Original article: Daniela Flor de Abril presenta «De norte a sur», un encuentro musical entre Chile y Perú

Chilean Singer Daniela Flor de Abril Launches Debut Album «De Norte a Sur» Merging Chilean and Peruvian Musical Traditions

After years of traveling, engaging, listening, and collaborating with musicians tied to both traditions, Daniela Flor de Abril presents «De norte a sur», her first studio recording.

The artist leads a project deeply connected to Peruvian criolla music, which uses the dialogue between Chile and Peru as a starting point to develop its own sonic identity.

Recorded at Estudio Madre Selva, the album features original compositions that explore various expressions of Latin American root music, including the Peruvian waltz, festejo, landó, marinera, cueca, and tonada.

Rather than merely reproducing these traditions, the album seeks to engage with them from a contemporary and authorial perspective: «The concept that runs through all the songs is ‘encounter.’ The encounter between two brother countries, Peru and Chile; the encounter of roots with the new; and the encounter between different musical genres that, while having their own identities, can converse and coexist,» expressed the artist.

«De norte a sur» also represents the culmination of a personal and artistic search developed over years, marked by the discovery of new music, interactions with their creators, and integrating those experiences into a unique voice.

«This album is a snapshot, a first ‘thesis’ of years spent searching, traveling, encountering, listening, and understanding. It reflects what I have learned and how I internalized it: from what was lived, heard, felt, and ultimately made my own (…) I am creating to leave a testimony, and anyone who wants to listen is welcome,» the composer and singer stated.

Present Poetry

Chilean poetry also holds a significant place within Daniela Flor de Abril’s universe, influenced by authors like Stella Díaz Varín, Pedro Lemebel, Gabriela Mistral, and Violeta Parra.

Their perspectives on love, identity, territory, memory, and everyday life have enriched how the singer-songwriter approaches lyrics and crafts her songs.

Musically, this pursuit is expressed through guitars, percussion, and structures associated with traditional music. However, the goal was not to reconstruct the past but to work with the memory of these musics and carry them into new spaces.

Thus, Peruvian and Chilean roots coexist with contemporary arrangements and an interpretation shaped by the singer-songwriter’s personal experience.

The sonic development involved a close group of musicians who actively participated in the arrangements and the crafting of each song. Each of these tracks contributes a different perspective to the same dialogue between Peru and Chile, tradition, and the contemporary.

From this foundation, the album also aims to recognize the connections between both cultures and how music can become a space to meet and celebrate their differences.

«I hope the audience takes a piece of Peru and Chile in their hearts. That they can feel that these two countries are much closer than we sometimes think, that we are deeply similar, and that in the end, we laugh and cry for the same things,» the artist concluded.