Chiquis, música Mexicana’s self-proclaimed “Abeja Reina,” is back with a new album released Thursday, “Flores En Mi Alma.”
The three-time Latin Grammy winner and eldest daughter of música Mexicana royalty Jenni Rivera, Chiquis finds a common ground between meditation and protest.
Through morning affirmations, and a guided mediation track called “Soy Luz,” Chiquis seeks to soothe her listeners before getting real about the country’s ongoing immigration crisis. On songs like “Pa’ Mi Gente,” she tells the stories of immigrant workers and expresses their importance over the resounding guiros of cumbia folclórica.
Similarly on “Somos,” she sings “No hay frontera que nos quedan grandes,” asserting that everyone belongs to Mother Earth.
Last January, De Los caught up with Chiquis following her Diamantes tour stop at the Wiltern. She explained that she was ready to switch up her sound and figure out how música Mexicana can lend itself to meditation.
“I need to take a step to the side to kind of reconnect in a different way with my music. I need a breather. I want to get inspired again,” said Chiquis previously to the Times. “There’s a shift coming.”
In the matter of a few months, she cracked the code.
Pivoting away from her usual banda influences, “Flores En Mi Alma” instead channels elements of cumbia, reggae and R&B into the sounds of contemporary música Mexicana. The eight-track record also incorporates several low frequencies — most of which are too low to be heard — meant to engage listeners’ chakras.
Her previous record, “Diamantes,” was all about trusting herself and embracing her resilience. As someone who has spent the majority of her life in the public eye — whether on early 2000s reality television, on her podcast “Chiquis and Chill” — the album reflects a new level of consciousness and maturity.
“I’ve had a lot of pressure in my life from being the daughter of Jenni Rivera and all the BS that has happened after that,” said Chiquis earlier this year. “The idea of ‘Diamantes,’ and being a diamond made it all come together.
“I’m a diamond and we all are,” she adds. “We are still here no matter what we do.”
