By Bernardo Moreno González
I met her by chance a little over a year ago at a presentation at Mezcal Art. She got us dancing, sweating with her music that mixes cumbia, punk and techno, where the accordion is a reference. Impossible to take your eyes off the stage full of energy, giving us a transgressive and cheerful show. When we heard she was coming back, we decided to look for her to know and spread more about her work. Mariana Davila is a great artist creator of terroritmo, singer, composer, producer and of course accordionist. She is Colombian by birth and has been living in Mexico for years. Here is her interview.
BM: Mariana, can you tell us where the need to make music came from, your influences and —perhaps— some anecdote that framed that path?
MD: One day when I returned to Colombia, after a long time, I went to Valledupar —a city where a lot of vallenato is played— to an academy that was recommended to me, because there were kids playing very virtuosically and I went to hell! The director of the academy introduced me to all those kids and asked them to bring me an accordion and taught me how to play. «You won’t leave without playing accordion”, he told me. And that was one of the most meaningful moments in my life, it changed my life. That man’s name is Andrés «el turco» Gil. Before that I played different instruments that I didn’t love, but the accordion was different, unique. I was in contact with different artistic disciplines: performing arts, photography, etc. but I felt that I could not express myself completely. Instead, with music and live performances I have a much more interesting communication channel and I try to apply everything I have learned.
BM: Can you tell us about the importance of the social discourse that your lyrics reflect and if there is something new you are working on?
MD: It can be important or not, art can talk about many things. Therein lies the importance of social discourse; there are many artists who do not talk about anything political or social in their lyrics, but in their actions they support and are in movements, marches, protests and that is also very valid, because sometimes the pure discourse is carried away by the wind. Personally, I have different needs of expression: introspective, analytical; sometimes just fun and jokes or stories that I make up. The most political song is coming in the new album called «La muerte necesita vacaciones» (Death needs a vacation), which is purely pamphleteering, inspired by all the Latin American movements. It seemed important to me to support, even from afar, the union and courage of the people in Colombia and the social change that is happening little by little, after everything that happened with the paramilitary conflict and the fear that was felt. I wanted to be there and somehow write the lyrics to accompany and not only there, but also in Haiti, Chile, Ecuador. It is important to communicate, but it does not always have to be political, although it is a fact that everything we talk about and decide in some way is political. It is very important to say that besides the song «La muerte necesita vacaciones», there is another purely political track and one more, which I would like to highlight, it talks about friendship, about the importance of that feeling, I think it is also political, because it is the only thing we have in life, friendship -interpersonal relationships- I am not bothering you with more things, I just wanted to add this, which I thought was important. Chocolate Remix from Argentina and Ayelen Becker collaborate on one song and Sarah Hebe, a great Argentine rapper, on another.
BM: You will soon return to Mezcal Art, on April 1st, here in San Miguel de Allende, the last time we saw you it was a memorable concert, full of energy and dance, undoubtedly one of the best I have attended. What can we expect from this new presentation?
MD: We are going on tour starting March 29th in CDMX, then in Queretaro on March 31st, in Mezcal Art on April 1st, on April 5th in Guadalajara and on April 8th in Monterrey. Later we will have a tour in Europe between June and September. I hope to see many people this April 1st at Mezcal Art enjoying the terroritmo. I am very grateful for the diffusion and support. And what do you expect? Lots of energy, good vibes, flavor. Fun, joy, dancing. Many genres and previews of the new album. I hope you have a great time, don’t miss it!
