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GRAMMYs

Christine And The Queens 

Courtesy of Corona Capital Guadalajara

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Christine And The Queens On "Being Too Much" christine-and-queens-chris-record-talks-about-being-too-much

Christine And The Queens On 'Chris': "This Is A Record That Talks About Being Too Much"

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"I want an album that talks about excess and carnal desires like men can talk about," the French singer tells the Recording Academy
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 14, 2019 - 4:47 pm

Chris, or, as she's known onstage, Christine And The Queens, is a disrupter. "Blasting Peaches in cis men's cars," she recently tweeted. 

Energetic, expressive and stimulating, Christine's electro-pop paired with her visuals can be equally destabilizing. "Some of us just had to fight/For even being looked at right," she sings in the video for "5 dollars," which portrays her walking around topless, then strapping on BDSM gear and a men's suit. Toying with both masculine and feminine expression, her latest album Chris embodies a growth in Christine's female identity. 

"I wanted to tell the complexity of where I was. I was stronger than I used to be, more powerful also with what happened to me as a woman," Chris told the Recording Academy. "I was lustful, frustrated, but full of that eagerness to live things fully. I was also joking when I was making the record, I was like, 'This is a record that talks about being too much.' It's easy to be too much when you're a woman and you're easily told to shut up or maybe be less loud or maybe keep your composure."

The Recording Academy spoke with Chris after her set at Corona Capital in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she share more about Chris, how dancing helps connect with international audiences, how female artists are forming a sisterhood and more. 

This is your first time in Mexico. How has it been?

It's too short. I will come back because I just arrived yesterday, performed today for like 15 minutes, which was lovely. Great crowd, really embracing and warm, but it's already done, so I want to do more. I wish I could come back. I was really eager to come here, actually. I was intrigued by Mexico. I wish I had more time to just properly explore. Some of my dancers actually stayed longer than me to explore a bit before the gig.

What intrigues you about it?

I've been here only like a day, but I think it's really vibe-y and spiritual. I don't know if I'm fantasizing it or not, but I feel like some things are connected and people have this relationship to spirituality that feels uplifting and celebratory and I think it's a really great feeling. Also when you're on stage, you can feel there is, I don't know, people project something that was quite different than other countries to me.

Your latest album is called Chris. What was the inspiration behind it?

Second album, second chapter. I'm saying "chapter" on purpose because hopefully there'll be a whole novel. [Laughs.]

That record came out like four years after the debut album, which was kind of life-changing to me. [The first album] was unexpectedly successful, and in Chris I wanted to tell the complexity of where I was. I was stronger than I used to be, more powerful also with what happened to me as a woman. I was lustful, frustrated, but full of that eagerness to live things fully. I was also joking when I was making the record, I was like, "This is a record that talks about being too much." It's easy to be too much when you're a woman and you're easily told to shut up or maybe be less loud or maybe keep your composure. I was like, "I want an album that talks about excess and carnal desires like men can talk about." It would be like a rock star album. 

In the U.S. there's a study out that women are very underrepresented musically at festivals and on charts. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Yeah, it's fascinating also because there are lots of great female musicians out like ... Grimes, Rihanna, there are tons of fantastic female performers, but we are weirdly underrepresented in the statistics and I was actually really surprised to learn that. Also, in a way it doesn't surprise me, unfortunately though. It's not even just in music, it's everywhere. Even in the technical jobs, women are not there. I never worked with a female sound engineer. Never. Ever.

When you're a female artist, it's twice as hard. You're sexualized immediately. You are questioned five times more, and if you try to navigate the complicated waters of the mainstream, you have to find a way to be a woman that is appealing and not threatening. It's complicated, but I think with everything that happens now, hopefully it's going to stretch a bit what it means to be a woman in this industry. There are lots of fantastic female performers that should be topping the charts. Rosalia, lots of inspiring females around.

I also think what changes in a good way is solidarity and that becomes a real thing, like a sisterhood. I noticed, even myself as a performer, that women are exchanging way more, talking way more to each other, building strong friendships that can help them along the way. I think solidarity comes to be a real thing, which is a good thing.

The festival's mission is to bring international artists that have not been here before. What is it like for you to be able to bring your music to a new place?

