Natalia Lafourcade's alter ego takes center stage in ‘Cancionera'

LOS ANGELES — When Natalia Lafourcade sat down to craft ''Cancionera,'' she never expected to discover an alter ego that would lead her down a pathway of artistic enlightenment.

She had always worn her heart on her sleeve through her lauded career, but with ''Cancionera,'' Lafourcade finally felt she was able to stop holding back, lean into the ''spirit of play'' and showcase all her multitudes on her 12th studio album, out Thursday.

''Cancionera (the character) challenged me and asked, ‘Who are you, really?' ‘Who do you think you are?' and ‘Are you much more than what you tell yourself? I mean, if you are who you think you are, because, in reality, you are many different things. So it opened up huge possibilities,'' said Lafourcade, whose answers have been translated from Spanish. ''Cancionera'' translates to ''singer'' in English.

Lafourcade, who has four Grammys and 18 Latin Grammys to her name, felt it was time to step into Cancionera's duality and the varied energies: ''earthly energy, volatile energy, romantic energy … they all became a part of her world, and I didn't want to interrupt as they began to manifest,'' she said.

The 14-track album transports listeners within the trifold theatrical walls of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema — an era spanning the 1930s to the 1950s when the Mexican film industry cemented its role as a dominant force across Latin America and received international acclaim, creating stars like Pedro Infante and Maria Félix and introducing surrealist styles of filmmaking.

''This album is full of symbolism, inspired by the surrealism of Mexico and the values of our tradition and iconography. I wanted to honor the songs and the path of the cancioneras and cancioneros of life,'' said Lafourcade via email.

From the very beginning, with the inviting complex string arrangement of ''Apertura Cancionera'' (''Opening''), the album sends listeners on their own cinematic journeys as the jewel-toned red curtain ascends to reveal the black-and-white screen.

''It led me to think of characters, like the ones we saw in the movies, like (Mexican actor) Tin Tan, and these surreal worlds of lots of tropicality, music crafted by Agustín Lara,'' said Lafourcade. But she says this is her own interpretation of those characters, inspired by the language and stories of everyday life in Mexico.

Lafourcade has paid homage to Lara in the past: She recorded her own interpretation of the Mexican composer's most notable works on her 2012 album ''Mujer Divina: Homenaje a Agustín Lara'' (''Divine Woman: An Homage to Agustín Lara''). ''Cancionera'' revisits some of Lafourcade's past stripped-down work as a singer-songwriter with acoustic tracks like ''Como Quisiera Quererte'' (''How I Would Like to Love You''), featuring El David Aguilar.

The album was coproduced by Adan Jodorowsky, who also produced Lafourcade's Grammy-winning ''De Todas Las Flores'' (''Of All the Flowers''). Lafourcade recorded the album in one take on analog tape alongside collaborators like Aguilar, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Israel Fernández, Diego Del Morao, Gordon Hamilton and Soundwalk Collective.

This was Lafourcade's chance to explore the duality of her artistic self and her alter ego. She created the visual assets for the album in tandem with her unique recording process, which pushed her to express herself through other creative media, like painting and movement.

''This opened my view and my heart to be more sensitive to the things around me. I began to understand the story behind ‘Cancionera,''' said Lafourcade. ''Things started to happen, like I started to paint. It unblocked a lot at a creative and imaginative level''.

A constant throughout Lafourcade's music is her roots in Veracruz, the same Mexican state Lara was from. Veracruz, known for its thriving arts and culture scene, infuses the entire album and naturally evokes itself through songs like ''Cocos en la Playa'' and ''La Bruja'' (''The Witch''), a reimagined version of a folk song made popular in the region.

''I love everyday life in Mexico. I love the markets and the streets; I love its nights. I love its clandestine spaces and its characters … Mexico is full of beautiful things. Strong things, dark things and luminous things. There's so much duality,'' said Lafourcade. ''It's all reflected in the lyrics, in the music.''

Fans of Lafourcade will be able to experience the recording artist's alter ego on the ''Cancionera'' tour, which kicks off Thursday in Xalapa, Mexico, and runs through October. The recording artist will tour throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America, along with stops in Spain.