Marisol la Brava & A Flor de Piel – Quinceñera (2021)
The pandemic forced a lot of us to reimagine how we celebrate with lockdown birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. For family band Marisol la Brava & A Flor de Piel, they were faced with planning a traditional Quinceñera under the confines of the pandemic. This resulted in them creating the EP GIRLHOOD – It’s Complicado which ‘Quinceñera’ is one of the tracks.
Through the EP and this single, the mother and daughter of the band try to define where girlhood ends and womanhood begins. This family band is led by Marisol Ceron (vocals, jarana, zapateado, small percussion) and Grammy nominee Renato Ceron (harp, violin, accordion, saxophone, guitar, parana, vihuela). They are joined by their daughter Sofia Ceron (vocals, cajón, jarana, ukulele, guitar) to create a diverse blend of music that ranges from traditional Latin American tones to modern vibes touching on punk rock and lo-fi hip-hop.
‘Quinceñera’ chirps and plucks into your ears through the opening to get you swaying to the rhythm. There is a light and youthful feeling to the melody that you can’t really resist. The drum has you tapping to it while the other instrumentation fills your vision with colours and light energy. The guitar that calls through adds amazing texture to the soundscape. While the beats keep you skipping down the melody, the higher tones change for an almost whimsical movement of twinkling bells that slides into that youthful sound again. Every element of the melody comes together for an engaging movement that has you hooked while riding the feelings of the vocals.
As the colours of the melody have you swaying, the vocals enter with a Spanish vocal line that wonderfully flows into English. The bi-lingual lyrics capture the feelings of someone facing a Quinceñera. The vocal performance is threaded with the innocence of youth and the uncertainty of what is to come. When the light twinkling tones come in, the vocals take a sombre turn as the lyrics confront the changes that happen. Through the performance, you are balanced on the precipice of change wanting to stay in place while knowing that you have to step over the line.
Marisol la Brava & A Flor de Piel perfectly capture the uncertain feelings of moving on from childhood but not really wanting to in the engaging ‘Quinceñera’. The melody has a youthful colour to it that gets you swaying and smiling to the rhythm. The bi-lingual vocals bring the emotions of the track to life in the most engaging way.
Find out more about Marisol la Brava & A Flor de Piel on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
