Camila Cabello Performs Mariachi Christmas Cover at the White House

After starring in Amazon Prime’s Cinderella and releasing the first single from her upcoming third album Familia, Camila Cabello ended the year with a bang by performing at the White House (again)! To help celebrate the holiday season, the Cuban-Mexican-American pop singer sang a cover of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” with a Mexican twist to honor her heritage, performing alongside a full mariachi band. President Joseph Biden and First Lady Jill Biden The PBS program, In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season hosted by actress Jennifer Garner. The night also featured additional special performances from Cabello’s Cinderella co-star Billy Porter and the Jonas Brothers, among others. 

“such an incredible honor to perform again at the white house,” Cabello said in an Instagram post with a video clip of her performance. “wishing you all a wonderful holiday with your loved ones 🥰”

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“I wanted to pay tribute to my Mexican heritage with this Christmas cover of I’ll be home for Christmas,” she said on Instagram when she performed a cover of the same song earlier this month during Michael Bublé’s Christmas in the City NBC program. “Luis MiRey did it first and in Spanish, but I wanted to bring it to an audience that normally doesn’t get to hear the beauty of Mariachi music. Mucho amor a Mexico y por la música bella de mi país! 🇲🇽❤️ Feliz navidad!”

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It’s a style that Cabello is taking to heart on her upcoming album Familia, which will be released sometime in 2022. While she’s always honored her Cuban-Mexican roots in her music, this project more openly takes influence from Latin pop and Latinx cultural values like harmony, familial love, and community. 

When promoting her first promotional single “Don’t Go Yet” back in July, Cabello took to Twitter and said of Familia, “This album was inspired by two things: family & food. Your family by blood, but also your chosen family. Who you want to sit at the dinner table, get wine-drunk, & dance in the living room with.”

Cabello previously sang at the White House when she was still a part of the girl group Fifth Harmony in 2016. She performed “All I Want for Christmas” during former President Obama’s tree lighting ceremony alongside former bandmates Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, and Lauren Jauregui. Cabello later left the group that December. 

A few days before her 2021 White House performance, Cabello added, “The fact that I’m able to pay tribute to my heritage and represent Latinos and also have my dad be sharing this moment with me it’s kind of, like, a crazy moment. The fact that we’re an immigrant family and we’re at the White House is really special and really cool,” according to KXLY.