Natalia Lafourcade Talks New Album ‘Cancionera’ & the Impact of ‘Hasta la Raíz’

Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade is one of the most influential and successful contemporary Latin American musical artists. The Veracruz native began writing songs at an early age, making her solo debut in 2002, and is known today for beloved songs including “Hasta la Raíz” and “Nunca Es Suficiente.” She is the most awarded female artist in Latin Grammy history with a total of 18 Latin Grammy awards, and following the release of her latest album Cancionera, the iconic Mexicana has been nominated for 9 Latin Grammys including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. After wrapping up her “Cancionera Tour,” Lafourcade is back with her new single “La Cometierra,” her first new song since her Latin Grammys nominations. Released on October 1, the powerful track about finding one’s inner strength is set to be the title song for the new Amazon Prime Video series Cometierra, which brings light to the violence affecting Mexican communities.

Born in Mexico City and raised in Veracruz, Lafourcade began her pursuit of becoming a cancionera around 14 years old when she realized that she could make her dreams a reality, writing songs and lyrics that she hoped people would connect with. Now 25 years later, she has created countless projects capturing different eras of her life and career. Her latest project Cancionera, released on April 24, celebrates an important new chapter of Lafourcade’s life that has been filled with surprises and honors the art of the song. Lafourcade aimed to reconnect with her craft as a songwriter and “cancionera” on the album and reflect on her path and passion as a musician over the years. With her unexpected yet happy pregnancy—her first at 41 years old—that came during the album’s creation, Cancionera has taken on a new meaning for the iconic Mexicana.

“I found that songs are something very important in our lives. They become our friends, our company, the soundtrack of the story of our lives and what we live, and I love being a cancionera. It’s a celebration because I am turning 41 and entering the decade of the 40s in my life, and it’s like a commitment and reconfiguration of my world, my universe, of myself as a woman, artist, musician, and creator,” Lafourcade tells HipLatina. “I am closing a cycle of my life; it’s not going to be the same anymore… I know this is a metamorphosis that I’m going through, and always the changes and metamorphoses that I have help me to make music.”

Cancionera not only carries personal significance to Lafourcade but also features theatrical elements and symbolism of connecting with your authenticity. For the album, Lafourcade created two alter egos: the “cancionera” wearing the black suit and the “cancionera” wearing the red dress. Together, both represent the duality of connecting with your authenticity and the “inner garden” of your soul. According to Lafourcade, it was both challenging and beautiful to create a universe for her music, and with the help of treasured collaborators and her fellow musicians, she was able to bring this vision to life in a way that let authenticity flow and kept everyone present in the moment.

On September 17, the albim was nominated for 9 Latin Grammys including Album of the Year and Best Singer-Songwriter Album, with the titular track “Cancionera,” which Lafourcade calls “un himno cancionera a la vida.” Though Lafourcade is no stranger to Latin Grammys and Grammys nominations and wins, she is very proud and always very grateful and surprised by accolades like these, as her focus isn’t to gain recognition but to instead share her passion for music and her craft.

Lafourcade recently wrapped up the North American leg of her Cancionera tour, which sold over 112,000 tickets across North America and spanned 39 shows across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico including three sold-out shows at el Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City. Initially, she planned for two years of touring while emphasizing the theatrical and symbolic elements of the album. With her pregnancy, Lafourcade and her team decided to simplify the tour to prioritize her health and instead went for just her guitar and her voice, which the singer-songwriter loved as it reminded her of the beginning of her career as a blossoming artist 25 years ago.

Despite the happy nostalgia that the Cancionera tour brought Lafourcade and her team, there were moments on the tour that felt more somber. Following President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January of this year, the world has witnessed the rise of xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments in the U.S. Lafourcade, who saw the progression of ICE’s persecution of Latine and immigrant communities across the country, says it was ‘very, very sad” to see everything that was happening and that there were moments where she wondered if she and her team should stop the tour to protect fans.

However, fans continued coming to attend her shows, and seeing their bravery and the risks they may have taken just for showing up, she realized the importance and power of her songs at a time like this. While she says it was hard to see everything happening in the U.S., she saw how her music not only brought people together in the face of fear and danger but took on a whole new meaning:

“Music just brings the spirit and the vibe of love in the air… It gives us faith, it gives us light, it brings us together, and that is something that I can give and I can do through the music,” Lafourcade told HipLatina. “People are being very brave by coming to the shows and wanting to hear the music for a reason. I realized how much the music helped them to go back to their lives and have that strength inside. It’s hard to see from a distance… We should be able as humanity to realize how we all are part of one whole. But for me, it felt different; it didn’t feel like just any concert. It was definitely stronger and [more] powerful, profound, and deep.”

Lafourcade has also seen how her music has been embraced by Latine communities taking a stand against the hate and xenophobia. Over the summer, her beloved classic “Hasta la Raíz” became an anthem of Latine pride during the protests in LA due to its message of never forgetting your roots. For Lafourcade, she enjoys that the song is bringing people together in the face of fear and uncertainty and continues “making the work by itself.” She believes that especially during a time when our communities are being targeted, songs like “Hasta la Raíz” are critical in reminding us of our values in life and our strength, resilience, and pride in our roots:

“Identity through life is something that will let us feel like we belong to a place, to a people, to a tribe. It gives you that security, and we shouldn’t feel shy or [keep] our heads down when it’s about our communities and our culture and roots. Nobody should make us feel bad about that,” she says. “The song makes us think about all those kind of things: the family, the tribe, the place we come from, all those little things in life and experiences in life that build our values and our philosophies of life… Art makes us feel, think, change, and be stronger. For me, I really like the fact that the song keeps doing this to people, to new generations even.”

According to Lafourcade, “Hasta la Raíz” has truly marked her path as a musician, as she “never gets tired of singing that song” and continues to love it. In addition to the well-known track, she also holds close to her heart songs including “De todas las flores,” which features poetic lyrics about the ups and downs that lovers experience in a relationship, and “Mascaritas de Cristal,” which speaks to the importance of not forgetting her identity and staying true to herself through the changes in her life. “Pajarito colibrí” is also a personal favorite of hers for its spiritual lyrics, but for Lafourcade, all of her songs carry special meanings and significance.

Following her Latin Grammy nominations, Lafourcade released her latest single “La Cometierra” at the start of October, and the song shares a message of inner strength that is both personally significant for Lafourcade and shines a light on the troubling realities of gender-based violence affecting Mexican communities. The song was developed for Amazon Prime Video’s new original series Cometierra which is based on Argentinian activist and author Dolores Reyes’ novel by the same name. The supernatural drama series, which stars Indigenous Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), follows a young girl named Aylin who lives in a society filled with gender-based violence and disappearances. After she discovers that she has an extraordinary ability to commune with the earth, she uses her newfound gift to investigate the disappearances of those she holds dear and finds herself solving crimes and clashing with malevolent forces from her past.

Lafourcade’s “La Cometierra” is a manifesto rooted in the land and ancestral origins. According to the singer, the song captures both the innocence and naivete of youth as well as finding power and strength when taking on difficult situations having to do with disappearances and death, and she believes this is a very important message for everyone but especially new generations.

“In ‘La Cometierra,’ I wanted to create a bridge to the realities we live and witness today — realities that have, for many years, caused us deep frustration and ruptures in our social fabric,” she shared in a press statement. “It speaks of values and inner strength — for caring for our communities and strengthening our tribe. Personally, I connect with these kinds of values: to plant our seed and tend to its roots. It’s an important message in these times — to be loyal to ourselves, to respect one another, and to respect life.”