EL MAL QUERER - ROSALÍA

 

    "El Mal Querer" by Rosalía is probably one of the greatest albums of all time, it immerses us in the story of a woman inside of a toxic relationship with someone she was forced to marry.

Being released on November 2nd of 2018, the second album of the spanish artist Rosalía won several Latin Grammys one of them being 'Album of the year' and also an american Grammy to 'Best alternative or rock latin album'. Not enough with winning several awards, the album was critically acclaimed by music critics, it was classified as the 6th best album of 2018, and making it into the list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, by The Rolling Stones.

The main topic of this conceptual album is a story about an abusive relationship, inspired from a book from the 13th century called 'Flamenca', written anonymously. The album is divided into eleven songs (or chapters, as we can get through the story) starting with an augury, and ending with the power, also passing for the marriage, the jealousy, the dispute, the lament, the closure, the liturgy, the ecstasy, the conception, and the sanity.

The album starts with "That broken glass, I sensed how it rustled" with Rosalía letting us know that she already had the augury that the marriage would not end in a good way. Jumping into the last song of the album, we hear "I'm gonna tattoo your initials so I can remember what you did to me once", meaning that she overcame her relationship and that she will never forget what he had to go through.

The covers for every song are also essential to understand the full story, as they also leave us clues to complete the part of the story each song is giving us.

One of the things that we can highlight from this album is the fact that it was made as a final thesis, since Rosalía studied Flamenco for ten years at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya. Breaking the genre barriers between the flamenco and pop with some touches of urban music, she achieved what no one else could do; mix several completely different music styles and make them sound good.

Before the album was released, three singles were published: Malamente (the augury), Pienso en tu mirá (the jealousy) and Dí Mi Nombre (the ecstasy), that became viral hits due to their sound, their aesthetic and symbolism. After the album, the videoclips of Bagdad (the liturgy) and De Aquí No Sales (the dispute) also came out. The beauty of this album is not only on its narrative, but also in the sound, the message of female empowering that it transmits, the aesthetics of the videoclips, and the unique voice of Rosalía, truly an album with no comparison.

Made by: Juan Pablo Moreno Morales