The story of María de los Ángeles Becerra, better known as Maria Becerra (Argentina, 2000), could be the plotline of a youth fiction story: a teenager who starts making videos on Youtube and ends up creating a community of thousands of followers that allows her to launch her career as a singer and perform not only in her country but in venues all over the world.
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In Becerra’s case, the musical explosion happened in the middle of the covid pandemic, when her songs began to accumulate views day after day. “I became very well known during the lockdown and it wasn’t tangible for me, I saw it in the numbers, but I wasn’t aware of that success, I didn’t quite understand it because we weren’t going out, there were no shows, no contact with people,” she explains to La Vanguardia. “Then we came out of the pandemic, I had 22 shows, I started touring and it was quite overwhelming, difficult, because it was a lot of work all at once, traveling and being away from home all the time. It was very hard at first, but I managed to stabilize,” she recalls.
Since then, her career has only followed an upward trajectory. She has performed duets with artists such as Camila Cabello, J.Balvin, Rauw Alejandro, or Bad Gyal, among many others, her songs and albums have reached the top positions on Billboard and Spotify, she has completed three music tours and we even saw her debut as a coach on the Spanish edition of ‘La Voz’ in Sebastián Yatra’s team. And this at only 26 years old.
Among her closest projects is visiting our country to perform, among others, at the Poble Espanyol in Barcelona on July 22 as part of the BARTS Festival. “I’m very excited to come back. I want to learn some words in Catalan to be able to say something during the show,” she says, thrilled to visit not only the venue where she will sing but also the interior of the Sagrada Familia, one of her pending goals.
I go to the psychologist and psychiatrist
Known as ‘La Nena de Argentina’, the artist is a true role model for younger audiences, something she is very aware of. “I take that into account especially in my communication and in the topics I comment on. I am responsible with my words, I take care of what I say, I am aware and when I speak I try to be honest. I always go with my truth,” she reflects on this acquired responsibility.
Her position as an idol is also very demanding, especially within the ecosystem of new generation stars who must balance their artistic side with almost constant exposure on social media. How does María Becerra take care of herself in this regard? “I found the balance, I put priorities in order and I am always accompanied by my family, my friends, my work team and also professionals. I go to the psychologist and psychiatrist, I am very aware of my mental health and of giving myself my time and space. Although I work a lot, I also try to give myself a lot of self-love and have quality time with the people I love, be present when I am with someone, look them in the eyes, pay attention and get out of automatic mode a bit as a survival method. Sometimes we get into that to keep going with everything, but I try to get out of there,” she explains.
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This mental and spiritual care also involves a close relationship with the Catholic faith, although the singer, who defines herself as “re-believer,” does not hesitate to clarify where her beliefs lie: “I feel that the Church as an institution does not represent me in several things. I am a strong defender of the LGTBIQ+ community and I feel there are many things about the Church that I do not agree with. I think God loves us all equally and accepts us all, wants us to be happy, good to others regardless of your sex, your gender or who you sleep with. So there are things I absolutely do not agree with. I love and believe in God and, above all, in the Virgin of Luján, who I feel saved me when I was unwell.”
What María Becerra refers to is the hospital admission she suffered a year ago in which she almost lost her life. As she revealed on the RTVE program ‘La Revuelta,’ an internal hemorrhage, resulting from an ectopic pregnancy, led her to a critical state. In the artist’s own words to David Broncano, “I almost died.” In fact, the young woman has suffered four pregnancy losses which, as she has shared, will prevent her from becoming a mother naturally. Nevertheless, her bond with her partner, singer J Rei, whom she has been dating since 2022, remains unbreakable despite these harsh experiences.
La Nena de Argentina is going through an exceptional professional moment, like many of her Latin American peers, whose songs top the global charts. “What is happening is incredible. Before it was something hard to believe for everyone and now suddenly all the Anglo artists are coming to look for us, we don’t have to go look for them. They are interested in our culture and many are learning to speak Spanish. And we owe that to a lot of incredible artists, like Shakira, Daddy Yankee or Benito (Bad Bunny). What he did at the Super Bowl was amazing. That there are people in the United States listening to salsa or saying they were going to learn Spanish to pronounce the lyrics during the show, it’s crazy,” she says excitedly, aware that “a lot of it is due to the trend of being Latinos, but it doesn’t matter because what it brings behind is incredible. It’s a great contribution to culture.”
And while she enjoys being at the crest of the wave and the sweet moment of the Spanish-speaking music community, María Becerra looks forward to her upcoming concerts in Spain not only to reconnect with her audience but to enjoy “the gildas, the gazpacho, the tinto de verano, the pa amb tomàquet, and the Iberian ham and chorizo,” which, as she declares, “I love.” There is no doubt that La Nena de Argentina knows what’s good.
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