It's always reallly interesting because you get to discover if there is a relationship or not with your music and people over there and what is the relationship. So it's really a great moment when you can discover exactly how you exist as an artist for them. It was quite soothing [here] because I saw people mouthing the words of an English record made by a French woman.

How is it for you to play a French song in front of an audience that doesn't speak French?

This is where music is also great. [It's] this weird universal language. I think even though people don't really get it, they kind of get it, which is good. As French people, we listen to lots of English pop music when we're young and you get the emotion anyway. You don't even have to understand and sometimes when you do understand you go, "Ohhh, ohhh." I think with music you can also connect the physicality of my performances every time with the dancing. The body also speaks hopefully. So there is also a way to convey the emotion with the body, so people get if I'm sad or happy. 

You dance, you sing. Do you have a favorite form of expression?

Sometimes it shifts. Sometimes I feel more like dancing and sometimes the singing's the only thing I can do, which is why I do love this weird job of mine. I can do everything at once. It's shifting constantly. It's also cool because I have cycles. Like, I need to come back to the studio. Oh no wait, I need to be on stage. Oh no wait, I need to shut up. Oh wait. Yeah, all over the place.

What's next for you after Corona Capital? What are you doing?

 I'm touring a bit with Florence and the Machine, actually. She's inviting me on her tour, which is a great, great thing to be in because she's touring the U.S. in huge venues. She's huge as a performer there. So I'm like, "Thank you for inviting me."

Then I'm doing all the summer festivals. Then I think I'm going to stop to write some more because I started to write already and I want to release music sooner than four years in between records.
 

Boy Pablo On Growing Up Bicultural & Why Writing About Love Comes Easily To Him

GRAMMYs

The Joy Formidable 

Courtesy of Corona Capital

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The Joy Formidable To Release Anniversary Welsh EP exclusive-joy-formidable-celebrate-10th-anniversary-debut-ep-welsh-version

Exclusive: The Joy Formidable To Celebrate 10th Anniversary Of Debut EP With Welsh Version

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The Welsh trio sit down with the Recording Academy in Mexico to talk 10th anniversary of 'A Balloon Called Moaning' and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 16, 2019 - 4:46 pm

It's been 10 years since Welsh alt-rock band The Joy Formidable released their first EP A Balloon Called Moaning. No small feat, the band is celebrating with a project unlike any other they've done before.

"Instead of re-releasing [the album,] we recorded it in Welsh," Vocalist/guitarist Ritzy Bryan told the Recording Academy.  "We're excited, it sounds beautiful and it brings back a lot of memories."

The band, whose latest album is Aaarth, says their love of music and frienship is what has kept them strong this long.

"It's actual friendship, and caring about each other and also the music, absolutely the music," bassist/vocalist Rhydian Davies said. "I think when we get on stage and we're playing what we're playing, we forget about everything and enjoy the moment and it's not because of business."

The Recording Academy talked with the charming trio after their set at Corona Capital Guadalajara in Mexico about more details of their Welsh release, how important personal songwriting is to them, what's next for them and more. 

Tell me, how does it feel to be in Mexico?

Rhydian: Hot.

Ritzy: It's been a little while. I think we were here in 2012. It's been seven years and we had a really lovely time last time that we visited. So I think we've been just excited to come back and hoping and kind of, I feel a little bit torn, I wish we'd been back more but, no point in having regrets. Hopefully we can come back more regularly from now on.

Rhydian: There are so many things that get in the way unfortunately, you know? We'd like to go everywhere on every album cycle but, certain things come in the way; logistics or whatever it is, personal circumstances, but, It's just nice to be here we've not been to Guadalajara before.

You're celebrating 10 years together this year. What is the glue that keeps you together?

Ritzy: I think a lot of respect for each other, good communication and, I think, all of us have got quite different personalities, and just over time you learn how to I suppose just build, inspire each other, how to still have a sense of humor, how to still be really good friends but, we're all quite different people. Over time we've just created this dynamic that feels very intuitive and very, I don't want to say easy, 'cause we fight as well you know.

Rhydian: It's friendship and love isn't it?

Ritzy: Yeah.

