She has had a love for ranchera music since she was a child. It is no coincidence that we have a legendary grandfather like Vicente Fernández and a famous father like Alejandro Fernández, who have left their mark in this genre with decades of experience. But when she decided to pursue singing professionally, Camila preferred to experiment with different movements such as pop and ballads.
His grandfather’s request to record an album of rancheras became a promise. The musical journey led her to turn more and more to her roots and stop searching for the rhythm on which she would focus.
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“I put my whole heart and soul into it,” the singer-songwriter emphasized in a telephone interview from Los Angeles, California, in introduction to the release of her self-titled album, which she is releasing today. “After eight years of career in which I tried to find my sound, I finally found myself in Mexican music and that’s where I’m staying,” admitted the sister of Álex Fernández, who has been making a name for herself with musicals for years has, pleased. Mexican regional. “I only sang it at home and knew all the songs. I sang with mariachi at all the parties, but I had never sung in front of an audience, and when I had to close the Corona capital (Guadalajara) in 2022, with an hour of mariachi, I understood everything.”
Camila grew up in an artist’s home and confessed that the dedication that this profession requires has gripped her since childhood. “It’s not difficult for me because it’s already natural. This environment is very easy for me. This is something I already know. I loved singing from a young age and I sang and wrote my songs all the time. Then it was like becoming a singer,” said the mother of Cayetana, two years old, the result of her relationship with Francisco Barba.
Camila Fernández recalled when her grandfather’s interest in recording an album like the current one arose in 2019. “My last pop album, which is urban pop with mariachi instruments, was a very experimental thing. Note that I had songs inspired by his lyrics etc and I showed the album to my grandfather and he told me “That’s cool, it’s nice, congratulations, but record me a mariachi album” , he explained in detail the request of the multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winner, which he agreed to. “And I turned to him and said, ‘But I’m going to compose the songs,’” he specified, ruling out that the selection was just covers.
The 20-track album includes songs such as “Todo todo” and “Tell me what it Feels,” which he released during the production process. Also with new versions of classics such as “It was a pleasure to meet you”, “Así fue”, “Costumbre” and “Volver” and others. Ten of the songs are unreleased, nine of which are his own. The song he promotes the album’s release, “Here I Feel It”, is sung in memory of the nickname “Chente” and was written by Marcela de la Garza.
“One evening at the composer camp he said to me, ‘I want to show you a song that I composed for my grandfather, who was a big fan of your grandfather,'” he remembers. “I told him, ‘I’ve been thinking about writing a song for my grandfather, but I don’t have the courage because I get very sad.’ “It was still very hard for me because his death was still fresh,” she added of the famous artist, who died in 2021. “When I heard it, we both cried.”
Camila admitted that it wasn’t easy to give her a voice in the studio, especially when it comes to the nostalgia after the departure of this special being. “It was very difficult for me to record it. It was really a challenge. “I don’t know how I’m going to manage to sing it in public.”
Vicente Fernández’s demanding personality inspired her in the recording process.
“My grandfather was very strict with his mariachi music arrangements. He was very careful. If it didn’t sound the way he wanted, he would do anything to make it sound good and please him and the people. And that’s what I got from him. He told me that success comes with work, not luck,” said the graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, who learned to play piano and guitar. “Not only was he a worker who reached many hearts, he always knew how to be a good person, he knew how to be kind, a very admirable person.”
When recording it was important to give each piece its own unique touch. “I wanted to focus on it being a timeless mariachi, with a sound that doesn’t go out of style, with arrangements that are exactly how I always wanted them to be,” said the performer, sitting next to her grandfather and confesses this to her father as an admirer of icons such as Juan Gabriel, Rocío Dúrcal, José Alfredo Jiménez and Eugenia de León.
The love experiences determined the thematic line. “I love that in all my songs the feelings of the lyrics and the music can be easily combined. “I like every song to convey emotion so I can connect with the audience.”
His famous father “El Potrillo” was satisfied with the result of the record production. “He loved it too. I already showed him and he congratulated me. He told me he was proud of me and that I loved him too. “It’s very special.”