I first heard about German Silva from a friend in Melbourne - 'He is a Chilean singer living in Melbourne and he will sing for the WYD day in Sydney in front of the Pope,' He suggested that it might be a good idea for me to meet and interview him.We arrange to meet here in Sydney days after the event for a chat about his life, experiences and his career as a singer. German is a pleasant soft-spoken person with lots of passion when he speaks about his music and dreams and, we spent hours doing just that.

German Silva was born in the northern Chilean city of Antofagasta, a hot place in the middle of the Atacama Desert. He came to Australia in the eighties as a young boy to reside in Melbourne with his family. His sister and mother still live there whilst his brother now lives in Chile (his father passed away three years ago), “ we also have two dogs (Milo and Lady) and one cat that are also part of the family”, he adds with a smile on his face.

As with many other children that move with their families to a new country, Germans' early days in Australia were scary, full of surprises and needed adjusting. “Still on my mind are all those memories from early days here. Everything was so different and strange at the beginning. The worst thing was the language, not being able to communicate or understand anyone - that was something that made it difficult to make friends. But it was all a learning curve that did make me happy and it was good for my own development” he mentions with satisfaction.

Germans' memories of Chile as a kid are those of playing soccer with friends in the street and also the memories of the music, “ There was constant background music whether it was from neighbouring houses, my grandma humming a song around the house, or the music on the radio -music was always around and it was that that made me feel so close to music from an early age”.

Germans debut came at the age of eight with his first school performance. “At that time I sang about cats and dogs, rain days and trees” he recalls. Music was then put on hold as German became more interested in sports and spent most of his time on the soccer field with friends.
Once in Australia, and now a teenager, Germans interest in music was reawakened and he began to perform as a Rapper at community functions, charity events and so on. He soon felt the need for more, this included singing and composing his own songs. German sang in Spanglish, something he felt proud off as it was his intention to keep his language and cultural heritage. Today he sings in English, Spanish and Italian.

These days, Germans life revolves around music; he is a professional singer, coaches and teaches singing as well as manages his own ten piece Latin band 'BatosLocos' .He writes his own music and performs on a regular basis around the Melbourne music circuit.

“For me, it has been a great joy to have been able to work as a singer and also there is a personal satisfaction that is brought from teaching people how to sing . This is something that will stay with me forever. At the moment I have around 30 students in my singing class and that keeps me busy and happy” he admits.

German has shared the stage with the likes of like Ricky Martin and Ricky Richard as well as performing at hundreds of events including functions and corporate. It is without a doubt that Germans most memorable performance has been that of the Youth World Day at Randwick, Sydney. Held in July this year, he took to the stage together with Guy Sebastian, Robert Galea and Amelia Ferrugia in front of 500,000 people and with a TV audience of close to a billion to sing the Spanish version of Guy's song. German was fortunate to have been selected for this event and he told me it is something he will cherish forever.

“Last year, I sent a demo CD of some of my songs for them to hear my voice. After that, they invited me to record the event's anthem song 'Receive the Power' . We did that and a CD was released to promote the event. Early this year the organisers contacted me and ask me if I was interested in performing live during the event and that is how my participation came about. I was very fortunate and I am happy for that”.
German is at present working on the production of his single, which will be released soon, and he hopes everyone will like it. “My singing has given me the opportunity to earn a living doing something that I really love but also has given me the opportunity to meet so many people from different background and cultures and personally, I think I am very blessed with that”.

Asked about the meaning of his participation in the World Youth Day and the impact it will have on his life and career, German is quick to answer “Obviously to have been able to perform in front of so many people is something that doesn't come everyday and it will definitely be very hard to match. But for me my participation there has touched me as a person, it helped me to get spirit. I was touched by the amazing energy that I was able to receive from the thousands of people there. Going back to Melbourne, I felt happy, fulfiled and more in touch with my spiritual side and emotions. World Youth event was a great thing for me as a performer but without any question it was the instrument that helps me to grow as a person.”

German dreams fly high and his enthusiasm is clearly shown when he talks about them. “I really want to go back one day to Latin America, Chile in particular, and to be able to perform for all those people that I left behind and that I feel so close to. I want to tour the world and sing in front of thousands of people and give them with my songs a little of myself, my culture and my happiness for life”.

There is a life full of ideas and dreams in German Silva and he is keeping busy working to achieve them. In the meantime, he relaxes by walking on the beach or at parks, watching nice movies and going to the gym to keep healthy and fit