From a young age, Ángela Aguilar always knew that her purpose was to keep traditional música Mexicana alive. It’s a family affair, really: Her grandfather was ranchera hero Antonio Aguilar and her father is the renowned singer Pepe Aguilar.
The 20-year-old singer continues to invigorate traditional sounds as she releases her latest album, Bolero, on Friday. The nine-track project captures the singer giving new life to romantic classics, backed by castanets and the soothing plucks of guitar, on tracks like “Piensa En Mi,” “Somos Novios,” and “Luna Lunera.”
With the album, Aguilar also drops an hourlong visual project that captures the singer visiting Cuba, the birthplace of bolero. “Everywhere you turn, there’s music,” she says of the island. On the island, she met with Amadito Valdés, one of the original members of the storied Buena Vista Social Club, and performed for Omara Portuondo, 93, while learning exploring the island’s musical roots.
“I don’t like to be unprepared for things, especially something so important, which is somebody’s culture,” Aguilar says. “I believe that the only way to know where you’re going to go is if you know where you come from.”
The album of classics comes at a time when a new generation of Mexican musicians has strayed from tradition and leaned into newer, urban-leaning genres like corrido tubados. Aguilar admits she isn’t a huge fan of the new music coming from acts like Luis R. Conriquez and Peso Pluma, and usually opts to listen to other music. “It’s just not my cup of tea,” she says.
Rolling Stone caught up with Aguilar following a screening of Bolero to talk about the future of Mexican music, a pop-leaning upcoming project, and visiting Cuba for the first time.
What was the idea behind this project?
Since I was very, very young, for me, one of the most important things was to express culture throughout the new generation and try to not let Musica Mexicana die. This is coming from that. I feel like bolero is a genre that is not talked about anymore, it’s something your grandma listens to.
It feels like there’s a timelessness to boleros. What was it like to sing these classics?
It was hard. I’m not going to lie. Vocally, these songs expect so much from you with the harmonies and the inflections. The runs were different even It was so beautiful to be able to learn about that, because what’s the point of making music if it’s boring for you to sing? This is far from boring.
Why is it so important to you to tap into those roots?
Bolero is one of those things that we all hear about, but don’t know anything about. My grandmother [Flor Silvestre] used to sing “Luna Lunera” to me, and her mother used to sing it to her as a lullaby. This new generation, Gen Z, we’re just a very quick, fast, trendy, different type of people. Bolero has nothing to do with trends. It’s slow and it’s to be felt and honored.
I think it’s really interesting because I think you bring in this other perspective to Gen Z about honoring roots. Do you think that that’s your place in the música Mexicana zeitgeist?
I don’t know if that’s my identity, but it is one of my values and I take my values very, very seriously.
In the documentary, it was cool seeing you talk to those people that paved the way for the genre. What were those conversations like behind the scenes?
Oh my gosh, it was crazy. It was so beautiful, because music is a universal language. No matter how much technology grows, it’s still music. To be able to connect with people who have dedicated their lives to music is a humbling experience.
We’re in a really interesting place with música Mexicana’s boom. Where do you see the genre going?
There are so many new inventions in Mexican music. What I can tell you is that I won’t stop making albums that are traditional. Corridos are super in and those types of songs have like five instruments and that’s all you get. Specifically for me, I think having an orchestra or mariachi is the path that I’m going toward, how Juan Gabriel used to do it, how Rocío Durcal used to do it.
Would you say that we’re moving in the right direction in Mexican music?
I’m going to be completely honest. I genuinely don’t listen to that music as much. I think that certain songs pay homage to things that I don’t think you should have the new generation listening to or glorifying. I just don’t particularly enjoy being a bad influence on younger crowds.
What do you hope changes?
I think that this new wave of Mexican music is amazing because we’ve never seen better requinto players or guitarists. Every single day, they release songs with better, newer, more precise sounds. I think that we’re getting really good musicians out of it. I just feel like we need to fix the writers. I don’t think it’s good to glorify things that are illegal and not good for human beings.
Sometimes the criticism for people who think that way is that you’re a little uptight or you’re not willing to connect with certain groups of people. Do you understand that criticism?
Of course. I get criticized for everything, but the thing is, I’m going to be very truthful and honest. I’m not going to play something that glorifies narco cartels and getting high on Tusi, or whatever. I genuinely don’t think that my twelve-year-old cousin, who is their main market, should be listening to those songs. To glorify something that has caused the very big downfall in our country is something that I’m not going to ever be okay with. Do I love that Mexican music is opening doors? I love it. I adore it. I think it’s amazing, but now I just feel like we went a little overboard. This is not what Mexico is. I think Mexico is bolero. I think Mexico is Juan Gabriel. I think it’s Antonio Aguilar.
How do you see your own music changing? Your dad Pepe Aguilar was a pioneer for infusing pop with rancheras. Do you plan on doing a little bit of that, too?
It’s actually going to come out right after this album. It’s a new album, which is a type of mariachi songs that I wrote after “Que Agonia” with Yuridia. Also like the song we did with Becky G, “Por El Contrario.” It’s Mexican-inspired rhythms but in a newer way. I’m all for growing the genre.
That’s exciting. What else would you say that fans can expect from that future and that sort of thing for you?
I’m a very dramatic person, so we’re working on a very dramatic album and one of the songs is a very play-on-words type of thing. It’s a play on getting some flowers and just how nowadays, that’s not normal. I feel like people will connect with it.
