Artist: Reyna Tropical
Album: Malegría
Reviewer: Tatiana Silva
Reyna Tropical expresses what it is like to traverse this universe as a diasporic person on her debut album Malegría, released by Psychic Hotline, an artist-led label founded by Amelia Meath and Nicholas Sanborn of Sylvan Esso. Malegría documents the past four years of Fabi Reyna’s life – an exploration of identity, voice and grief told through entrancing riffs, chilling sound clips and sultry vocals. Reyna Tropical is the unapologetically queer guitarist who is running where the likes of Chavela Vargas paved to be a voice in the Latin and queer diaspora. Malegría‘s 20 tracks, ringing in at 43 minutes, take us through the bittersweetness of being everything and nothing all at once and more importantly, what it’s like to be happy and sad at once.
Malegría’s cover art depicts Fabi crouched with her bare back to us and with a blue-and-yellow macaw acting as her wings. This image perfectly captures the sounds that carry us through the process of grief on the album. We hear sound clips of intimate conversations as interludes detailing moments of shared joys and struggles. “Radio Esperanza” brings the message, “We do not need your permission to be liberated.” “Singing” is a conversation between Fabi and her late bandmate Sumo about Fabi finding a purpose in using her voice. Another, “Mestizaje,” details the struggle of colonization and conflicting views of legacy in mixed families. Fabi admits to choosing these interludes a little last-minute, which ultimately allowed for her intuition to shine as an artist and a storyteller because they are easily what I think made this album a must-listen, if even just to hear the story once.
Beyond the vulnerability Fabi gives us, it is nearly impossible to not dance when listening to any of Malegría’s musical tracks. Fabi is no stranger to getting hot on the dance floor and brings in a leading light of the new global dance underground, Busy Twist, and Colombia’s Best Electronic Act winner, percussionist Franklin Tejedor, on the track “Suavecito.” The lush landscapes Fabi paints layer the space with refreshing, revitalizing and raw energy that instantly lifts your spirit. You can find yourself in a completely different dimension if you allow yourself to succumb to the movement of the cumbia-based beats colored with nature and cityscape samples. Malegría can transcend even the most stagnant perspective.
Fabi finds resolve in the last track “Huitzilin”:
Al fin me siento
Mi alma, mi mente, mi cuerpo
Estoy aprendiendo, ah
Sonido de un respiro, antes no lo había oído
Translation:
I finally feel
My soul, my mind, my body
I’m learning, ah
Sound of a breath, I had not heard it before
This is my moment, the rest is the movement
“Huitzilin” translates to “hummingbird” in Nahuatl, an Uto-Aztecan language, who is said to be a fallen soldier who reincarnated into a hummingbird after a battle. His wife Xochitl reincarnated into a flower so as to keep their vow to always be with each other in every realm. I take this as a promise Fabi makes to always honor the earth, the beauty of our existence and the gift of being able to connect through a plethora of realms and have all of them be true. There is no doubt Reyna Tropical is one of the top global artists of 2024, and for now let’s cross our toes and fingers she makes a stop in Boise soon!