Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada spent 25 years 'not knowing how to get angry', she says. 'That cost me so much energy and dignity.' Sadness, though, she had always understood: 'I live with her very close to me.' Now 28, Estrada grew up outside Veracruz, witnessing violence from femicide to environmental attacks. As a lonely teenager, she found solace in Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, which guided her darkness and introduced her to vocal improvisation.
Her acclaimed 2022 debut, 'Marchita' (meaning 'withered'), offered a spare, devastating account of first love gone awry, earning her a Latin Grammy for best new artist. But afterwards, she says, 'I really wanted to do something with my humour. After Marchita, I was a little bit trapped in this character that is sad and dark... I wanted to show myself in a way that's even closer to how I really am.'
Her second album, 'Vendrán Suaves Lluvias' (Soft Rains Will Come), was initially planned as poppier and lighter. But unexpected losses forced her to confront anger. New lyrics are stark with recrimination: for ex-lovers who couldn't reciprocate, for a friend who ghosted her because her career soared. She channelled indignation into 'Good Luck, Good Night', a melodramatic kiss-off for 'el ghosting'. 'Being ghosted... it's so miserable!' she says.
During writing, Estrada discovered anger's utility: 'Anger is this energy that really wants you to be responsible for your needs and your limits... We need anger, actually, to fight for our lives and the lives of others.' After futile attempts with four producers, she decided to produce the album herself, augmenting her cuatro with strings, piano and woodwind. The result is one of the year's most beautiful albums, with bright melodies that surprised her. 'As I get older, I understand the complexity of things,' she reflects.
