There could not have been a more perfect setting than a night full of stars. That exuberant Caribbean nature, which has been threatening for days with a heavy and grey atmosphere, seemed to surrender on Monday night to the permanent smile of Natalia Lafourcade to such an extent that it gave up a beautiful night sky, under which the Mexican singer-songwriter unleashed her own force: a musical whirlwind full of boleros and Latin American sones, sprinkled the night with mezcal and accompanied by the party with the Orquesta Imposible, that wonderful group of different nationalities created by her friend Alondra de la Parra. Lafourcade arrived at the Paax PNG Festival held in the Riviera Maya to shake everything up, sing of forbidden loves and dance in a Caribbean revelry of salt and foam. The Veracruz native appeared on stage, mezcal in hand, and promised a party of son and hips. She gave an impeccable and passionate concert.
The night had to start, of course, like a good Mexican party. From the sweet voice of this singer in love with traditional sounds came that cucurrucucú that has accompanied thousands of evenings in the cantina. She gave it her own stamp, intense, heart-wrenching, painful, yearning. Ayayayay, she sang; ayayayaya, she moaned. The mortal passion of the Veracruz native entered the blood like the alcohol that ran through the tables of the auditorium of the Hotel Xcaret Arte, the venue of the festival and packed with ardent followers who gave themselves over to this paloma that sang to their souls. A mezcalito. Or two. Lafourcade demonstrated once again her successful commitment to Latin American music, that immersion she has made for decades to know, rescue and promote rhythms and songs that tell and sing a region made of music. That crazy girl who sang critiques at the beginning of the millennium was far away in memory.
Lafourcade has become a reference and has joined with outstanding musicians to deliver a repertoire that touches perfection. She did it before with Los Macorinos, a group she met at a tribute to Chavela Vargas (“a great woman whom I love so much,” she said of her at the concert) and with whom she created one of her most acclaimed works, Musesa beautiful album that has established her as one of the great Mexican singer-songwriters. On Monday night she delighted the public that followed her with devotion with one of the best songs from that work, You do know how to love mea ballad that, she said, was created “with the inspiration of the land, Mexico, the beauty, the roots,” a composition that she has already classified as a hallmark of her musical career, because it is part of the beginning of this stage of important nod to Mexican and Latin American music. Lafourcade said that it had been a long time since she sang it, so she had to read it, but even the improvisation came out perfect on her starry night. In short, as she sings the tune, she no longer cares what others think, “here I stay to always be a witness to life.” Mezcal.
This was the first time that Natalia Lafourcade has played with the Imposible Orchestra. The singer-songwriter and the orchestra seemed, however, to have always worked together, because the musicians gave themselves with equal passion to this Suite Of All the Flowersas the music decided to baptize the evening, inspired by its homonymous musical diary, a compendium of traditional sounds. Among the members of the orchestra, the Venezuelan musician Leo Rondón stood out, an expert in the Venezuelan cuarto and the guitar, who marked the rhythm of Milking Tunesa composition from Venezuela, a country that Lafourcade has said she has “married.” And as if she wanted to ward off any possible bad weather, she sang: Dark and gloomy night, lend me your light, followed with affection and fervor by a Rondón dedicated with care to the Caribbean revelry.
Another mezcalito and let the party not stop. Violinist Alexis Cárdenas accompanied Lafourcade in a beautiful version of Pretty Marythe greatest demonstration of love that Agustín Lara made to his beloved, the María of his soul. And so that the public would not lose the spirit of Lara’s romance, the singer switched to cumbias to remember her collaboration with Los Ángeles Azules, the band from Iztapalapa with which she recorded a very catchy version, It’s never enoughwhich has become an anthem for any night of partying. The song has become so popular that the singer said she listens to it everywhere, from her Sunday shopping market to the cities she visits around the world. Maybe it’s because of the contagious music that this already classic group imposed on her at Mexican festivals, or maybe it’s because it sings a plea for love as ancient as romantic sorrows themselves, that It’s never enough for me, because I always want more of you.
Lafourcade is defined by Spotify as one of the most acclaimed artists, composers and producers in Mexico and Latin America. In her 23 years of musical work, she has won 17 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammys. She has more than nine million listeners on that music platform, nothing to be scorned in an industry of mega-produced artists like the Taylor Swift phenomenon. Unlike the American blonde, the Mexican has imposed a simple and original personal style, sweet, calm, with roots that are submerged in the depths of folklore. And that touches the soul. The starry night of Monday passed quickly for the hundreds of spectators at Xcaret, who between shots of tequila and mezcal, rum and beer, salt and foam, sang in wonder the classics of their own and others of a woman who enveloped them in her spell of flowers, of gardenias, of kiss me, kiss me a lot and who asked them to love me the way I like.
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