Though she’s already a successful powerhouse in the folk, tropical, and Latine pop spaces, Kany García is still surprising her fans. In her newest album Puerta Abierta, she not only delivers familiar sounds her fanbase adores, but also taps into different genres like música mexicana and bachata, making it an exciting one to listen to. Ahead of the LP drop (Apr. 9), Remezcla talked to García about her unexpected bachata-inspired collaboration with Nathy Peluso, what surprised her the most about Young Miko’s El Choli concert, and Puerto Rico’s controversial residential development.
García has done a lot in the last two decades. She made a name for herself in the folk and tropical pop worlds and collaborated with a range of artists—from emblematic voices like Tego Calderón, Carlos Vives, and Natalia Lafourcade to newer voices like Young Miko and Rawayana, to give a taste of her diverse repertoire. Now, with 10 albums under her belt, García is still surprising her fans with unexpected collaborations, both in the studio and in live shows, keeping her fans on the lookout for what’s next. On Puerta Abierta, she reflects on her past while showing listeners she’s evolving to keep up with today’s music, with powerful songs that carry impactful messages. All in one.
On the LP, García explores genres like norteño and corridos with Yuridia, and the bachata is already a fan favorite, as seen during a listening party that Remezcla attended in Puerto Rico. With her new bachata “Gatita,” the Boricua songstress proves she can evolve and keep pushing her music forward. “When you hear [‘Gatita’] with Nathy Peluso, you will say, ‘¡Ea, rayo! That’s Kany, really?’ And I like creating that kind of impact; I think it’s important. It has a very distinct sound, super bachatatoza,” García says about what she thinks is one of her most surprising tracks on the new album. Sure, “Gatita” is fun and rhythmic, but it also serves as a feminist anthem that reminds people that women are a force to be reckoned with. Just look at the lyrics: “Esta gatita tiene fuego, que tiene fuego / Tan chiquita y mete miedo, que mete miedo.”
Another testament to García’s successful music career is the respect she receives from any audience, including the reggaeton one. Last December, she joined Young Miko at her second Choli date and was surprised by the love she received from the crowd. “What surprised me the most is that Young Miko is a very different artist—has a very different audience—and it’s so impactful to know that music can connect diverse generations. Not everything is set in stone. Just because someone has a lot of reggaeton music on their phone [doesn’t mean they] don’t like Kany García, [or] Juan Luis [Guerra], or [can’t] enjoy bachata by Romeo Santos. So for me, whenever I’m asked to do these kinds of collaborations, I love breaking the stereotype of what people expect to happen,” she says.
But beyond reaffirming her evolving work on Puerta Abierta, García is also touching on subjects like her childhood (“A La Niña Que Fui”) and specifically shining a light on where she grew up: Puerto Rico. In songs like “Tierra Mia,” she talks about cultural preservation and being resilient in the face of gentrification—subjects that she always tries to bring into her songwriting. “There are so many things happening right now in Puerto Rico. Like Proyecto Esencia, I don’t know if you heard about that, but you need to know about Proyecto Esencia,” she says.
“It’s a project in Cabo Rojo—the southwest of Puerto Rico—and it’s a [super luxurious] project with a lot of hotels, four different golf projects, and a lot of things that are going to impact our people very, very badly. The people from Cabo Rojo, our ecosystems. So we always need to be very, very aware of the different types of things that are happening in Puerto Rico because there are so many things that are super cool, and others that we need to keep an eye on.”
Puerta Abierta is out now.
