Camila Cabello Honors Latin Origins in Her Album ‘Familia’
Tyler Golden/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
Camila Cabello connected with her Latin roots for her newest album, Familia. As she continues to navigate through her music career, she intends to embrace her cultural origins with more pride than ever before.
Camila Cabello Feels Proud of Familia
Ahead of living in Los Angeles, California, Cabello spent several years in Cuba, Mexico, and Miami, Florida. After moving to Los Angeles, the singer felt herself embracing her Latin heritage less and less. Taking these life experiences into context, Cabello figured out that she somehow lost the culture she was born into while making music.
“Making my records I wasn’t as connected to my roots,” she told Vogue.
As an artist, Cabello composed songs in English and worked with people in what she considers as the “American world.” Maturing in the industry made her realize how important it is to pull out pieces of her childhood and share it to people who are Latinos like her.
Consequently, she celebrates her Latin roots in her latest studio album, Familia. The solo artist describes this release as “an album that has a lot of my culture sonically.” Cabello also incorporated the concept of family and friendship in the album. She has stated numerous times that she’s “very proud” of the album.
She says recording Familia was “Cathartic”
Familia is the first time that Cabello wrote music with a team of Latinos. Since she connected on a different level with these coworkers, many quickly became family.
“I cooked, we dined, and we talked. That was the parallel of Familia, always thinking about a dinner table with your friends, sharing and eating good food,” she said. “It was a time when interdependence was valued more than independence.”
Additionally, the beats and freestyles in the recording of Familia gave Cabello a “cathartic experience,” most especially during the creation of “Psychofreak.” It’s been reported that Cabello freestyled the first draft of the song. Eventually, she mixed her freestyle lyrics with others to create the hit tune.
The Album is an Attempt to Recreate her Family’s Tradition
Unlike Cabello’s experience in the United States, their house in Mexico used to be packed with people during special occasions. When her family moved to USA, she joined The X Factor, and the tradition wasn’t given much attention.
“We had a very different experience than my mom and dad. I want to recreate that for my family,” she said.
Recently, Cabello opened for Coldplay in their second Latin American leg for their Music of the Spheres World Tour. Such stint allowed her to perform the tracks from Familia, moving to the choreography and enjoying with a live band.
Now, she coaches in The Voice Season 22 with Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, and John Legend.
“As I grow more and learn more about my culture, our music and the different subcultures in Latinidad, I feel more grateful,” she said. “It is an endless path of learning and inspiration. I feel very lucky to be able to live this moment.”
