The music of Mexico is very diverse.
It features a wide range of performance styles, mostly because it has been influenced by a variety of cultures. To see all the diversity in action, we recommend Natalia LaFourcade’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert.
Tiny Desk Concert is a rotating live concert program where musicians perform at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.
It’s been happening since 2008 in Washington D.C. The concept is that lesser-known artists come to perform at a tiny desk for a big audience.
Boilen, the host of NPR’s All Songs Considered, and music editor Stephen Thompson, attended a show where they couldn’t hear the concert over the noisy crowd.
From that came frustration. It gave them an idea: what if we offered a platform for performers to give intimate concerts to a big audience?
Of course, while some bigger names have come to perform over the years, the heart of the show remains with breaking artists.
For her part, Natalia LaFourcade is one of the most influential artists on the pop-rock scene in Mexico. With a divine voice and phenomenal music, this talented woman will have you intrigued by her Spanish lyrics.
Her performance was an homage to the incredible music of Latin America.
LaFourcade brought her Musas tour to the Tiny Desk.
In the video, LaFourcade performs three songs. The first one “Soledad y el Mar” comes from her 2017 album Musas: Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano en Manos de Los Macorinos, Vol. 1. It was a commercial and critical success and received a Latin Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. We’re not surprised since it represents an ode to a magical time in Mexican popular music. LaFourcade and her band manage to bring those times to life with every note they play.
LaFourcade came to Washington D.C. with her friends Ernesto Anaya, Uriel Herrera, Jorge Molina, Juan Carlos Allende and Bernardo Ruiz.
We have to mention that the two older gentlemen in the video, Juan Carlos Allende and Miguel Peña, are very famous in their country and have played with iconic ranchera singer Chavela Vargas. What an all-star team!
LaFourcade began performing at the age of 10 and signed her first record label when she was only 17 years old.
She’s the proud winner of a Grammy and eleven Latin Grammys and she paints a beautiful picture of her country wherever she goes. It’s not a secret how much she loves Mexico, and you can feel it in every single word of her performance. LaFourcade sings in Spanish and her lyrics are as beautiful as the music. After she finishes, her 15 minute-long concert will seem too short. It’s because she has a voice that can heal any soul. Since the video was posted, it has earned more than 12 million YouTube views.
As it turns out, she also does humanitarian work in addition to her phenomenal music.
This performance has her examining the roots of Latin American music and doing it effortlessly.
LaFourcade has also been supporting the United Nations High Commission for Refugees since 2016 and always raises awareness for UNHCR campaigns and causes. She’s especially active via her social media accounts, speaking up about the situation for refugees in Latin America and beyond. What an amazing woman and singer! Let’s learn from her, take pride in our cultures, and do what we can to help our surroundings.
Be sure to watch the entire performance in the video below:
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