Vogue Values 2021: Rosalia Vila Tobella
Vogue Magazine has selected 4 cover stars for their “Vogue Values 2021” January edition of the magazine based on the 4 stars’ individuality, creativity, inclusivity, independence of spirit, and leadership. The stars that Vogue chose for this series suggest some “thrilling changes” that they expect to be brought in as we zoom into the coming new year. They featured Frances McDormand, Naomi Osaka, Paloma Elsesser, wrapping up the special issue cover series with an interview of Rosalía, 27 year old Spanish award-winning singer songwriter from Barcelona known for latin, flamenco and pop fusion music. Her interview was written by Vogue Contributor, Julyssa Lopez.
Rosalia Vila Tobella was born on September 25th, 1993 to an Asturian father and a Catalan mother in Barcelona, Spain. She got into professional music around the age of 16 in 2009, starting with musical education at the Taller de Músics. There, she studied for 6 years before attending the Raval School and then transferring to the Superior School of Music of Catalonia. While Rosalia has been active in the music scene since 2013 with experience in flamenco, even working as a teacher for the art form, she did not become known until 2018. That is when her collaboration with former boyfriend C. Tangana on “Antes de Morirme” (2016), a Spanish song, gained momentum through being featured on the soundtrack of Netflix show “Elite”.
Upon their first meeting, interviewer Julyssa Lopez and Spanish singer Rosalía greeted each other at the Mercer Hotel where Rosalía was staying that October weekend. The multi-lingual artist chatted about her Italian food craving from earlier that morning as she considered her options for Halloween and decided on visiting the Abracadabra, a New York City Flatiron District costume emporium. There, Lopez and Rosalía talk about what brings the Spanish artist inspiration for her many costumes in her music videos and Rosalía divulges the readers and the interviewer by saying: “I think about what I’m communicating, what’s underneath… What’s the treatment? What ideas are there? Am I going to be dancing or performing? It’s kind of instinctive… It’s about how things make you feel when you see them. What colors grab your attention, how a texture makes you feel when you touch it. I love things that are really structured or really loose—I’m not really about finding a middle ground. I like extremes.”
Rosalía has collaborated with J Bavin, Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, James Blake, Travis Scott, Daddy Yankee, and Pharrell Williams amongst many others. She has been awarded with an astounding 9 Grammys, eight of which are Latin Grammy Awards. It is her 2018 album “El Mal Querer” that shot her upto fame and recognition alongside the Netflix show soundtrack feature. But there is yet much criticism she has faced, from cultural appropriation to pop culture and the fusion of different art forms that she brings to the table. She is a staunch believer in eliminating barriers in all art forms but understands that barriers aren’t always erasable due to privilege and availability of sources and funding.
You can read the full article here to continue reading about Rosalia’s aims with her unique musical genre, spending Halloween and Christmas at home while socially distancing in this era, and ending up on the Vogue Values 2021 cover for the special January issue. Let us know who else you would like to read about here or in the comments.
Credit: Annie Leibovitz/Vogue Jan 2021
