This interview was conducted in Spanish and translated to English by The Daily Princetonian.
“Otro! Otro! Otro!” The crowd cheered as Natalia Lafourcade stepped on stage for her third encore.
The concert started at 6 p.m. and ended at 8 p.m., a half-hour later than was scheduled. Still, no one wanted to leave — the chants started over and over again, with the audience continually hoping for just another song. At the end of the concert, everyone was on their feet for a standing ovation.
Lafourcade is a Mexican singer and songwriter who has won four Grammys and 17 Latin Grammys. Her two-decade career spans 10 albums and countless collaborations with some of the biggest names in Latin American music: Jorge Drexler, Los Angeles Azules, and Juan Gabriel. She was also recently named the first-ever “Music for Peace Ambassador” at the World Summit of Nobel Laureates. While Lafourcade has played sold-out stadiums around the world, she noted during the concert that Princeton’s event was a rare moment for her — it was a chance to play an entire set with nothing but her voice and a guitar.
Her performance at McCarter Theatre was coordinated with programming for Hispanic Heritage Month. The concert was a journey through her discography, beginning with her most recent album, “De Todas las Flores,” and moving back to her most iconic songs. Her white dress gave her an ethereal effect under the bright stage lights, her voice soaring over the audience. Lafourcade reflected on her journey through music and with her spirituality in an interview with The Daily Princetonian:
“Empecé la música muy pequeña. Me gusta mucho ver [mi sueño] como un fueguito y un motor interno que he mantenido, y que se ha mantenido deseoso y con ganas de seguir explorando y de seguir creciendo como musico, como interprete, como artista. Ese amor por la música nunca ha cambiado.”
“I started music very young. I really like to see [my dream] as a little fire and an internal engine that I have maintained, and that has remained eager to continue exploring and growing as a musician, as a performer, as an artist. That love for music has never changed.”
Lafourcade exemplifies her philosophy in every aspect of her music and interactions. Her belief in “building bridges” isn’t just philosophical. Throughout her performance, she asked the audience to join her in performance: to sing, to clap, to build the background while she sang the melody. While the concert was entirely in Spanish, she encouraged people in the audience to translate for their English-speaking friends.
Lafourcade also reflected on the time when she felt she had to produce an English album to ensure success, bridging cultures and languages, but instead found that connecting with her identity created its own bridge and still resonated with many.
“El haberme encontrado con mi ‘mexicanidad’ — un deseo tan personal, tan mío, de entender mi lugar y de dónde vengo, de acudir a un llamado de identidad profundo — nunca me hubiera imaginado que eso me daría las llaves de abrir tantas puertas al nivel internacional, justo lo contrario a lo que pensaba antes.”
“Connecting with my ‘Mexicanness’— such a personal desire of mine, to understand my place and where I come from, to respond to a deep call of identity — I would never have imagined that this would give me the keys to open so many doors at the international level, just the opposite of what I thought before.”
Connection is also a theme that threads through her music. One of her most popular songs, “Hasta La Raíz,” considers connection with a physical place, even after leaving it. Lafourcade considered ideas of connection when advising students struggling with distance and change.
“Plante mi raíz. Ahora puedo ir de ese árbol cuando quiera. Ese árbol es mi vida, mi familia, tantas cosas para mí. Mi árbol me da la vida, lo procuro lo cuido. Nadie me mueve de mi lugar — yo tengo mi semilla anclada de algo. Mi casa es mi corazón. Y eso tiene que estar bien. Mi consejo es que hay que cuidarse. Para mí, la enseñanza de ese disco es procurar el jardín interior.”
“I planted my roots. Now I can go from that tree whenever I want. That tree is my life, my family, so many things for me. My tree gives me life, I try to take care of it. Nobody moves me from my place — I have my seed anchored to something. My house is my heart. And that has to be good. For me, the lesson of that album is to seek the inner garden.”
When asked for her advice for students who similarly want to explore careers in music or entertainment, she told the ‘Prince’:
“Cuando uno encuentra su misión, es importante alinear la vida y el camino para poder convertirlo en su sueno, pero también convertirlo en un servicio. Yo creo también que cuando uno logra hacer esa bonita relación entre lo que amas hacer y como eso que lo que amas hacer puede ayudar a otras personas, otras se inspirarán. Hacer una relación de reciprocidad y circular — para mí eso es muy importante.”
“When you find your mission, it is important to align your life and your path to be able to turn it into your dream, but also turn it into a service. I also believe that when you manage to make that beautiful relationship between what you love to do and how what you love to do can help other people, others will be inspired. Creating a reciprocal and circular relationship — for me, that is very important.”
Her entire performance felt like a riotous expression of joy, and the crowd’s liveliness was proof that she had successfully found her gift and her mission within her dream — creating the reciprocal relationship she spoke of and inspiring the crowd.
Natalia Diaz is a member of the Class of 2027 and a staff writer for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at nd6595[at]princeton.edu.
Narges Anzali is a member of the Class of 2028 and a contributing writer for The Prospect. She can be reached at na5831[at]princeton.edu.
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