Rhydian: Friendship, love and respect comes from that because you spend 24/7 with someone, you're bound to have some arguments and how'd you get over that? It's love isn't it? It's actual friendship, and caring about each other and also the music, absolutely the music. I think when we get on stage and we're playing what we're playing, we forget about everything and enjoy the moment and it's not because of business. We are not doing it just because we want to be famous or it's like I'm getting paid at the end of this so those are pretty major things I think. Don't do music if you doing it for those reasons, that's my opinion. 

Matt: Rhydian Davies with his opinions (all laugh)

Where do you get your inspiration from? I mean you have made music for so long, where does it come from constantly?

Ritzy: It comes from the smallest little thing that happens, maybe. Just you see something that triggers or it makes you feel something and it can go from there, something as simple as nature or just a moment in time watching something through the window, walking down the street to something much more expansive, where you just feel like you need to get something out, you have a story to tell, or you feel like you need to share something that has happened to you good or bad. I think it could be—

Matt: Could be anything—

Rhydian: It could be very personal.

Ritzy: Yeah very.

Rhydian: Because it's been something cathartic for us as well, trying to get over things. You know, there's been things, traumas and fear and into sometimes, what would you call it, mental problems, mental issues, which is obviously something that affects so many people, and we don't like to talk about it but, I think whatever you talk about, you can't help but put your personal element on it because it is obviously how you see the world, isn't it? The personal is always, I think, a really big part of this band. It's not like trying to fit in lyrics to go "DA DA DA" so it sounds nice at the end. "In the air, we're gonna fly, I feel so high," and that's fine. There's a place for everything isn't it? But, I do feel like it's also been a benefit for us to also talk about something that actually means something personal you know?

Matt: We've also got a song about a cactus.

Corona Capital's mission is to bring more international music to Mexico, what does it feel, for you, to play in a new city? To get your music in a new place?

Ritzy: I don't think we ever get in a place all weary. It's not like we wake up in the morning and we're like, "Uh, Where are we? It's fucking ground hog day". That isn't what drives our band or us as individuals, we still are hungry to play music, we are still excited to wake up in a new city but—

Rhydian: You know, we love to play anywhere. New city, old city, we are always excited to go back.

Matt: The key thing is your message is in there, you ask about lyrics and I don't think it's just the lyrics as well as what your message [is], I think.

White Lies Talk Touring Mexico, 'FIVE' & Why Friendship Is The Key Ingredient To Band Longevity

GRAMMYs

HONNE

Courtesy of Corona Capital 

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HONNE Talk Being Covered By Chris Martin & More honne-showing-their-true-feelings-being-covered-chris-martin-more

HONNE On Showing Their True Feelings, Being Covered By Chris Martin & More

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The longtime friends sit down with the Recording Academy in Mexico to talk influences, what's next and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 16, 2019 - 3:35 pm

British R&B/electropop duo HONNE have earned a lot of attention since releasing their first EP in 2014, even from the likes of Coldplay's Chris Martin. 

Made up of James Hatcher and Andy Clutterbuck, Honne, which means "true feelings" in Japanese, have two full-length albums under their belt, their most recent being Love Me/Love Me Not. Projecting smooth, sensual vibes, Honne are Inspired by artists like Al Green, Radiohead and Quincy Jones, among others. They continue to take their interpretation of love on tour worldwide, most recently in Mexico.

The Recording Academy caught up with the longtime friends in Mexico at Corona Capital Guadalajara, where they talked about touring the world, how they connect with fans, collabs they'd like to do, new music and more. 

Is this your first time at Guadalajara?

Andy Clutterbuck: Yes, it is. We've never been here before. We've been to Mexico quite a few times. But it's great. We love it. We're having a great time.

James Hatcher: Wonderful.

Clutterbuck: The crowd were amazing. The weather is great. We couldn't ask for much more.

Tell me about the crowd vibes. The Mexican audience. What is their vibe? How do you feel in their presence?

Hatcher: They're amazing. Everyone is. They sing along a lot. They're very present in the moment. They get stuck in... get emotionally involved, yeah. It's a good time ... One of the best audiences in the world.

Clutterbuck: Yeah, they clap when you want them to clap. They sing when you want them to sing. It's very easy. It's a pleasure to play here in Mexico.

How does it feel to be able to play in front of an audience in a city you've never been to before?

