María Becerra: A journey into the true self of a woman born to succeed

The truth is I’m super happy. I feel that, as you say, it is a very important boom. We are going very far and that really makes me very happy. Suddenly, they know about us in so many countries, so many different cultures, languages, I mean... Now I have a show in Italy and we sold a lot of tickets the first three days and I was like, do they know me in Italy? It’s something incredible.

The truth is I feel that Argentina has always been very important in terms of culture. With that, I am so grateful to my country because I feel that we are a country that has always given a lot of importance to music, to art. And that’s why so many artists come from here. That seems like something tremendous to me. I feel that as artists it is also important to continue instilling that in young people, to continue giving importance to music, and to continue supporting new talents so that the community continues to grow.

The first time I fell madly in love with music was when I saw a live performance of Whitney Houston with my mom. Well, my parents have their profession but at the same time, they are very artistic. My mother was a theatrical makeup artist, she wanted and dreamed of being a classical dancer. My dad plays the guitar. So, there was always a lot of music at home. My mom once played a DVD of a live Whitney Houston show. I was about five years old, very little, and I remember that I stayed glued to the television for about half an hour, listening to the songs, and it generated all the emotions in me together... desire to cry, happiness... I mean, I thought: what is this?

It was when I was nine years old, more or less, in one of my first singing performances. There is one that I remember the most when I was 12 years old, I even remember what I was wearing, how I had my hair done, everything! It was in a bar in Quilmes, which is my city, and there were 20 people, they were family members who came to see us at our show. I sang ‘Amor mío’ by Frecuencia 04, I was in love with that song. It was an incredible feeling. The truth is that since I was little, I have been lucky enough to know what I want to do. I feel like I was born for this and nothing else and since I was little I started working on it.

I always received full support. Honestly, no, I can’t say anything bad about the parents I’ve had. Yes, obviously there is always fear in everything, when parents have an artistic son they are afraid of everything, of the things that are going to happen to you in life. And the other thing is that there is a lot of prejudice, about whether you are going to do well like many people have told me: ‘You are going to be hungry,’ ‘You can’t live off that.’ I’m sure my parents were a little scared, but they never stopped me. They kind of thought: ‘It scares us a little bit, but if that’s what you like, try it. If nothing happens, we will be here to welcome you, to help you take off again.’

Well, something that is not related to music but to me as a woman. My mother once said some very strong words to me and whenever I get asked about it I say it because it left a mark on me when I was little. In one of her most sensitive moments, she was upset and she told me, my two sisters because we are three sisters and a brother. She told us: ‘You have to be independent in your life, don’t stop working, don’t stop studying. Never depend on a man, because that cuts your wings a lot.’ And that stayed with the three of us and today each one of us does their own thing.

Well, I have a sister who is a lawyer and another whodoes various things; She is a model, she makes advertisements, she is an influencer, she does various things.

They still kind of don’t realize a lot of things. They are very calm people, very humble. Suddenly they accompany me on a tour and see all the movement around me. I don’t know, like we leave an airport and there is security who is escorting them and someone opens the car door for them and that’s a lot for them. They haven’t gotten used to that yet.

This single is part of this new era for me. I feel like people can get an idea of what’s next from here. While I am an artist who likes to experiment with a lot of different genres, I never stick to just one genre. The vast majority of my songs revolve around pop, I do many different things. This single is funkier, it’s truly divine. I had the honor of being able to go to Sweden to work with the entire Max Martin team. I learned a lot on that trip. I experimented with a lot of different things because, well, I was in the cradle of pop, with Max Martin, and pop anthems came from there. My idea is to release the third album, some singles now and, well, finish releasing the album at the end of the year. There is an upcoming album with many songs.

The truth is I feel that fame is like a tool. Okay, I’m famous, because my music is widely known. My person is widely known because I have a voice that is heard by many people. It’s a tool that I have to know what to use it for. But, I also know that it is something that can disappear tomorrow. You never know what is going to happen, so I never feel like I have earned heaven. I always continue with the same hunger and thinking that I have to grow more and more. But I don’t know, it seems very banal to me. I don’t feel so much like fame is for me, I’m still the same person.

