fine art music with a Latin twist.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think that as creatives, we need to find ways to use technology in ways that leverage creativity and to avoid being consumed by technology in ways that stifle it. There is still much discussion about the power structure of technological actors in the arts. I don’t want my art to be largely the product of algorithmic manipulations, and yet there is no way to completely avoid their influence. I resist the notion of being classified as a “content creator”, I am a guitarist first, I have a story to tell you at my concerts that is best heard in person. And yet, here we are in the generalist void of the tendency to call each other “content” rather than “art”. I think there is a major difference between content and art. People tend to solve more problems when we learn to question and explore a subject like this difference I’m talking about in a civil fashion. Society should allow spaces of creative questioning and interaction to thrive.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am looking to communicate my musical world in the simplest manner for the listener, that is, I have needed to learn to do more with less in my musical language. Often it’s this way with my students as well. It’s just easier to show a technique than to talk too much about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: albertopuerto.com
• Instagram: @puertoguitar
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alberto.puerto.391
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alberto-puerto-b0968076/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmRpHmBFpQJM6BD5_V1DlpQ

Image Credits
Aleli Egues Jose Luis de la Paz