Clutterbuck: It feels great. We love traveling. That was one of the big perks of this job, to be able to travel and see different places. So yeah, coming here and doing it all over again, completely fresh to a new audience is great. It's like everyone is losing their own virginity. Well, apparently everyone has seen us like four times already, the people who have come, so not like that at all.

What's the story behind your name?

Hatcher: So, Honne is a Japanese word that means "true feelings." Just after we started writing, I was living in London, and Andy was living in Japan for two or three months. We just felt we had like eight or nine songs and we stumbled across that word and it just all sort of fell into place. It just fits in with what kind of songs we're writing about.

Speaking of true feelings, how does it feel to be vulnerable in front of so many people?

Clutterbuck: Well, it can be really scary. If, you know, it depends on what size room you are playing and how up for it the crowd are. But I mean when you get out here to play to a big audience, it's fine because I guess you do feel vulnerable, but not really that vulnerable. Everyone's on your side and it's great. You know, you just do what you do. But in a small room, when everyone is a bit shy, and you're building up to it all, it's scary. You can feel a bit scared, and everyone's looking at you, but I don't know. You just... it's nice that people are obviously there to enjoy your music so you have just got to remember that.

So when you're performing in front of a crowd that doesn't speak your language, how do you connect to them?

Clutterbuck: We try to learn. Like we learn even those small amount of words. Just the very basics like "hello" and "thank you," and "we love you." Generally that gets everybody on our side, because it shows that you care.

Hatcher: We're very lucky that around the world, people sort of learn a lot of English, or at least learn the lyrics in English, so we're very, very fortunate that people sing along with our songs even though it's not necessarily in their language. Which is amazing in Mexico, that so many people would go and do that.

So Love Me/Love Me Not is your latest album. What inspired it?

Clutterbuck: It's a story of two sides, or two halves. We all go through ups and downs, so it's sort of about our ups and downs over the last couple of years. Being away on tour, and ... Yeah, it's just an account, again, of like our lives over the last couple of years ... Warm On A Cold Night  was much the same and this—you know, things change. But we're just talking about true, honest things that happened to us. So that's it. 

You also wrote a song that Chris Martin is now singing!

Hatcher: Yes ... It's our song "Someone That Loves You" that we wrote with Izzy Bizu that came about just by Twitter.

With both Izzy and Honne, we were mutual fans of each other, and we said let's get together and just write a song. We ended up releasing it together. But then she went on tour with Coldplay in the U.S., and Chris Martin always said that he loved that song and they performed it together there at this little event. He said, "I'll record all of Andy's parts," so they bloody took Andy off, didn't they? They took Andy off and put Chris on, and it's still lovely, but it's a little bit different. It's made to be more like how Izzy played it live, so it's a slightly different groove.

Clutterbuck: Basically, if you would have told me 10 years ago that Chris Martin would sing a song that you wrote, I would be like "hell yes, that sounds great."

What's next for you after Corona Capital? Where are you off to?

Clutterbuck: Back home.

Hatcher: Yeah. So just did the two week U.S. tour. Finish here in Mexico. We go home and we're going to write a load of new music and over the summer and toward the end of the year, we're still doing a few festivals and a bit of touring, but the focus is shifting more towards writing new music.

Anything you could tell us about that new music?

Hatcher: It's going to be lovely.

Clutterbuck: It will be lovely, glorious, sensational... [Laughs.] There's also a collaboration on the way as well with SG Lewis, that's going to be coming out at some point. Just various bits and bumps that we've kind of got in our back pocket that are coming.

Any collaborations that you haven't had but you want to do in the future?

Hatcher: There's lots of like, pipe-dream ones that will probably not ever happen, like Chance the Rapper, that would be nice. Kehlani, that would be nice. We just did a remix of one of her tracks actually. Came out yesterday. Who else have we got?

Clutterbuck: Anybody, I mean I don't mean anybody, but anybody we like

Hatcher: There's loads of artists that we really, really like. It will be interesting to see how things unravel and opportunities come up.

