Camila Cabello shares her success story: 'I want to be what people think of when they think of America'
Long before her pop star days, Camila Cabello was a young girl looking to start a new life in the United States. The singer and her mother Sinuhe candidly opened up about their journey from Cuba to America in a new interview with Glamour magazine. “We flew from Cuba to Mexico, and went by bus to the American border; it took a month. We left everyone behind, my friends, my family,” Camila’s mom recalled. "It was really hard. I came here with no money and left everything that was familiar. But I just made a list of goals, and every time I scratched one off, I felt that everything was worth it."
VER GALERÍA Camila and her mother moved to the United States from Cuba when she was a young girl Photo: Amanda Marsalis
Relocating from her native Cuba to Miami was an adjustment for the former Fifth Harmony member. She explained, “In Cuba there were days in class where we would just watch cartoons. We weren’t learning. But when I came to the U.S., it was like: homework. A lot of things were suddenly so different—being at a new school without my friends, I didn’t speak the language, and I missed my dad.” Though her father reunited with Camila and her mother a year and a half later.
MORE: Camila talks the scariest part of leaving Fifth Harmony
While the Bad Things singer was admittedly shy as a child, she used music as a way to connect with others. “I was very introverted as a kid. But I started bringing my CDs to the YMCA after school; I’d ask for the boom box and go play my music in the corner and people would come over,” she said. “And I created a little YouTube channel doing covers—I must have posted 50. Even though I’d be like, 'Oh my god, this is so bad,' music was the thing I was passionate enough about to get over being shy.” The 20-year-old was also inspired by a famous boy band, One Direction, to pursue her passion. She shared, “After seeing a One Direction 'tips on auditioning for The X Factor (USA)' video, I asked Mom if I could audition” — and the rest is history.
VER GALERÍA The singer admitted that she was inspired by One Direction Photo: Getty Images
Camila joined Fifth Harmony in 2012 on the competition show and left in 2016. Now as a solo artist the Work from Home singer said, “Right now I’m in the process of writing about our whole journey. I want to make a love song for immigrants. That word, immigrant, has such a negative connotation—I can just imagine all the little girls who have dreams of coming here and feel unwanted.”
She continued, “It inspires me in my music to do my best to give [them] the light that I have. I want to be what people think of when they think of America—a person who, no matter what her first language was or what her religion is, can see her dreams come to life if she works hard enough.”
