Reyna Tropical’s New Song “Conexión Ancestral”
March 12, 2024 - By Psychic Hotline
The new song from Reyna Tropical is out today! “Conexión Ancestral” takes the listener to the ceremonial space of the club following the previously released singles, “Cartagena,” with its “ricocheting percussion and intertwined guitars and marimbas” (New York Times), and “Conocerla,” a “hypnotic and seductive slowburn” (Remezcla). Featuring a deep-house beat and dreamy loop of chords, “Conexión Ancestral” presents Reyna Tropical dipping into the sweaty dance world. Like Malegría itself, it celebrates life and the ancestral connection that we can find all around us: in clubs, through dance, and with each other. “Conexión Ancestral is about starting the journey towards being in relationship with another part of my raíces,” comments Reyna. “For me, that’s connecting with my Indigenous ancestors and the inherited knowledge that I carry through the love and listening of the land, its original stewards, and in turn with myself and my community. It’s about being willing to sacrifice everything I’ve ever known for the chance to be in reciprocity and trust with the earth, and allowing that relationship to be my guide towards belonging.”
Listen to Reyna Tropical’s “Conexión Ancestral”
“I’ve always wanted to have a home—a place or a sound or a person to go to—because I think our people, who are severed from our lands and our histories and our stories and our communities, have for generations not really known where to go,” explains Reyna. “There are times on stage where I can feel that my movement isn’t my movement. I can feel that I’m being moved by and I’m speaking for other people. I know in my body when my ancestors are there, when a decision is us.”
Led by guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Fabi Reyna, Reyna Tropical melds and remixes Congolese, Peruvian, and Colombian rhythms with the influential sounds of revolutionary artists like lesbian guitarist-singer Chavela Vargas. At once a vibrant arrival and an electrifying bridge, Malegría is akin to bittersweet, blending the Spanish “mal,” which means “bad,” and “alegría” which means “happiness.” Malegría is a celebration of a wide-array of cultural traditions, bringing their influences into a thematic narrative surrounding queer love, feminine sensuality, and the transformative power of intentional relations to the earth, spotlighting stories often pushed to the margins and offering them a sonic homeland. Reyna Tropical’s debut album, Malegría, is out March 29th on Psychic Hotline.
