What Joana Pol was like according to her partner, Pere Bestard: “At one time they called her Whitney Houston de Selva”
The musician and singer's partner tells us about his childhood and his best-kept secrets.
PalmThe first time Pere Bestard exchanged two words with Joana Pol was when she invited him to her birthday party in Selva. It was the early 2000s. They had seen each other because Pedro used to play basketball with Francisco, a mutual friend who was from Selva, like Joana. While reminiscing about the years isn't exactly a factor for him, he does remember the impact that being at Joana's house had on him: "I remember being struck by the fact that she had a good CD collection. And I also remember the genuine, adolescent impact of seeing her dance a Kylie Minogue choreography with her friends." Years after this anniversary, Pere Bestard and Joana Pol met in the cloister of the Ramon Llull building at the UIB and formed the musical duo Donallop; and a few years later, they got married. But let's take it step by step.
Today, it is through the eyes of Pedro (Moscari, 1988) that we approach Joana (Selva, 1988), who already stood out from a very young age for her drive and her character, which was as tough as it was hospitable. Joana was born on January 2nd, "a difficult date for celebrations," Pedro notes, but she always managed. "Because of her, special days are very important."
As he describes her, Juana was very direct and knew how to lead; curiously, her friends were also aunts with quite a bit of character: "I think and see a group of strong and smiling girls," says the musician, who also highlights the sense of humor of his companion, with whom he shared a romantic kiss when they were about thirteen or fourteen years old: "Afterwards, music," he narrates.
Juana was a Catalan Philology student, and Pedro was a Philosophy student. He already had a music group but was eager to experiment. He knew she could sing since she was a doll. "When she was little, a group of dolls from Selva asked her to sing as Lola Flores in the town's Playback. She, who was already as smart as she is now, said she would sing as Lola Flores if she also sang Whitney Houston. In Playback, no one sings, but her father, who heard her rehearse, said no Playback." And so was Joana Pol's first big performance, singing the voice of the American. "It was so impressive that for a time they called her Selva's Whitney Houston," explains Pedro.
Much later, in a bar in Inca, Pedro heard her sing. a cappella Summertime and was fascinated. And so he suggested they make music together. At first, Donallop covered songs by Supertramp, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Antònia Font, Joan Miquel Oliver, and Miquel Serra. They soon began producing their own songs together, and over time, "all the lyrics and compositions have been Joana's, who has managed to imprint her musical and life vision. This latest album, D SUPERMOON [which will be released in December], above all connects with Joana who loved Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Destiny's Child: with the concept of diva that she has always carried inside."
In fact, Pedro explains, already as a young man, "Juana was very flirtatious: she liked to wear cologne, and she often arrived before her," she often arrived before. "detailed" with her outfitsAt Donallop's first concerts, Pedro would pick her up at her house and often "wait for more than an hour for her to get ready. It was a completely new ceremony for me in a duo setting," she says with a laugh. And let no one be mistaken: no matter how vain she was, Juana isn't one to wait for things to happen. That's why she was the one who proposed to the man who introduced her today. And so happy, they're now about to begin the Supermoon.