Natalia Lafourcade has joined the party of sublimation of the urban genre. The Mexican won three Latin Grammys (singer-songwriter album, singer-songwriter song and recording of the year) at the awards ceremony this Thursday for a work, De todos las flores, about which she said: “It is my most personal album. ” and I did it in a moment where I felt completely broken. And the music taught me…” This album indeed brings about an intoxicating spiritual healing for everyone who hears it. Despite the overwhelming presence of urban music at the ceremony, the awards for Lafourcade show that part of the industry values other, perhaps more sensitive, proposals. The other winners of the evening, also with three gramophones, were Shakira (best urban fusion/performance, best pop song and song of the year), Karol G (album of the year, best urban music album and best urban fusion/performance). and Bizarrap (best song of the year with Shakira, pop song with Shakira and best urban song with Quevedo). Of the Spaniards who competed for major prizes, only Quevedo and Niña Pastori won. The gala took place last night in Seville, for the first time in 24 editions outside the United States.
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But the one who shone the most on stage was Rosalía. Flying high above the Trade Fair and Congress Palace in Seville, always looking from above, observing, but doing your own thing. Rosalía came out first and transformed the Latin Grammy Gala in Seville. The Catalan built bridges with an imaginary translucent membrane and enveloped people in a performance of high emotional tension. She chose Se nos roto el amor, which Maestro Manuel Alejandro wrote for Rocío Jurado and which the Chipionera included in her album Paloma brava. Rocío Jurado, a woman who constantly lives in emotional turmoil and survives by dominating. A completely thoughtful choice from the creator of Motomami. Rosalía didn’t win any awards (she was only nominated for one), but she was among those who shone the most on stage. Also Bizarrap, who has put together three of his sessions with a playful, modern and colorful taste to show that he is the music producer of the moment.
Rosalía at one point during her performance in Seville. CRISTINA QUICLER (AFP via Getty Images)
Rosalía sang well, overcome with grief. I cry? It is possible. He did it for flamenco, exactly on International Flamenco Day, yesterday, November 16th. And above all, she showed that within this resounding modernity (or perhaps because of it) she has within her a courageous folklorist, ready to dedicate herself to art from the ground up. Rosalía wore a black dress and, with a dagger in her heart, mourned the flamenco that she felt most. She was accompanied by a large flamenco group of guitarists and clappers, all on a plastic support, creating the image between tradition (flamenco) and pop (plastic) that represents the essence of this artist.
The Argentine chose three of his most popular sessions, but he tried them out. He sang the first with the lyrical talent of Milo J, only 16 years old, full of colors and optimism. The surprise came with the second, a Quédate sin Quevedo, replaced by a strong singer and in the rhythm of tango. Spectacular. And the third, his famous collaboration with Shakira, with the imperious and unleashed Colombian.
Rosalía and Bizarrap had it relatively easy, because the other performers were conservative, not to say stingy, in a sometimes boring ceremony with constant stops. Most of those who took the stage chose their most popular or newest singles. Shakira also took part here and appeared in two parts of the gala. The Colombian bordered Astra-Canada as he introduced a video recording of his two children’s singing in a silly acrostic. And the fact is that the kids were in the audience in their short white shorts.
The gala highlighted the current problem facing young urban artists: the majority of them do not have optimal vocal abilities. Colombian Sebastián Yatra, Mexican featherweight and Puerto Rican Rauw Alejandro had difficulty putting on stage their open-mic performances without the use of backing track. If you’re wondering why 80% of those who performed at the main gala were of the urban genre, you only need to take a look at the list of the most listened to songs on Spotify. Damn, those are some commercial awards, what were they thinking?
The Canarian Quevedo and the Argentinian Bizarrap received the award for Best Urban Song for “BZRP Music Sessions 52” (“Quédate”) in Seville last night. Carlos Álvarez (Getty Images for Latin Recording)
The flamenco performance, announced in support of Flamenco Day celebrated yesterday, was relegated to the pre-gala, where about forty awards were presented, only a few of which were considered important. So it wasn’t shown on the La 1 show on TVE, and that was a shame because it had its content. All five nominees took part. It all started with the sound of a forge to give the rancid tone to Israel Fernández and Niña Pastora, who sang with confidence and depth. It was interesting to see how Omar Montes, also one of the nominees, would fit in. And it didn’t come out bad. Accompanied by a brass section, Montes switched to Ketama mode in a somewhat Mexican manner and held his own despite his short voice. This boy has something (probably a big nose) and it will be difficult to smooth his morals by confronting him with purist postulates.
The main gala brought to the fore a memory of flamenco that was certainly inadequate and was presented by artists with little knowledge of the genre, such as David Bisbal and Paz Vega. “Flamenco is the Spanish music that is most listened to in the world,” we learned from the man from Almería, while images of deceased flamenco artists such as Paco de Lucía, Enrique Morente, Lola Flores and Camarón played in the background. No, it wasn’t the best idea.
Seeing Quevedo and Bizarrap accept an award on stage brought good feelings. Two young people who come from humble backgrounds (especially on the Canary Islands) and in the solitude of their room at home have already produced a generational anthem like Quédate (Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52), which won the award for best urban song . The image of the two behaving with the refreshing naivety of those who have rarely set foot on these royal stages was touching. “Yes, you can come from nothing and fulfill a dream,” said the canary and you couldn’t help but agree.
But the one who smiled the most was Natalia Lafourcade, who unexpectedly found a place in a Grammy dedicated to urban music. And an encouraging call for Pablo Alborán: 29 nominations (this year he was the Spaniard with the most, five) in the history of the Latin Grammys and no awards.
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