Hasta la Raíz (song)

Background

In 2010, Natalia Lafourcade joined Mexican orchestra conductor Alondra de la Parra on the album Travieso Carmesí, a musical project created to celebrate the Bicentennial of Mexico. Lafourcade analyzed Mexican singer-songwriter Agustín Lara's catalogue and decided to record a tribute album with his songs, since the singer wanted to give herself the opportunity to perform songs written by another person. In 2014, Lafourcade wanted to find a balance between heart, mind and body, and traveled to Veracruz, Colombia and Cuba, searching for inspiration to write new music. "This [new] album was made parallel to the experience of singing the Lara's music... is the result of my need to be proud of my songs." Lafourcade said to Vívelo Hoy. The album Hasta la Raíz is Lafourcade's sixth studio album and is her first album of original material in six years, since Hu Hu Hu (2009) and was produced by Argentinean musician Cachorro López, Mexican singer-songwriter Leonel García and herself after another record producer became very expensive. The album version of the track was released as a digital download on January 14, 2015 and a new version entitled "Canova's Root Version" was available on May 19, 2015. Lafourcade included the song on the live EP Spotify Sessions. "Hasta la Raíz" is featured in the Italian edition of the album series Now Summer Hits 2015.

Writing and recording

Lafourcade overcame writer's block, but felt that the songs she wrote were too similar compared to her previous albums, so she sought inspiration from Lara's repertoire and her native country, Mexico. "One of the things I wanted to happen with this record was to find the connection with Mexico and its people again. I am Mexican proud of the positive parts that Mexico have, which are many." Musically, the singer wanted simplicity. Lafourcade forced herself to write "without judgement", recording voice memos on her phone during the process. The singer was also inspired by the work of Latin American songwriters such as Simón Díaz, Violeta Parra, Mercedes Sosa, Chavela Vargas, and Caetano Veloso. While recording demos, Lafourcade realized that the songs were more direct and emotional than her previous work. The writing process took three years to complete, resulting in approximately 30 songs, from which the singer selected "the strongest ones", since the album was about her personal life and wanted to record the best of the bunch to represent it, "more than making an album, I wanted to have songs... songs that could stand on their own."

"Hasta la Raíz" was written by Lafourcade and Mexican singer-songwriter Leonel García, since Lafourcade wanted to experiment with other composers on her music and they became friends while working on her album Mujer Divina and his album Todas Mías (2012). García had an idea about the song, and they finished together the music. Laforcade referred to this collaboration as "magical", with this song being an anthem to the human strength, without forgetting our roots, "It came out of a conversation about maintaining a sense of connection to where you come from." García played a huapango riff, and Lafourcade started singing along while producer Cachorro López recorded everything, and the final result is from that session.

Critical reception

After its release, "Hasta la Raíz" received positive reviews from music critics. Luis Romero of the website Coffee and Saturday and the music editor of Televisa Espectáculos were in agreement that the song keeps a musical style similar to her previous album, Mujer Divina, with Agustin Lara's influence being evident. Andrew Casillas of Club Fonograma stated that the song sounds "rich", but resembles Chilean singer-songwriter Camila Moreno, and that even if it "doesn’t sound like a bold step outward for Natalia, there’s certainly no need to lower your expectations". Lissette Corsa, of MTV Iggy, declared that the "staccato strumming" of the track "evokes the huapango rhythm of Veracruz, Mexico, Lafourcade’s hometown". Lafourcade performed the track at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2015, where it won Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Alternative Song.

Commercial reception

"Hasta la Raíz" was released as a promotional single from the same-titled album on January 14, 2015, and was later released as the second single, following "Nunca Es Suficiente". The song peaked at number five in Mexico's Monitor Latino Pop Songs chart, number nine in the Billbard's Español Airplay, and 27 in the General Airplay charts, respectively. In the United States, the track peaked at number 17 in the U.S. Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart, being the highest peak for a Lafourcade single, after "Mírame, Mírate" and "En el 2000" reached 19 and 35, respectively, in 2003. Following Lafourcade's performance at the Latin Grammys, the song climbed to number nine on the Billboard Latin Pop Digital Songs, with a sales increase of 86%, selling 1,000 downloads.

Music video

The music video was directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios, at the Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City, gathering 300 fans who responded to an invitation posted by Lafourcade in social networks. The singer asked her fans to send a thought inspired by the song or a personal story derived from their identification with "Hasta la Raíz". "I thought that we would get few answers, but received almost 800 responses immediately, and later it turned into a riot and we did not know if they would get out of control, but nothing happened, my fans are super cool," Lafourcade told Variety Latino. In the video, shot in black and white, Lafourcade is surrounded by several people who lead her to a stage to perform the last part of the song, in the meantime, Lafourcade throws flowers in the air, kisses a guy and plays a guitar. According to Milly Contreras of Latin Post the video "shows off the singer's individuality and simplicity" and included it at number 7 in the list for the "10 Best Latin Music Videos of 2015".

Credits and personnel

The following credits are from Hasta la Raíz album liner notes.