Biography of fernando ortega
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He is noted for his anointed simplicity and rich interpretations of traditional hymns and songs, such as “Give Me Jesus”, “Be Thou My Vision”, and many others. Let me ask you: could that be—for you—a new creative well? The very thing we’re talking about?
Fernando: Oh, I think so. I used to thrive in that life—we’d drive, talk all night, get up and do a show the next day.
I think I got that from a Flannery O’Connor essay where she talked about getting rid of all stimuli. You start to lose your desire to fight for ideas that are golden and true, things that shimmer when you hear them.
Matt: That makes sense.
Fernando: I feel like I’m kind of in that battle.
Is that true? I’ve become such a political junkie, spending so much time on social media. Don’t let me squander it.” [Laughs] People might hear this conversation and think, “This poor, depressed old man.”
Matt: I don’t think so at all. And I’m sitting there like, “Oh, yeah, remember that one episode from Gilligan’s Island?”
Matt: [Laughs] That’s not at all what I expected you to say, by the way.
Fernando: [Laughs] I know.
Yesterday morning, I was making breakfast, and a song popped up—I think it was on Twitter or X—and it was Jon Guerra. Where are you at these days musically? I know. I find myself feeling empty at the end of the day, fighting with people about politics. You say, "Man, with age, there’s this waning fire that is"—you used the word—"tamped down." Yet also with age, hopefully, comes wisdom to know how to handle certain things.
It’s like an hour-and-10-minute conversation. I’ve muscled through it all my life. There’s a song about that called “Every Time You Leave” that I wrote with Elaine, and I really love it.
There’s another one about the political climate called “The God of Small Things” or maybe just “Small Things”. I’m not sure yet. The lyrics were so thoughtful and original.
You know, we tend to, in Christian music, fall on the same old clichés over and over again—you know, "it's your grace," "it's your mercy"—and those make it into every song.
He started learning piano at eight years of age. I have five songs toward a new record that I hope to have done by the end of this year. It sounds like discovery is an antidote for that.
Fernando: Yeah, I agree.