Interview with Kary Espinoza: 'The songs of Whitecross in Spanish'

Published on september 9th, 2023 | by Hector Sicajan

On july 10, 2023, the album 'Rex Carroll y Romina Barba: Las canciones de Whitecross en español' was released on digital music platforms under the label Santuario Producciones.

An album that fills us with nostalgia, remembering the songs that Rex Carroll, Scott Wenzel and company released in the 80s and 90s.

Undoubtedly the impact of the band Whitecross in Latin America was very strong and with the wave of Hard Rock and Christian Glam Metal many lives were restored, healed and brought back to the encounter with their only and sufficient savior Jesus.

After many line-up changes the band is still in the Christian Rock music scene performing in different festivals.

1.   Hi Kary, thank you very much for giving us the interview for the Classic Christian Rock Magazine community.
How did the idea of making a complete album of great Whitecross classics songs in Spanish come about?

In 2021 Rex contacted me, we had already worked on pandemic making a virtual meeting with 100 fans per zoom to share experiences and for the kids to have contact with him, Rex proposed me to be in charge of this production, he had seen and heard Romina Barba doing a cover of  Whitecross and he thought she was perfect for the project. So we made the contacts, we met virtually and the project formally began to take place. 

2.       How long did the project take from planning to launch on digital music platforms?

The project officially started in June 2021, there we started with the talks about how the project would be, about which songs would be included, video calls with Rex from USA, it was a long way to make the final album.

 

3.       How was the teamwork with Rex Carroll and singer Romina Barba, as well as with Santuario Producciones?

The work was arduous, Rex recorded in the USA, sent the melodic bases to Romina, in Argentina Romina recorded the vocals, then they were sent to Rex for mixing and from there, the track was sent to Brazil where the musician and producer Will Matheus mastered. When the 10 songs were finished, the whole album was remastered to unify and give the final sound to the album. Two years of work paid off, and the whole team was very happy. 

4.       We noticed some changes of rhythm in the current versions, is it due to the author's rights or copyright?

 Legally it was quite a challenge, the lyrics are translated and adapted, but the melodic bases were still the same, so copyright is still an issue. So this is why some of them have something extra to differentiate them from the original tracks.

5.       The project has already been launched on digital platforms. Are there plans for a physical release?

          Yes, a space edition will be released soon, physically in a special packaging.

6.       How was the process of translating the lyrics from English to Spanish, who was in charge of this work?

The translations were in charge of Romina and Ronald Barba, the names of the songs were put by me, in some cases and due to the adaptation of the song to Spanish, I had to change the name of the song, but always keeping the idea of the song in English. 

7.       How has the Latin American or Spanish-speaking public received this musical project?

The public waited patiently for the release, so when we finally cleared all the hurdles and the album was released on all digital platforms, they were very happy and receptive to listen, share and enjoy the album.

8.       What are the future plans of Santuario Producciones?

Well, we are currently working on the 4th studio album of the Brazilian Will Mathues that will be released this year, a progressive metal album, entirely sung in English, and will be called Utopia.  We are also working on the diffusion of some bands from Argentina and Latin America, also producing workshops for musicians and training people in the area of marketing, advertising, music, singing, etc.

9. Our best wishes for every goal and project you have set for yourselves, we wholeheartedly wish the best for your lives as well as for each of your projects.

Thank you very much, every word of encouragement encourages us to keep on fighting. 

10.   To conclude, a few words for our community of readers

Thank you for your support, in Argentina and Latin America it's difficult to do work like this, from the economy and new technologies, betting on music production every day is a challenge. So it only remains to thank you and ask you to support and consume music from our artists, people of God who understood that music is a wonderful means that God uses to heal hearts, expand the kingdom and save people. Thank you very much from Argentina, the last place on earth. The farthest corner of the continent, a place chosen by God to continue sowing the seed of the gospel, God bless you!

Tracklist:

“Las Canciones de Whitecross en Español” 

1. “Basta” (Enough Is Enough)

2. “No Hay Segunda Oportunidad” (No Second Chances)

3. “Sabes Lo Que Tienes Que Hacer” (We KnowWhat’s Right)

4. “La Oración Es Poder” (Power Of Prayer)

5. “Llévalo Al Extremo” (Take To The Limit)

6. “Señales Del Fin” (Signs Of The End)

7. “Su Amor Siempre Está” (Love On The Line)

8. “Axcaliber”

9. “Necesito De Ti” (All I Need)

10. “En Cristo Estoy” (He Is The Rock)