'I'm a classic with little mileage': Gloria Trevi returns to Colombia stronger than ever

Gloria Trevi is synonymous with irreverence. Since she was 14, she has done what she wanted with her life and has not stopped along the way to listen to foolish opinions. Her career began in 1982 when she competed in a Mexican music show, which gave her the opportunity to become known as the double of the singer Lucero and she won.

Since then, she has proven to be unstoppable and authentic. Her career took off when she joined 'Boquitas Pintadas', a group in which Pilar Romero, Mónica Murr and Claudia Rosas also participated . The training she received in singing, acting and dancing were the foundations of a career that has been unstoppable to this day and that has positioned her as one of the most recognized Latin American artists.

She has had some tough times in her personal life, which led her to be imprisoned for nearly four years in Mexico on charges of kidnapping and rape. However, she was declared innocent and over time she has shown that her strength was the key to rebuilding her personal life and colonizing the stages one by one, in dozens of countries.

Gloria Trevi will perform in Colombia on May 18 at the Movistar Arena with a show full of classics and new reggaeton songs.

The question I ask myself is: how can I not betray myself musically speaking? One has one's essence, I already released my music and suddenly the years go by, new musical proposals start to appear, because I can't stay stuck in the past either.

The antidote to that, for me, has been listening. I like listening to the music that my children listen to, one of them is 19, the other is 23. I like listening to what their friends listen to, I like hanging out with very young, very current producers and those from my whole life.

That's where I start to find a balance because I start to create, feeding off those rhythms and from that, I make my own melodies, but updated. That kills me.

My team tells me: "This is what's out there and it's catching on." And I say, "Well then we have to do something a step beyond that." The pace of the industry allows me to stand on top of it and do something by proposing music with my label. Whether the public will understand it or not, I don't know, but the important thing is that I like it, because that means I can defend it.

You go to one of my concerts in Mexico or the United States and you see a lot of gay people. Generally, you see a lot of girls with their gang, their closest friends and the plan is to go cry, scream, get drunk, crawl, get up, empower themselves and it's a super cool atmosphere, full of emotions, with a lot of dancing and passion.

I'm on stage doing my show, but downstairs there's another show that deserves a red carpet, because people dress amazingly to go to the show. I'm excited. Now I'm coming to South America with my greatest hits: 'Con los ojos cerrados', 'Todos me miran', 'el cuentas de los daño', 'cinco minuto'. I also have more modern songs in my repertoire, some reggaeton songs, because I do them well. I do reggaeton well.

But the most beautiful thing is that generational barriers are broken that night. I mean, there are people of all ages, the aunt, the mother, the brothers and all the people with their wolves or as a family. You go to the Gloria Trevi concert with someone you love.

We are the same, I am equally passionate in each of my versions. Gloria from Los Angeles is a little less tall because she takes off her heels and normally her feet hurt (she says laughing). But, in reality, the one on stage is also like that, because it is my way of laughing, my way of crying, my way of singing and the public that connects with that has the same philosophy.

And that makes the sea become a sea with waves that vary depending on each song. It can be a calm, passionate or choppy sea. We can also get intense, romantic, sensual. Everything.

You know, in my childhood, music was a dream that I saw through the mirror. I would stand up with my hairbrush and start singing and I would imagine the whole audience there in front of me. I imagined being in front of audiences like the one in Colombia.

As a teenager and in my youth it became a reality and an escape from my nightmare, because that's what I was living. My music became that thing that helps me survive.

Then music became my companion during my loneliness and helped me open my eyes, understand many things, and love myself. Then, music helped me stand up on my own legs again, for myself, for those I love and who love me.

The good thing is that I've liked reggaeton since before it became a worldwide hit. When I was releasing my song 'doctor psiquiatra', everyone was criticizing my lyrics. When people come to me and say, "Hey, what do you think of the current lyrics in reggaeton?" I say that some of them seem spectacular to me, even though they are very sexualized, I like them because they have a lot of wit in saying things.

Suddenly they tell me, "Oh, well, but there are also songs that denigrate women." And I say, "Oh, and we are one-handed or mute so as not to defend ourselves." So we take out the song and we answer them and we turn the message around.

I'm a classic with little mileage (he says laughing). I really like costumes and that they have to do with the songs I'm singing. That's what's coming for my show. Also, my team, my dancers, my musicians, they're not just decorations, they're stars.

You will see, it is a show that fills you with emotions, with the help of lights, screens. Everything is connected and timed so that each musical moment has explosion or intimacy depending on the song.

Maria Jimena Delgado Diaz

Instagram @mariajimena_delgadod