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Natalia Lafourcade had a great night! The Mexican singer won 3 Latin GRAMMYs including Album of the Year for ‘Un Canto Por México.’ The album’s hit single ‘Mi Religión’ won Best Regional Mexican Song. Natalia’s ‘En Cantos’ collaboration with iLe won Best Alternative Song.’ Natalia has now won 14 Latin GRAMMYs over her storied career.
‘Un Canto Por México, Vol. 1’ contains 14 songs with rhythms, melodies and arrangements that remind us of the rich roots of Mexican culture and festive energy. The official video for “Mi Religión” showcases the iconic streets of Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. “‘Mi Religión’ is a song that speaks about my religion, which is: music, love itself,“ Natalia says. ”This song is really special for me as it mentions one of the first moments I ever stood on a stage.”
After having taken a break from the recording studio right following the release of ‘Musas Vol. 2,’ the singer-songwriter spent a year away from the stage. She focused on on her benefit project ’Un Canto Por México,’ which leads the reconstruction efforts for the Centro de Documentación del Son Jarocho (CDSJ), a cultural center that was gravely affected by the earthquakes experienced in Mexico in 2017. It is only place in the world dedicated to the documentation and preservation of son jarocho’s past and present.
Last fall, Natalia produced and performed a banner show at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City with guest appearances such as Jorge Drexler, Pepe and Ángela Aguilar, Aída Cuevas, Carlos Rivera, Café Tacvba, Panteón Rococó, Mon Laferte and the legendary ensembles Mariachi Juvenil Tecatitlán and Los Cojolites, founding entity of the Centro de Documentación del Son Jarocho; as well as sculpture artists such as Rocca Luis César, who was the scenographer and designer of the project. From there, Natalia headed into the studio to record an album inspired by the concert. Some artists from the concert became a part of the recording and some others joined in later on.
“Even though it was a unique experience, an historical concert, that, with our work and effort, would help us achieve our objective, it couldn‘t remain just as a concert,“ Natalia explains. ”We had to record the music that we had been preparing for months because it was something worth sharing, something so rich, so full of life, so full of Mexico, something that was calling to be shared.”
‘Un Canto Por México’ is a walk through the sounds of Mexico. Two new works were composed by Natalia for this project: ‘Una Vida’, carrying a profound and heartbreaking energy accompanied by traditional mariachi and ‘Mi Religión.’
The album goes from the energetic celebration that son and mariachi represent in “El Balajú / Serenata Huasteca” to the minimalistic beauty of ‘Cucurrucucú Paloma’, where Natalia shines with nothing more than her voice and a guitar. The album reserves moments for new classics of Mexican songwriting like “Ya No Vivo por Vivir” with Leonel García or “Hasta la Raíz” with Los Cojolites and Los Auténticos Decadentes, as well as the son “Sembrando Flores” with Los Cojolites and a Regional Mexican version of “Mexicana Hermosa” with Carlos Rivera. The songs breathe through the arrangements made by Natalia herself in collaboration with Nando Hernández and Kiko Campos, the musical director for the project.
Stay tuned for details about ‘Un Canto Por Mexico, Vol. 2’ which will be released in 2021.
Tracklist - Un Canto por México:
1. El Balajú / Serenata Huasteca (feat. Los Cojolites)2. Mexicana Hermosa – (feat. Carlos Rivera)3. Veracruz4. Una Vida5. Hasta la Raíz – (feat. Los Cojolites & Los Auténticos Decadentes)6. Ya No Vivo por Vivir – (feat. Leonel García)7. Mi Religión8. Para Qué Sufrir – (feat. Jorge Drexler)9. Nunca Es Suficiente10. Sembrando Flores – (feat. Los Cojolites)11. Lo Que Construimos – (feat. Emmanuel del Real of Cafe Tacvba)12. Un Derecho de Nacimiento – (feat. Panteón Rococó)13. Mi Tierra Veracruzana – (feat. Los Cojolites)14. Cucurrucucú Paloma