Holy Ghost! On What "Do This" Is Really About & Why They Feel So Good About 'Work'

GRAMMYs

boy pablo

Photo: Benjamin Hovlandsdal

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Boy Pablo On Growing Up Bicultural & More boy-pablo-growing-bicultural-why-writing-about-love-comes-easily-him

Boy Pablo On Growing Up Bicultural & Why Writing About Love Comes Easily To Him

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The Recording Academy caught up with Nicolas Pablo Rivera Muñoz after his set at Corona Capital fest in Guadalajara, where he shared more about his first time in Mexico, growing up bicultural, new music and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 14, 2019 - 1:15 pm

"How would you feel if I walked up to you one day and ripped your heart out?" sings Nicolas Pablo Rivera Muñoz, a.k.a. boy pablo, the singer/songwriter and musician from Norway whose catchy indie rock is on the rise. "Losing You" is just a taste of his signature blend of upbeat sounds and lyrics expressing the rollercoaster that love is, from heartache to infatuation.

"It's weird 'cause I like to keep my things private, actually. I don't really have the need to share an experience about love," he told the Recording Academy. "But I didn't find anyone with a cool voice ... so, I had to sing my own songs."

Muñoz, who is of Chilean descent, began making music in 2015 and found internet fame roughly two years later via a viral video for one of his earlier singles, "Everytime." Since then, the world has come to know his music through 2018's Soy Pablo EP and 2017's Roy Pablo EP. 

The Recording Academy caught up with Muñoz after his set at Corona Capital fest in Guadalajara, where he shared more about his first time in Mexico, growing up bicultural, new music and more. 

It's your first time in Mexico, how do you feel being here? Is it everything you thought it would be? 

Yes. It feels like home cause it's a Latin American country. So I feel good and the weather's good, and yeah it's fun ... I don't know what I expected, actually. [Laughs.]  'Cause I've heard a lot of weird stuff about Mexico, but it's really a beautiful country.

I heard you speaking Spanish on stage.

Yeah. [Laughs.] My parents are from Chile so I learned Spanish when I was a little kid.

How was your set? 

They gave us a short time, but it was really fun. It was another kind of show 'cause we normally do longer shows, but really fun. We used all our energy in those 30 minutes that they gave us, and it was really fun. And the Mexican crowd was amazing.

How did the name "boy pablo" come about?

[Laughs.] I wanted an artist name with the name "Pablo" in it. And I asked my manager Fabio what could go with "Pablo." I came up with a lot of ideas and nothing was really cool. When I chose the name boy pablo, I really didn't think it was cool. I don't know. But Fabio suggested it.

How does it feel bringing your music to the world now? 

It's kind of a natural thing. When I made music, I thought like, people could like this maybe and then I showed it to my friends and my family and they were like really supportive. They were like, "Yeah, you've got to put it out." And in a strange way, we got famous by a YouTube video. So it's really like social media that made the project this big.

What was your reaction when the video blew up?

Suddenly, one day in October 2017 I was getting a lot of followers on Instagram. I called my manager Fabio and I was like, did you buy followers [for] my account? He was like, what are you talking about? And then I checked a couple of videos, we had a video for "Your Phone" and "Flowers." It was neither of them. Then I checked "Everytime" and suddenly it had like 20,000 views more than the last time I checked, then the next day 100,000 and then 250,000. It was crazy. I didn't know what to think cause it happened so fast. But we're so thankful for that now. 

GRAMMYs
 
Photo: William Glandberger
 
You mentioned your Chilean parents, but you grew up in Norway. How was that experience for you, and how do your cultures influence your music? 

Well, I'm a chill guy and people in Norway, they don't express feelings at all. That expressing feelings I got from my family, being chill I got from being Norwegian. But yeah, it's really cold [in Norway]. So there's nothing to do, normally. You just hang out at people's houses and it can be boring sometimes. So it was natural for me to make music and yeah, my parents showed me a lot of Latin music when I grew up.

Like what?

Américo. Ráfaga. A lot of like nuevo ola from the '70s. 

I'm Mexican-American. We sometimes refer to our language as "Spanglish." For you is there something you call when you speak Spanish and Norwegian?

Yeah, we mix languages. When I don't remember a word in Spanish cause I don't practice my Spanish so much as I like to, but yeah, we speak NorSpanish? [Laughs.] I don't know.

You write a lot of love songs. What's it like putting your experiences with love out in the world?

It's weird 'cause I like to keep my things private, actually. I don't really have the need to share an experience about love, but I've done that with some songs. But other songs, I actually write it like as a love song, but it can be about anything else. It's just easy for me to write about love, 'cause it's such a common thing to feel.

