For her 10th studio album, Kany García decided to revisit her past and return to her mother’s home in the countryside of Morovis, Puerto Rico, delving into memory and establishing a beautiful, sincere dialogue with her inner child.
“When I finished García, it felt a big challenge because after naming an album after your last name, it’s like, ‘Where do we go next?’” the singer/songwriter tells Billboard Español about her ultra-personal 2024 set, which earned a Latin Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album. “I felt the need to explore things connected to my roots in terms of instrumentation. I didn’t necessarily want to make a folkloric album, but I did want to lean into something that had those kinds of connotations. So, we started thinking about conceptualizing the album before writing the songs.”
“I did everything backward,” she continues, “because throughout my career, I’ve always written the songs first and then figured out how they all fit together. This process has been so beautiful for me, full of learning, and I think it gave me more clarity and direction about where I wanted the songs to go. When I conceptualized it with the team, it was like, ‘What if you had a conversation with your inner child?’”
Thus was born Puerta Abierta, released Thursday night (April 9) under 502 Records with 11 tracks, including the previously released singles “Tierra Mía” and “La Mala Era Yo,” a norteño-inspired tune featuring Yuridia. Full of reflections on identity, resilience, tenderness and self-discovery — and infused with rhythms and native instruments from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and beyond — the album also features collaborations with the legendary Juan Luis Guerra on “Amor Bonito,” Venezuelan band Rawayana on “La Culpa,” and Argentine singer Nathy Peluso on “Gatita.”
Just like in the album cover and the previews she shared on social media, her “inner child” will appear in some way in the music videos.
“It’s not just an ode to my childhood,” García notes. “I think the inner child was the starting point for having conversations with her, telling her what I love today, what I’ve healed from what she experienced, and also embracing the things about her that I adored and had forgotten I adored… It quite autobiographical.”
Next week, the artist will embark on an extensive world tour that will keep her on the road for most of the year. Kicking off on April 17 at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, it currently includes stops in nearly 40 cities across Latin America and Europe, with more dates to be announced.
Below, Kany García breaks down five essential songs from Puerta Abierta. To listen to the full album, click here.
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