
Alejandra Guzman
Alejandra Guzman On Her 30+ Year Career, Live Album At The Roxy And Writing Hits | Up Close And Personal
Alejandra Guzman, one of Mexico's greatest living rock voices, continues her more than 30-year musical career with her latest release, Alejandra Guzman: Live At The Roxy, in which she pays homage to Spanish rock classics from Maná to Gustavo Cerati in Los Angeles, one of the unofficial Laitn captials of the country.
The "Mirala Miralo" singer and showstopping performer, who was exposed to music thanks to her father, Enrique Guzman, a rock and roll trailblazer in Mexico and an actor, chose the Roxy on the West Hollywood Sunset strip for its rock history. "The Roxy has a lot of stories," she tells the Recording Academy.
The energetic Latin GRAMMY winner and GRAMMY nominee, known for her distinct voice, her rebellious allure, and unconventional fashion, has penned many of her own stories and has become one of the most iconic songwriters in Latin America, says she likes to write about what feels real to her, including her most challenging experiences.
"I take the lessons of life and make them songs," she said. "I know it's a hit because I always cry."
Guzman got Up Close And Personal with the Recording Academy about why she chose Los Angeles to record her latest album, songwriting during some of the greatest and most challenging moments in her life, including her breast cancer diagnosis, empowering other women in the music industry, her rock influences and more.
You've been in this industry for more than 30 years. Tell me about when you've felt like a fan.
I [was lucky] to open a concert for the Rolling Stones and I sang with James Brown once in a Hard Rock, and [also with] Rita Coolidge [and] Huey Lewis. I have had several moments in music with very special people. I used to [listen to] Eurythmics, Police, that kind of music ... Cyndi Lauper in the '80s. I think that those [artists you listen to when you're younger] stay in you as an influence. My father is also a rock and roll pioneer, he did "Hound Dog" in Spanish. So I always liked to play being the rockstar in front of the mirror and it became true. I mean, it was a dream. A dream come true. And I still get nervous before I go on stage. I like to do my makeup, I like to make my outfits sometimes ... it's part of what I have always wanted