Miami, Apr 17 (EFE).- After the modernization of bachata, merengue and reggae, now it is the turn of romantic music starting with the bolero, to which urban, pop and even artists have begun to put their hand. from the Mexican region.
“There is nothing more romantic than a bolero. A Latin American artist has no way of not visiting him when he makes music about love and heartbreak,” Venezuelan singer-songwriter Lasso told EFE, who was inspired by this musical genre to compose a large part of his album “Eva,” the fourth of his career. .
The composer and interpreter of “Ojos marrones”, one of the most successful songs of 2022, is convinced that “all romantic songs have been born there, in a bolero that we listen to in childhood or in pre-adolescence”.
Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro agree with him. In an interview with Billboard, when they released the three songs of “R+R”, their first joint work, they explained that when considering making a romantic composition, “we had to do a bolero”.
The result was “Promesa”, a song dedicated to the grandmother of the Spanish artist, who “taught her to love boleros”, explained Rosalía.
The genre born in Cuba and later embraced by Mexico before falling in love with the hearts of the entire Hispanic world, was a connector between the families of both urban artists, from Carolina (Puerto Rico) to Barcelona (Spain).
THE VARIOUS FACES OF THE MODERN BOLERO
For purists, “Promesa” is a “freak” if it is associated with the bolero.
Lovers of the experimental, however, have called it “an intervened bolero”.
Call it what others call it, the song was defined by the artists as “a bolero trapero”, in relation to trap, the subgenre of hip hop that uses minor chords to create a sad atmosphere, in contrast to erotic lyrics and percussion. danceable.
Although until now it had not entered the urban universe, the bolero had already flirted with other genres. After being born in Cuba in the 19th century, the bolero merged in the 20th century with other musical styles and caused the emergence of some subgenres such as the rhythmic bolero, the bolero son, bolero-chacha, bolero mambo, the bolero ranchero (mixture of bolero and Mexican mariachi).
Later came the Moorish bolero (bolero with gypsy and Hispanic influences), the salsa bolero and even the bachata.
Natalia Lafourcade, Lila Downs, Mon Laferte, La Santa Cecilia or Daniel, Me Estás Matando are other artists who have included traditional and fused boleros in their repertoire.
In Chile, it is one of the bases of the “root pop” movement with exponents such as Bloque Depresivo, Los Tetas bassist Demian Rodríguez, Flor del Recuerdo, Carlos Cabezas Rocuant, Paz Court and Ana Tijoux, with a musical project called Roja y Black.
In Colombia, the group Monsieur Periné has played with the bolero in songs like “Encanto tropical”. The Costa Rican Debi Nova has been even more direct and more experimental in songs like “Un bolero para Lola”.
THE BOLERO FLIES
Urban artist Myke Towers, who on his new album “La vida es una” has several love songs with bolero elements, “the insistence on paralyzing musical genres and locking artists in little boxes was always absurd, but today in day it is more because it no longer works ”.
For example, his song “Mi droga” starts with typical bolero guitars and maintains part of its rhythmic base. It’s a love song, but “can you call it a bolero? It depends on who listens to it. For me it doesn’t make sense to want to put a name to art. We are grabbing elements and inspiration from the things that move us”, emphasizes Towers.
The Mexican singer Mario Bautista, who grew up in a family dedicated professionally to music, affirmed that as has happened with other musical genres, “the bolero is coming back, but with new faces. It all depends on which artist is picking it up.”
“Everyone is going to do it in their own way,” said the artist famous for his work with Los Tigres del Norte and Banda El Recodo. His most recent single “Perdón”, with León Leiden, is a pop bolero, with elements of music from the 80s.
This does not mean that this flight of the bolero through the range of today’s music does not include some more classical versions. Ricardo Montaner and Carlos Rivera presented a ranchera bolero called “Ya no fumo” at the end of March, and Andrés Cepeda and Gusi came out with “Duele” a chachachá bolero.
Alice Civita
