Every week, La Alternativa delivers the very best from the Latin alternative scene by curating a blend of emerging and established artists within the Latin diaspora, while providing a platform to champion our growing local music scene. Listen on demand here and on 88Nine from 10-11 p.m. every Wednesday.
Julieta Venegas has slowly been teasing Norteña, the upcoming album that pays tribute to her hometown of Tijuana and the music from the region. The record’s latest single, “Tengo Que Contarte,” is a tender ode to friendship that finds Venegas accompanied by Natalia Lafourcade.
It’s been 17 years since their last collaboration on Lafourcade’s “Hu Hu Hu” in 2009, and now they’re back with a ranchera ballad that serves as a conversation between longtime friends who lean on each other as one of them looks to repave their way in life.
This entire project feels like a coming home for Venegas. “Tengo Que Contarte” and “Tiempos Dorados” — the album’s other single — both are reflective of the past, honest about the present and optimistic about the future. It's not melancholic about where she was. It’s at peace with where she is.
By the way, if you’re as into Venegas’ artistry as much as we are, she’s also getting ready to release her autobiography, Norteña: Memorias del Comienzo, about her upbringing in Tijuana and early start as a singer-songwriter.
Elsewhere in this episode, we feature Yahritza y Su Esencia, who have been slowly making their way through the musica regional scene since 2022, specifically in the sierreño subgenre. Born and raised in Washington state, the sibling trio pay tribute to their Mexican heritage in projects like the recently released Metamorfosis, a heartbreak album through and through.
The stripped-down track “01-800” feels like a journey to the early 2000s, complete with an opening call to an operator in pursuit of answers after being ghosted. Who left her heartbroken and why did she leave? The 19-year-old sings from such a vulnerable place, leaving a last act of love in the hope of a response from the other end of the line.
Episode playlist
- Ana Tijoux, “APAGON”
- Daniela Andrade, “i see red”
- LA GURU, “SDLM”
- Yahritza Y Su Esencia, “01-800”
- Mexican Institute of Sound & Meridian Brothers, “Cumbia Fantasia”
- La Dame Blanche, “Los Fines de Semana”
- Sofia Thompson, “Encuetrame en Tokio”
- Judelin & DELLAFUENTE, “tiempo pasa”
- Sandra Iris, “Tigre Blanco (Byakko)”
- Junior H, “Culpable”
- LB aka Labat, “Cómete” ft MJ Nebreda
- CERO39 & MULA, “Las pequeñas cosas”
- Maria San Roman, “Dime, Cuentame”
- Julieta Venegas & Natalia Lafourcade, “Tengo Que Cantarte”
- Juliana & LAGOS, “Manhattan”
