Silvana Estrada: ‘Palestine will always hurt Latin Americans because of colonization’

Silvana Estrada, 28, has been nominated for a Latin Grammy Award again. She won her first award at the age of 25, just after debuting in the music world, in 2022, for Best New Artist (which she shared with Ángela Álvarez). In 2024, she came close again with a Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Performance. Now she’s nominated for Best Singer-Songwriter Song for the single Como un pájaro (Like a Bird) from her second album, Vendrán suaves lluvias (There Will Come Soft Rains), available from October 17 and listed by The New York Times as one of the 10 most anticipated albums of this fall.

Raised in a rural environment where she learned to love nature, and the daughter of musicians and luthiers who passed on their passion for music, Estrada remains grounded and continues to champion what she considers essential: personal pace, love, “tenderness, gentleness, and sweetness.” “If this way of thinking existed more in the industry, it would be easier for everyone; we would all enjoy it more,” she says. EL PAÍS spoke with her in New York, where she held a listening session for her new album, which served as a preview of the tour that will begin on October 10.

Question. It took three years to release your second album. What was the process of writing Vendrán suave lluvias like?

Answer. I started the album during the pandemic, at a time when I was disenchanted with the world, with love, with adult life… My best friend and his brother were murdered in Mexico. It all came to a head, and I saw the harsher side of life: violent death and illness. I wrote the album in the midst of an inner turmoil, trying to figure out what this world is about, what to do with the pain, and what to do with the beauty.

Q. What does the album’s title refer to?

A. I think it’s a very beautiful, evocative image, and I’ve always liked long titles. Some say that gentle rain is like small tears, others say it represents bountiful times for the earth. It’s a verse from a poem by an American poet, Sara Teasdale, which was written after the First World War. The poet was disappointed with the world and everything she saw, but she made room for hope, and that’s the message; even if war destroys us all, nature will continue and the birds will continue to sing.

Q. Which brings us to what you have said on several occasions: that music is healing (not relief).

A. It reminds me of something Octavio Paz said in reference to José Carlos Becerra, my favorite poet: his poetry clears your vision so you can see the world better. I like that music has that function. That it helps make goodbyes noble and healthy, for the love of love and tenderness.

Q. You were recently invited to sing Latin America with Residente in Mexico City. What was that experience like?

A. It was very beautiful. Energetically, the Zócalo [Mexico City’s main public square] is crazy. It’s a cement esplanade on top of a pyramid with a church on top. Indigenous pre-conquest Mexico lost its gods; imagine losing everything you believe in... And in that same Zócalo, there have also been many killings; it’s a scene of much confrontation. It was incredible to see 180,000 people gathered there celebrating life, and together raising a song for Gaza. Palestine hits Latin Americans in a place that will always hurt, which is colonization, the plundering of our cultures, the miserable situation of Indigenous peoples, who are also defenders of nature, who have to fight to be in their home. It was very beautiful. Also, Residente has been my idol since I was 12 years old, and I saw him act as a mixture of shaman and artist, guiding energy and creating a space for reflection and communion. He inspired me to follow in his footsteps.

Q. In November, you’re beginning your first tour of the United States since Donald Trump returned to power. How do you feel as a Latina about what’s happening in the country?

A. It’s devastating to see all my fellow Latinos suffering for their lives. I think something is terribly wrong if a child has to beg for mercy in front of the authorities who should be protecting them. It’s very difficult to understand this moment in the world, but we have to get down to business, or we could spend our lives intellectualizing what’s happening to us. I want my shows to be safe spaces where we can imagine how we want to live, and I think art is a wonderful vehicle for that.

Q. What do you want to convey to your fans?

A. I want them to fall in love with life again, because if we were all in love, aware that we were going to die, we would be in a different time and place. I want, through my shows, for us to enter a state of vulnerability and support together and walk toward brighter places. I want us to face our pain head-on and grieve. A lot of Chavela Vargas in that sense. And hopefully, come out different and wanting to live better, which is always my fantasy.

Q. You say you’ve spent the last few years living in Mexico, trying to stay safe. Have you ever considered leaving the country?

A. I wouldn’t live anywhere other than Latin America, because I feel like this is the birthplace of the hope I talk so much about. I think there’s a beautiful awakening of our own history. Because there’s a different rhythm and different ways of seeing the world, of connecting with each other and honoring the things we believe in.

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