The Confidences of Pepe Munoz About Celine Dion (GALA MAGAZINE January 3, 2018)

EXCLUZIVE FOR GALA - Confidences of Pepe Munoz About Celine Dion, "kind, tender, generous"

"I CAN COUNT ON HER AND I STILL LOVE HER LISTENING"

This Spaniard capsized the diva all summer long. On stage, but also to the city. While preparing to exhibit drawings at the Galerie Sébastien Adrien in Paris, he confides on the feelings that bind them exclusively for Gala ...

His name slams like the heel of a flamenco dancer. His name runs like a fan. He speaks Spanish, English and French, with the same ease.

 He has learned the effort, in many musicals, around the world. "Cirque du Soleil" taught him daring in Las Vegas. The French public of Celine Dion discovered it alongside the singer, on stage, last summer. Their passionate embraces, on Jean-Jacques Goldman's "Le Ballet", first of all took the breath away. Before untying the languages. Never had the Quebec diva - inseparable from this dancer, even in the streets of Paris - appeared so sensual. Sketch of a legend: what if Pepe Munoz was more than just a collaborator? Finishing a nice stroke of a pencil, in his spare time, for years, the artist of thirty-two years has decided to lift the veil on his work, but also on his relationship with Celine Dion ...

Gala: You exhibit at Galerie Sébastien Adrien, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, from January 22 to March 3. Tell us the origin of this project ...

Pepe Munoz: I was going to spend my last day in Paris, with Céline and her team. This morning of August, I woke up and discovered a mail from Sebastien, who proposed to me to study a collaboration. My summer with Celine, on stage and behind the scenes of fashion, had been a very intense experience. This invitation was the icing on the cake. When we met, Sebastien was wearing a pink and blue leather jacket, very flashy, which gave him an air of David Bowie. I ordered an Aperol. He had coffee, as if he wanted to prove to me his seriousness. I listened, we laughed a lot. Quite quickly, I thought, "I want to work with this guy! (Laughs) (...) 

Gala: So the dance is over?

Pepe Munoz: Absolutely. Since July 2016, actually. When Céline's team offered to accompany me on stage, I had already left Las Vegas and the Cirque du Soleil troupe, I was already a "young retiree". But I could not miss this opportunity. Let's say that I am now a full-time illustrator, who only dances for Celine. (Smile) (...)

Gala: It's said that Celine Dion supports you unconditionally ...

Pepe Munoz: Absolutely. Since she learned that I was drawing, Celine has never stopped encouraging me and helping me to publicize my work. She took me to magical places ... Thanks to her, I was able to meet exciting people of great talent, with whom I am always in contact. (...)

Gala: Is there a facet of Celine Dion that escapes the general public?

Pepe Munoz: Celine is a woman of great transparency. She does not cheat. She is such that you see her: kind, tender, generous. Anxious to offer the best of herself, relentlessly. (...)

Gala: You found her in Las Vegas last November. What kind of friend are you exactly for each other?

Pepe Munoz: I can count on her, when I feel the need to speak, and I'm just as much listening to her. (Smile) (...)

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