Natalia Lafourcade Explores Her Alter Ego in ‘Cancionera’: ‘This Album Reaffirmed My Role in Life’

Turning 40 led Natalia Lafourcade to discover CANCIONERA, the vein of the message that fuels her new musical project, the character that brings her alter ego to life, and the concept of a tour that will take her around the world for more than a year to perform her artistic creation live. A year later, with the release of her new album on Thursday (April 24), the acclaimed Mexican singer-songwriter says that this work reaffirmed her role in life and the path she wanted to follow.

“I feel that CANCIONERA came to remind me of that message as a songstress, but it also made me feel very inspired by songs from around the world, at a moment in my life when I said to yourself, ‘I’m 40 now, what’s next?’” Lafourcade tells Billboard Español in an interview in Mexico City.

The LP follows De Todas Las Flores, her celebrated 2022 album that earned her a Grammy Award and three Latin Grammys and marked a creative partnership with her friend and colleague, Franco-Mexican producer, musician, actor, and director Adán Jodorowsky. Again, they collaborate on CANCIONERA, which was entirely recorded on analog tape in Mexico.

The album also features contributions from El David Aguilar, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Israel Fernández, Diego del Morao and Gordon Hamilton, who enrich the set with nuances and textures ranging from bolero to son jarocho, with hints of tropical and ranchera music. Additionally, the work of Soundwalk Collective adds a sound design that complements the album’s depth, integrating natural sounds as part of the musical landscape.

The repertoire of CANCIONERA, Lafourcade’s 12th album, includes original compositions and a couple of reinterpretations of traditional Mexican music, such as the son jarocho songs “El Coconito” and “La Bruja,” which establish a dialogue with the essence of the project. Released by Sony Music, the album consists of 14 tracks, including an acoustic version of “Cancionera,” where she explores sounds like bolero, son jarocho, tropical music, and ranchera, very much in the style of the iconic Chavela Vargas. Other titles on this production are “Amor Clandestino,” “Mascaritas de Cristal,” “El Palomo y La Negra,” “Luna Creciente,” “Lágrimas Cancioneras” and “Cariñito de Acapulco.”

The four-time Grammy and 18-time Latin Grammy winner — recently highlighted among Billboard’s Best 50 Female Latin Pop Artists of All Time — admits that her alter ego in this new project pushed her to do things she, as Natalia Lafourcade, wouldn’t have done. “This songstress soul cornered me into maximum creativity through dance, exploration of movement, exploration of painting, many things I love and had perhaps kept locked away in a drawer,” she says. “It shows that this is a new facet, a stage that taught me about the capacity I have to transform, and not just me, but everyone.”

And unintentionally, she confesses, Mexico — through its traditional rhythms, lyrics, and songbooks — once again permeated her work, just as it did in her previous albums Un Canto por México (2020), Un Canto por México II (2021), and De Todas las Flores (2022).

“I think the album has a lot of Veracruz in it, a lot of our way of speaking, our wit. And again, without seeking it, without forcing it, all the influences of those involved and that sense of Mexican identity came through,” Lafourcade explains. “Just as Emiliano Dorantes brought the influence of Agustín Lara, ranchera Mexico came through, tropical Mexico with Toña La Negra, the Mexico embodied by Chavela Vargas. All those glimpses manifested in the process. I loved that because it shows that we’re all here and we exude that Mexican spirit.”

Additionally, she points out, the new songs conveyed fantasy and a surreal touch, “what happens as if in a dream.” Without hesitation, she knew her new album needed to feature Jodorowsky as co-producer, whose critical and sensitive ear would help her direct her creations.

“Creating with Adán is one of the most beautiful things. Besides Adán, there was David Aguilar, Emiliano Dorantes, Alfredo Pino, my lifelong musicians, people I love and admire, all gathered in a studio, playing, making music — some of the happiest moments of my life creating,” she says. “And Adán, I really appreciate his philosophy of life, his way of working, his friendship, the way he loves me. I’ve found in him a producer who understands both my roles: as a producer and as an artist.”

The singer of “Hasta la Raíz” notes that with Jodorowsky — son of the renowned Chilean-born filmmaker, theater director, psychomagician, writer, and producer Alejandro Jodorowsky — she knows she can fulfill her role as a producer and songwriter without losing focus. “When you go into the recording studio, you’re so vulnerable; everything happens — there’s joy, and there’s also confrontation. There are days when you’re having a terrible time, when you’re very fragile and need a sensitive person. That’s Adán.”

Lafourcade shared that before CANCIONERA became a conceptual album, it was initially envisioned as a tour with just her voice and guitar on stage. “That was the first spark that led us to create an entire album.” Thus, a series of intimate concerts in Mexico, produced by Ocesa to promote the album, began on Wednesday (April 23) in Xalapa, Veracruz, and will arrive at the Teatro Metropólitan in Mexico City on May 2, before returning in September to the Auditorio Nacional. With stops in several cities across the country, the United States and Latin America, the CANCIONERA Tour is shaping up to be one of Lafourcade’s most ambitious ones.

With Mexico as one of her greatest inspirations, and after having elevated the country’s name with her music, Lafourcade applauded the government initiative México Canta, announced on April 7 by president Claudia Sheinbaum to promote songs free of violence glorification. “I agree that it’s time to analyze a little and open our eyes, to be aware that music has a lot of power,” Lafourcade says. “Sung words have an even greater power; they truly affect us, transform us, for better or worse. It’s a transformation on a level we don’t even realize. I think a constructive perspective is always a great contribution.”

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