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After releasing “Nuestra Tierra,” a corrido with all the potential to become an anthem for immigrants, Victoria La Mala and Joe Ojeda shared with HOLA! USA how they teamed up with Chris Perez and Yorch to bless the community with their powerful message.
“I think that this song was meant to be,” said Victoria La Mala. “Because we were working on some other songs that we’re collaborating in, and then we went to have lunch, and after lunch, we were talking about trying something new.”
According to the Urban banda singer for them, it was almost imperative to release a song highlighting the struggle and the hard work of all immigrants living in the United States. “It was very important for us to talk about this topic,” the Mexico City native said. “We spoke about it because Jorge Eduardo and I are immigrants. We came here from Mexico looking for our dreams to come true, searching for that American Dream that everyone talks about. So we just wanted to tell the story of our lives here as immigrants.”
Victoria believes the main reason why the song resonates with so many people is that it came from their hearts and their experiences. “Coming here and just really trying to move forward and look for that dream and push, even though you leave so many things behind. You have to go through so much to achieve it,” she told HOLA! USA.
“Nuestra Tierra” has powerful statements, and one of them is a call to action to reclaim what belongs to us in the first place. “Gente mía ya es tiempo creo que no hay mejor momento para alzar la voz y reclamar lo que siempre fue nuestro,” sings Yorch, as an invitation to remind people that parts of the United States used to be controlled by Mexico.
For Joe Ojeda, known for being one of the members of Selena y Los Dinos, their song is to reflect on immigrants and their search to improve their lives continuously. “They come to this side for a better life, and it’s a big sacrifice that they face,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking when I see the children being mistreated and what they go through, what the immigrants go through on a daily basis. But, this song represents them. We pray for them, and we still want them to have that better life.”
“I think that it’s also very important to recognize that when somebody comes here, we work hard, we contribute to society,” Victoria added. “That means that this is our home too, and this is our land too. That sometimes, that gets lost in the whole political game and translation. That’s what America has always been about. The land of opportunity, the land of the free.”
For Ojeda, and Selena Quintanilla’s husband, Chris Perez, this is the first time they release music together outside Los Dinos and the Chris Perez Band. The musicians realized how profound the message of “Nuestra Tierra” is that they poured all their passion into this project. “As far as us doing the arrangement, it was just at the right time and being at the right place,” said Ojeda. “We were all like, kind of looking at each other; we got something special here. It‘s a good message, thanks to Victoria and Jorge Eduardo.” Ojeda also said they are “very happy to come out with something so special and so profundamente nice.”
The stars also recalled the moment when they played the finished track for the first time. “It was mixed emotions,” revealed Joe Ojeda to HOLA! USA. “There were times where I was listening to the message that Victoria and Jorge Eduardo came up with, and I was like, ‘wow, this is the perfect time to come out with something so special.’ And we were in the studio with mixed emotions.”
For years, Victoria La Mala has said that she could be the “love child” of Tupac and Selena Quintanilla, not knowing that her statement somehow will have a real connection to the late Queen of Tejano music. Today, the singer can celebrate another milestone in her career after collaborating with Chris Perez and Joe Ojeda. “I feel very grateful. I’m very blessed to have been able to work with amazingly talented people that I’ve admired for years,” she said. “It’s so so crazy. It’s such a surreal, incredible moment.”
“Selena has been such an inspiration to me. I‘ve spoken about how much he has inspired me throughout my whole life, and ever since I started my career, I’ve been speaking about it.”
“To be able to create music with the people that she created music is just an amazing gift that I know that was from God,” she continued. “Literally, I was sitting on my couch when I got a call, ‘Hey, do you want to go to Texas to make music with Joe Ojeda and Chris Perez?’ and I was like, ‘Is this a joke? Are you guys joking with me because you can’t play with me this way,’” she joked. “It’s a dream come true, and to be able to have met them and written the songs in Corpus Christi is such a surreal experience for me.”
Exciting new projects are on their way; however, when you have so many talented people working together, we can’t help ask for more details. According to Victoria, more songs are in the queue. “We started working because both Joe and I have some projects coming up,” she revealed to HOLA! USA. “‘Nuestra Tierra’ and other songs are going to be on my project; my EP ‘Soy Mala’ is coming out really soon.”
Victoria La Mala also said she’s been working for years on her upcoming album. “I‘m super super excited because it’s something I’ve been working for a couple of years. It’s a little bit of a new sound for me,” she said. “I always imagined bringing a mix of that Mexican vibe and culture, with a little bit more of Hip Hop, R&B. So I’m very excited to be presenting this EP later this month. And there’s going to be videos with Joe and Chris too.”