Becky G’s ‘Esquinas’ Stands Proudly Between Two Cultures, Celebrating and Elevating Both
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It’s often the case that children of immigrants, especially Latino ones, learn to balance two cultures from an early age. Frequently, they navigate dual worlds, with one foot firmly planted in the place where they’ve grown up, the other fastened in their parents’ homeland — resulting in what can feel like being split in half, caught between double the amount of traditions and customs and pop-culture references.
But lately, a younger generation has been recasting complex bicultural identities as the lucky inheritance of “200-percenters,” kids who are proudly 100 percent Latino and 100 percent American. The description was on Becky G’s mind when she began recording her latest album, Esquinas, a gorgeous exploration of what it means to be Mexican American — and how it’s shaped who she is as a pop star and as a person. The title, which means “corners,” captures the intersection of two cultures. It’s also an endearing nod to her upbringing in Inglewood, California, where she recalls shops and restaurants being “just at la esquinita” — “right at the corner.”
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But the album also represents a long artistic journey. Becky G, who got her start making pop in English, fully embraces the richness of Mexican genres, teaming up with producer Edgar Barrera for a profound examination of this music’s significance to her and those who came before. It’s a full-circle moment: She’s become an elder stateswoman for a rising movement of kids who have been taking Mexican sounds to new global heights. In 2023, artists like Grupo Frontera, Peso Pluma, and Eslabon Armado shot to Number One Spotify’s Global charts; Becky even brought Pluma and JOP from Fuerza Regida onstage during her ode to Mexican heritage at Coachella.
On Esquinas, no song comes across derivative or pastiche, and it doesn’t feel like a commercial bid to capture what’s popular right now. (Becky has also said she started working on the album two years ago, before the full explosion of música Mexicana.) The music is a little unexpected: The opener, “2ndo Chance,” is a ballad dipped in nostalgic synths that morphs into a brooding acoustic burner with Gen-Z heartthrob Ivan Cornejo. In fact, the whole album is a parade of new, first-gen talent: Cornejo — who grew up in Riverside, California, and taught himself to play guitar via YouTube tutorials — comes in at the very end of the track with the rich, melancholy sound that’s made him the prince of sad sierreño and one of the young standouts on the música Mexicana scene right now.
Immediately after that, Becky links up with DannyLux for “Cries in Spanish.” They’re a few years apart: When Becky G was just an elementary school kid, living out the memories that are all over Esquinas, DannyLux was a newborn baby, born in the Coachella Valley to parents from Mexicali, Mexico. His father drove garbage trucks; on one of his daily routes around the area, he happened to find a guitar that he brought home and gave to Danny when he was about seven years old. That was Danny’s first guitar, the one on which he first began unlocking the honeyed sound that’s become his signature — and that fits so well on the sweet duet he performs with Becky. Later, on “Patras,” Becky pulls off a stunning show of vocal acrobatics with Yahritza Y Su Esencia, a band of three siblings who grew up in Washington’s Yakima Valley. Their parents, originally from Mexico’s Michoacán state, picked fruit and passed down their love of music to their kids. Each of these collaborations fits in perfectly with what Becky is doing, showing how today’s generation is constantly pulling from deep-seated roots that continue to find unexpectedly beautiful ways to bloom.
As Becky laces her voice through Yahritza’s powerful vibrato, she’s putting a proud spotlight on the young women making themselves heard in a historically male-dominated genre. It’s refreshing to see all of the female collaborations on Esquinas: There’s a sassy moment with Chiquis, the daughter of late Mexican legend Jenni Rivera, on the puckish “Cuidadito”; ranchera royalty Angela Aguilar makes an appearance on “Por el Contrario,” which also features her brother Leonardo Aguilar. The choice to include the newer faces in música Mexicana’s most famous families is yet another reminder of where the genre is today, saluting the past but embracing the present day.
What’s most striking on the album is Becky’s sense of maturity, both lyrically and vocally. Esquinas is anchored in her actual experiences, something that’s going to give voice to so many diaspora kids eager to also embrace the 200 percent. But the most beautiful quality is how Becky pays respects to the elders in her family, celebrating the noble, hard-fought journeys so many first-generation kids carry deep within their bones. That comes through best on “Querido Abuelo,” a shattering, heart-pulverizing tribute to her late grandfather. Putting together bits and pieces of who her grandfather was — a dignified sombrero, the smell of the countryside, a quiet ranch that’s been lonely since he passed — Becky works up to the line that lays out the heart of this project: “I want you to know it’s an honor to represent your bloodline.”
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