What came first for you, writing lyrics or playing instruments?

Definitely playing instruments. Actually, before I started boy pablo, I tried to find somebody, anyone that could sing my songs. But I didn't find anyone with a cool voice or that was a good friend or something. So yeah, I had to sing my own songs. The lyrics don't come easy to me. So I use a lot of time to work on those, although they're really simple, [as English is] not my first language.

What's next for you after Corona Capital?

We have a lot of festivals coming up this summer. We have like 25, like all over the world. Like France, Spain, Hungary. We're going to The States as well. And I'm working on new music.

Any more details you can give us?

I'm planning a couple of collaborations. I can't tell with who, but I hope one of those songs will be released soon, before the summer. 

Kimbra On Her First-Ever DJ Set, Writing A Fourth Album & More

GRAMMYs

Lila Downs

Photo:  Doug Gifford/Getty Images

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The Many Faces Of "La Llorona" many-faces-la-llorona

The Many Faces Of "La Llorona"

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The Latin folk tale has taken root in Spanish-language songs and, most recently, Hollywood, in the horror movie 'The Curse Of La Llorona." But who is behind the "weeping woman," and why do we keep telling her story?
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Apr 25, 2019 - 1:55 pm

The tale of La Llorona—or, the "weeping woman"—is one of betrayal. She can be heard at night, wandering the streets wailing, “¡Ay, mis hijos, mis hijos!” or "Oh, my children, my children!"

La Llorona has killed her children and is condemned to cry forever looking for them.

Or, at least that's what Ana R. Alonso-Minutti, associate professor of music and affiliate of the Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New Mexico, grew up hearing in Puebla, Mexico. Truth is, no one really knows La Llorona's exact story. Instead, there are many versions, many of which have worked their way into popular culture. 

"There are many variants of La Llorona's story, so in fact, there are many Lloronas," Alonso-Minutti tells the Recording Academy. The academic has done extensive research on La Llorona, including analysis and lectures on the late singer Chavela Vargas' sung version of the tale that appears on the soundtrack to 2002's drama about Frida Kahlo, Frida. 

According to Alonso-Minutti, La Llorona goes back to the pre-Columbian era and is linked to an Aztec goddess, Cihuacóatl, who would appear at night and cry out for her own dead children. "While there are many variants of the myth, all stories share the existence of a female figure, the Weeping Woman, who has been betrayed by her (assumed male) lover," she says.

In some versions of the story, her paramour is from a higher social class, while others note that he is from Spain. Many versions say that she became angered with him after he'd been unfaithful and thus kills their children. Depending on who is telling the story, she is either wearing all black or all white.

In Mexico, her tale was used to scare people from being where they shouldn't, mostly children from wandering outside of their houses at night. But her story has also come to frighten people in the U.S. and even Hollywood has taken her story to the big screen, most recently with The Curse Of La Llorona.

Alonso-Minutti says La Llorona's story has had a presence in areas near the U.S-Mexico border where Mexican communities have lived. Accounts of her song date back to the 19th century, and in Alonso-Minutti's home state of New Mexico, the song has had a significant presence. "Many Nuevomexicanos have their own personal stories of hearing La Llorona’s wails while walking alongside the Rio Grande, and some report having seen her," she says. 

Dr. Jacqueline Avila, Associate Professor in Musicology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville who has studied and written about La Llorona in films like Disney's Coco, says the tale of La Llorona has only become more popular in the U.S. thanks to the rise in interest of the Dia De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead festivities that happen in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

"La Llorona has been synthesized with the Día de Muertos because it does have those themes of death attached to it," she says. 

La Llorona's Song

Musically, La Llorona's story has taken life, and, just like the oral tale, it has different versions. "La Llorona" is a song that derives from the Isthmus region of Tehuantepec, Mexico Dr. Alonso-Minutti notes. Songs from the region "are performed in social gatherings and religious festivities by a small group of musicians playing guitar, requinto, and bajoquinto, and singing in both Spanish and Zapoteco, the local indigenous language," she says. "Singers are free to choose among hundreds of documented verses, or to create or improvise their own lines on the spot." 

