Album Review: Natalia Lafourcade Shares a Profound Journal of Life Experiences in ‘De Todas Las Flores’
A testament of haunting heartbreak, Natalia Fourcade’s latest release brings together both love and loss into a vulnerable album perfectly fit for autumn.
Written by Catalina Perez
Photo courtesy of Sonia Sieff
Flowers, death, and love make up the heart and soul of Natalia Lafourcade’s De Todas Las Flores. Seven years after releasing her last album of original songs, Hasta La Raíz, Lafourcade returns with a more personal, introspective take. With 14 Latin Grammy wins under her belt, Lafourcade is a Mexican pop rock and folk artist who dabbles in side projects and collaborations, with partners as varied as Los Ángeles Azules and Julieta Venegas. She has also touched upon traditional Mexican music from Veracruz or Son jarocho. Lafourcade’s latest album is very different from her earlier work, clearly born from the pandemic and unlike her typical upbeat pieces. Recorded partly in Tornillo, Texas, a small town near El Paso, De Todas Las Flores tells the story of what Lafourcade explains as “a piece that honors vulnerability, life and death, femininity, nature, the mystical, love, and heartbreak”, according to her website. The album was released alongside a podcast inviting fans into Lafourcade’s creative process for the album, providing an in-depth look into her perception of each song.
A melancholic whirlwind of strings sets the tone for the album with the beginning of opening track “Vine Solita,” which translates to “I came alone.” Following the string introduction, an acoustic guitar leads the way for Lafourcade’s heartfelt tone expressing sorrowful declarations about life and death in her eyes; shown in lyrics such as, “A este mundo vine solita / Solita me voy a morir” (“I came into this world alone / Alone I will die”). As the song continues, Lafourcade pours out her innermost thoughts, almost creating what seems like an intimate conversation between herself and the listener.
The album’s title track, “De Todas Las Flores,” , which Lafourcade began writing in 2018, takes listeners through a personal story about mourning a past relationship. It centers around what Lafourcade describes in her podcast as the agony one can reach after the end of a relationship. Lafourcade compares herself and a past relationship to a garden with “inner flowers'' actualizing this feeling with lyrics such as “De todas las flores que sembramos / Solo quedan unas encendidas” (“Of all of the flowers we planted / Only a few remain lit”) and “En este jardín de rosas bugambilias sin tu compañía” (“In this garden of pink bougainvilleas without your company”). Lafourcade explains that not only are flowers present in our life through our own personal “inner flowers,” but flowers exist throughout our lives in the physical sense as well. She continues to define flowers as a bittersweet symbol in our lives that are present at both joyous and sorrowful times; for instance appearing during relationships, but also at funerals.
As the album progresses, a few more upbeat songs are sprinkled throughout, yet they still pertain to fervent topics. “Muerte” is a mostly spoken-word, bossa-nova style piece which has an intriguing lyrical and tonal composition. Derived from samba music, bossa-nova is an altered Brazilian genre of music which incorporates jazz for a unique sound. In the song, Lafourcade thanks Death for allowing her to appreciate life and all of its wonders as shown in the lyrics, "Le doy gracias a la muerte por enseñarme a vivir/ Por invitarme a salir" ( "I thank death for teaching me how to live/ For inviting me to go out and decipher my fate well") and "De haber mirado a la muerte/ Es que hoy camino la vida con el fe y el alma encendida" ( "From having looked at death/ It is today I walk life with faith and a burning soul"). Lafourcade also references the "inner flowers" notion again through the use of the lyrics, "Le doy gracias a las flores/ Al aroma de jazmín/ Por invitarme al jardín donde se lloran dolores" ( "I thank the flowers / The aroma of jasmine / For inviting me to the garden where sorrows are cried"). Towards the end of the piece, screams and hollers are heard while trumpets and saxophones blare and pandemonium commences.
A few songs later, the album comes to a close with a gentle ballad by the name of “Que te vaya bonito, Nicolás'' which allows the album to come full circle and end with the same tone it began with. A melodic piano starts off the song and as it dies out, a faint guitar slowly enters and sets the stage for Lafourcade's mournful tone. In a monologue directed towards “Nicolás,” Lafourcade seems to transfer her emotions unto listeners as she bids farewell to him with vivid lyricism.
In “Pajarito colibrí,” Lafourcade talks to a hummingbird, encouraging it to live freely and joyously. Through the soothing words and calming tone in which she talks to the hummingbird, it seems as if the hummingbird symbolizes herself. This reveals a healing tone to the song as she comforts the hummingbird by giving it hope to live, telling it to no longer be afraid but instead to soar and live fearlessly. This healing undertone is also present in "Maria la Curandera" in which Lafourcade speaks to a girl, perhaps through an introspective lens, and tells her to heal her pain with love, for new flowers to grow.
Also worth mentioning is how the album’s themes revolve around imagery of flowers, death, love, and life, and coincide with a gloomy tone for autumn. While possibly done unintentionally, the release date for Lafourcade’s album landed around a meaningful time for people of Latine heritage, Dia De Los Muertos. Mostly celebrated in Mexico, Lafourcade’s home country, Dia De Los Muertos is a celebration of loved ones who have passed that honors them and the lives they lived. People who celebrate create altars with pictures of their deceased loved ones, flowers, candles, and other things. Whether intentional or not, songs from the album such as “Muerte,” “María La Curandera,” and “Vine Solita” draw parallels to this holiday.
With the hidden theme of healing present throughout the album, it is evident that Lafourcade’s thoughts are not becoming internalized, but are instead being presented for others to relate to. Sung with utter passion and longing, Natalia Lafourcade’s De Todas Las Flores showcases her unguarded heart and presents a story which ultimately leaves listeners with a dismal yet hopeful appreciation for the journey of life.