I remember, yes! I was 17 or so. It was thanks to an advertisement I had made and I gave it to my parents directly. I mean, I was a minor, I don’t know... I didn’t want to be handling money or anything like that. And I thought, what am I going to do with this money? If I already have my sneakers, my things. And I gave it them to my parents, I kind of felt that they were going to put them to a more intelligent use. I could have spent it, but I said no, they will know how to use it better.

I think I will never leave Argentina. I mean, I couldn’t... in fact, it happens to me that I’m outside for quite a while and I already feel bad. It’s just that, so to speak, it’s hard for me to get “galletitas de agua” here (laughs). It breaks my soul. But yes, I have plans to come here, but seasonally. I think there are many of us who do that kind of thing, spending a few months here, a few months in Argentina. But I’m never going to leave Argentina.

Yes, indeed. Today, yes.

No, no, no (laughs). Because I feel like I always was, except now... but four years ago, I was very emotionally dependent. I was 17, 18 years old, but I fell in love and felt married to that person, I already wanted to start a life, I wanted to live together, and I skipped many stages. I was little, I had that emotional dependency. I was kind of toxic (laughs), jealous, insecure. I had one of those things and well... I solved it with therapy. I matured, I grew up, I went through several relationships and each one left me a lesson. Today I feel the luckiest.

Yes, I’m actually wearing the ring right now!

Yes, in Santorini.

No, not yet. We are not thinking about it... what happens is that it was an engagement because in Argentina we first have the engagement and then, on top of that, the marriage proposal. I mean, we’re in the middle... It’s courtship, then engagement, and then marriage.

This ring that I have means: “I promise that I am going to marry you, that I am going to propose to you.”

No, not yet. I’m waiting for him to do it (laughs).

Yes of course. I am not one to wait for things to come. If I want it, I look for it.

Yes. Since I was a girl I always dreamed of being a mother. It is a very vivid dream that I have. I love the idea of starting a family. I’m very old school in that sense. For example, I respect open relationships and all that, but I wouldn’t have one. In fact, I’m not jealous of my boyfriend. There are times when we are apart for two months and we come back and love each other even more than before. I mean, I don’t have a bad time anymore. He goes out, I go out, zero jealousy. I am very careful of the energy, of the bond.

I did many things! The truth is that I am a tremendous lover. I fall in love a lot. And nowadays it’s no longer because of what I told you before, that I worked a lot, but before it was that I would leave everything for that person... sometimes that person would leave for three days and I missed him a lot. I couldn’t stand a week without my partner, especially when I was 17 years old. I would get on a plane and go there... it was very intense.

Yes together. My parents do everything together. They are very close. I feel like that was what I saw when I was little; So, that’s what I aspire to as well. I want to be with the same person until I am old.

Yes. He is the love of my life. I swear, it’s a strong bond. It happens to me that I feel that way, that he is the love of my life and he also feels the same. For me, he is the perfect man, he is so attentive, such a gentleman that that is also why I say that I am somewhat old school because, well, I like those things and he is like that.

My tour in Spain starts in June, we are going to be in a lot of cities. It’s like 12, 15 shows, incredible! I’m going to revisit places I’ve already visited: Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Malaga. And there are other places that I have never been to and that I will go to for the first time. So I’m also happy because we’re going to do a world tour in September. If I’m not mistaken, it starts at the end of September or so. We are going to visit many countries.

We are also going to be in many Latin American countries: Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador, which I’ve never been to. So I am also very happy to go to Mexico, the United States. It will be my first time performing shows in the United States and I specifically asked to do the tour like Selena (Quintanilla) did, because I love her with my life.

I wanted to live the experience that she gave by doing an entire bus tour, from city to city, and living there. So we are all going to be living together on the bus, I can’t wait for that to happen. The truth is that I am very eager for that experience. So happy for the opportunity that music gives me, that life gives me, to be able to live doing what I love and to get to know so many cultures, so many new people who suddenly listen to me from another side of the world.