Music Without Borders: Natalia Lafourcade’s Journey Back to Her Latin Roots

Natalia Lafourcade traded teenage pop stardom for peace of mind. Since then, she has given performing another chance, and her newfound Latin sound has made her one of Mexico’s most beloved artists

Music has the power to transport listeners to cultures and places different from their own. In Music Without Borders, our writers introduce you to international artists, bands, and genres that explore the sounds that bring us together.

Written by Miranda Garza

Photos courtesy of Sony Music Mexico

Natalia Lafourcade’s sound has evolved over the years in the same way that she has herself: it’s become closer to her roots. The Latin singer regularly builds her tracks around traditional Mexican music styles such as son jarocho, a plucky fusion of Spanish and African elements that harmoniously follow an alternating cycle of vocals and instrumentals. It is not to be mistaken for the distinct sound of son huasteco, another genre Lafourcade takes from that is dominated by lively violin arrangements with falsetto vocals. Despite her music’s roots in her heritage, the singer’s signature bossa nova-influenced sound is one that took a journey of self-reflection to develop.

Lafourcade’s music career took off in 2002, when the release of her self-titled debut album garnered her immense popularity in Latin America. The alternative bubblegum pop acoustics of her record went platinum in Mexico, and she soon topped the charts with hits like “Busca Un Problema '' and “Te Quiero Dar.” Her biggest hit at the time, “En El 2000,” was a catchy tune with lyrics about the hardships of growing up and references to having a crush on Mexican actor Gael García Bernal. As her career progressed, however, Lafourcade became overwhelmed with the extreme nature of the music industry. “My name was everywhere and everything happened too fast,” she shared in Netflix's Song Exploder. “I was too young for dealing with that much information.” She had lost all inspiration and eventually decided that stepping back from music would be the best decision for her own well-being. “Something in my spirit got sick, and I needed to heal it. I knew that I needed to go very far away from home,” she said.

Lafourcade’s need for a fresh start took her across the hemisphere from her hometown of Veracruz, Mexico to Canada in 2006. She resided in a house with other musicians, who exposed her to genres she had never heard before, like funk, blues, and Afrobeat. In an interview on Netflix’s Song Exploder, she described this experience as a window to another world. Although she intended to devote this time to self-reflection, she was so inspired by these new genres that she decided to begin writing songs again. She spent the next year repairing her relationship with music and subsequently decided to perform again, on the condition that she would have autonomy over her career.

Since her return to the stage, Lafourcade has evolved her sound from a complex array of influences, deriving elements of jazz, rock, folk, and bossa nova. Her relationship with her Mexican culture has also contributed to her music’s development; for instance, she used Veracruz as the driving force behind her Grammy-winning 2015 song, “Hasta La Raíz.” The track opens with the upbeat chords of an acoustic guitar, the huapango rhythm of which was written and performed by singer-songwriter Leonel Garcia. A tribal drumbeat joins the melody, with snares that vary from resoundingly loud to faintly soft, followed by the down-to-earth plucks of an electric guitar that gives the song its modern flare. Lafourcade’s silvery voice fills the track with lyrics that reflect on self-love and rebirth. “En la noche sigo encendiendo sueños para limpiar con el humo sagrado cada recuerdo (At night, I keep igniting my dreams to clean every memory with the sacred smoke),” she sings. The idea behind this lyric originates from the resin copal and the Mexican cultural belief that when burned, its smoke can cleanse one’s aura and energy.

Lafourcade’s musical embodiment of Mexico’s spirit continues in her album Un Canto Por México, Vol. 1. Released in 2020, the collection of songs lacks electronic instruments, making each track feel more traditional and organic. The brass-heavy “Una Vida” builds its sound with brazen trumpets and wavering violins to create a ranchera music style. Lafourcade belts each lyric with inner strength as she sings about living a life free of regret. “De este amargo dolor / Que hoy nos ha enseñado / Una vida solo hay para encontrarnos (From this bitter pain / That today has shown us / There’s only one life to find each other again).”

Throughout various tracks on Un Canto Por México, Vol. 1, Lafourcade joins musical forces with son jarocho group Los Cojolites, whose music style is native to Veracruz. The band’s culture-rich sound stems from its regional instrument choices. Each song includes no shortage of strings, like the  requinto guitar, jarana jarocha, arpa jarocha, and leona, all of which build a vibrant harmony. The hollow sounds of a marímbula drum hide among the instrumentals of “Sembrando Flores” and carry profound depth. The musicians’ vocals perfectly synchronize, with Lafourcade’s high pitch, complementing the bold voices of the son jarocho group.

In her latest release, Un Canto Por México, Vol. 2, Lafourcade takes a different approach and delves into her roots by exploring Mexican culture through folklore and pressing issues in modern-day Mexico.  The somber opening song “La Llorona” derives inspiration from the Méxican urban legend about a woman who haunts bodies of water as she hopelessly searches for her children after she drowned them in a fit of rage. Although the story of La Llorona is commonly used to scare children into behaving well, Lafourcade brings a new melancholy to the weeping woman. With longing in her voice, she cries each lyric: “Me quitarán de quererte, llorona / Pero de olvidarte nunca (They may keep me from loving you, crying girl / But I will never forget you).” In an interview with the Recording Academy, Lafourcade explained that the track resonates deeply with many women. “I feel that La Llorona is the voice of women’s pain, it is the pain that comes from the womb, from the depths of being,” she said. The sullen song is especially haunting given the femicides that have taken place throughout Mexico, among many other countries across Latin America in recent years. In 2020 alone, about 1,000 women lost their lives to this gendered violence, making the track all the more poignant.

Coming a long way since her days of sassy pop songs and space buns, Natalia Lafourcade has created a deep sense of self within her music and has inspired many with her sound. With increasing globalization, many cultures are slowly dying, and it is important that Lafourcade sets an example by preserving her roots. Building a close relationship with her heritage has allowed the singer to explore each musical aspect that Mexico has to offer and wield a larger platform for her culture to endure.