Several versions are sung as rancheras. Why? Dr. Avila's guess is that these musical styles and La Llorona's story are a natural pair. " The canción ranchera in particular, it is about kind of this love lost in a way and they are melancholic and they do feature songs of love and songs of pain," she says. "I think, a love ranchera would transfer quite easily with these types of lyrics."

While lyrics vary, they roughly keep the themes of romance and heartbreak, which are at the center of La Llorona's story. Musical versions by iconic Mexican rock band Caifanes, as well as Beirut's polka-inspired take, show how different genres have brought the song to life.

The sonic version of La Llorona's story show a side to the character that some horror films do not, notes Alonso-Minutti. "The figure to whom the song, 'La Llorona' is addressed is a strong, independent, beautiful woman that resembles the Virgin [Mary]," she says.

Angela Aguilar, Aida Cuevas and Natalia Lafourcade, each of whom sing a version of "La Llorona," came together to sing about the weeping woman at the 61st GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony earlier this year.

Alonso-Minutti notes that in the performance, Aguilar sings a verse that highlights how La Llorona was mistaken for the Virgin Mary, a very strong female figure in the culture, because of the huipil, a garment she was wearing typically worn by indigenous women.

"You were coming out of the temple one day, Llorona/ When in passing, I saw you/ You were wearing such a beautiful huipil, Llorona/ That I thought you were the Virgin," Aguilar sings.

The overall performance had the three singing together at one point, making it a captivating moment for Avila. "They have different voice types and they represented three different interpretations of the song ... it was a very compelling synthesis," she says. 

Alonso-Minutti also adds that in other common verses, La Llorona is portrayed as warm, motherly figure. "Oh woe is me! Llorona/ Llorona, take me to the river/ Cover me with your shawl, Llorona/ Because I’m dying of cold," the verse says.

Lila Downs, who released a version of the song in her 1999 album La Sanduna, says performing the song is a "spiritual experience."

"For me, it’s a very important expression of the human voice," she tells the Recording Academy about singing La Llorona's tale outside of Mexico. "I think both sublime and earthy, angry and sweet. It captures the duality of indigenous vision, and musically carries our heritage of flamenco roots."

RELATED: Lila Downs Announces New Album Paying Tribute To The Chile Pepper, 'Al Chile'

Downs, whose mother identifies La Llorona as having "turkey-webbed feet," will once again honor the weeping woman through her version of the song in her latest album, Al Chile, which is slated for release on May 3.

"I began singing it because people started asking for it," she says of why she decided to cover the song. "At first, I thought it wouldn’t be so attractive a piece, but it turned into something I didn’t recognize in myself. It’s as if some spiritual and mysterious force was behind it, and chose me to sing it."  

A version of La Llorona's song also made it to Disney's 2017 Coco film, which is about a fictional land of the dead. That version, which features a more upbeat sound (the go-to style tends to be a melancholic waltz), has only helped make La Llorona a more noticable figure outside of the Latin community. 

"Coco made it much more recognizable, especially to audiences who are not familiar with Mexican culture or Día de Muertos," Alonso-Minutt says. "It serves as a learning tool so then they were able to hear and see what La Llorona actually is. And so you have people who now have that reference."

The Changing Symbolism Behind La Llorona

Though she used to incite fear, both Alonso-Minutti and Avila agree that La Llorona is now more than just a symbol of terror. 

For Chicana feminists, Alonso-Minutti states, La Llorona is a dominant female figure who symbolizes a voice of resistance against patriarchy, heteronormative expectations and gender roles, such as motherhood. "La Llorona, by contrast, reacts against these expectations and carries out an act of utmost defiance [against her lover]," she says. "Killing his children becomes an act of resistance and liberation. She becomes motherless; a solitary defiant figure whose weeps and yells are to resound for eternity." 

"She was used for fear, but at the same time she was also a woman who was scorned, she was abandoned and so she was in pain and she was heartbroken and her actions have left her motherless and then in the end," Avila adds. "Maybe she's regretting her decision and that's why she's crying out for her children," she says. "But she's also seen as a resistance character and she's acting in a role of defiance as well. So there's different interpretations that you can have towards her."

Angela Aguilar, Aida Cuevas & Natalia Lafourcade Sang A Powerful Rendition Of "La Llorona" At The 2019 GRAMMY Premiere Ceremony

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