If there’s one song that captures the sad girl reggaeton of Bay Area singer and self-proclaimed llorona La Favi, it might be her breathy single “Tú y Yo.” The aching, dembow-laced proclamation of love and longing leverages La Favi’s sky-high vocals and stunning operatic range — which might explain why she chose the track to open her recent EP Reir y Llorar. Today, she’s released a video for “Tú y Yo,” and it brings the drama, unfolding like a tiny novela about an unexpected love triangle.
The video was shot by Oakland artist Kolepa Phy in La Favi’s hometown of San Francisco. The story follows La Favi leaving a relationship with her boyfriend (played by her childhood pal Nick Parker) for an intense love affair with another woman, portrayed by her friend, model, and alt porn star Arabelle Raphael. She said that while the narrative in the video is a “telenovela de la calle,” it also draws on her real-life experience.
“Now that I am doing things on my own and I have more control over my career, I can do my own projects that reflect my experience,” she said in an interview with i-D Spain. “So far in my life, I feel that those who have loved me most have been women, who have come to love me more strongly and more loyally than any man.”
The video features text from a song by Paco de Lucía, a flamenco dancer who reflects some of La Favi’s Spanish heritage. La Favi, whose real name is Natalía Garcia, also shared the story behind the song, revealing that she wrote the lyrics about someone who was sitting in a studio with her a few years ago. Since the person didn’t speak much Spanish, she says they probably didn’t realize she was singing about them. The song’s message of declaring your feelings out loud and giving in to desire is part of La Favi’s new mission of opening up and showing more of herself as an artist.
“I personally acknowledge that until now, I have been somewhat closed off and slow to move my art, because the truth is there is so much of me and my life that I did not want to expose — maybe it was my way of protecting myself. However, I think this year, for several reasons, I’ve reached the moment where I don’t care what people are going to say, because I don’t have an alternative.”