Thalia Reveals How It Felt To Work With Rock en Español’s ‘Crown Jewels’

Since Thalia burst onto Latin America’s pop culture scene in the late 1980s as a member of Mexican teen group Timbiriche, and then as a soap opera star, she has often collaborated with next-generation talent from Maluma to Sofía Reyes.

But on Thalia’s Mixtape (released April 28 on Sony Music Latin, alongside an accompanying Paramount+ series on May 2), the pop mainstay takes a different approach by re-creating classic rock en Español hits of her childhood, including Soda Stereo’s “Persiana Americana,” Aterciopelado’s “Florecita Rockera” and Hombres G’s “Devuélveme a Mi Chica.” On the lattermost, she even convinced the band’s David Summers to join her revitalized rendition.

Why revive the idea of the mixtape?

It was that little piece of you inside those songs [that] you would record and include in your playlist. The songs that were my life’s soundtrack were rock en Español. So this was about me looking for my teen idols and finding out: How did they write that song? How did their rebelliousness help us find ourselves? And how can a new generation connect with those songs?

David Summers is on the album, and Soda Stereo’s Charly Aberti is in the Paramount+ series. How did it feel to get their approval?

We’re talking about their crown jewels. These are rock en Español anthems for entire generations. But they also loved the idea of presenting them in another way to a new generation. Honestly, being able to sing with them but also vibe with them in a new way was mind-blowing.

Including the mixtape’s collaboration with Kenia OS, why do you collaborate with rising Latin artists?

It has always felt good to me. It’s a necessity. I think we’re better together, especially when it comes to young artists who go up against so much in an industry dominated by men. It’s important to have another woman backing you up.

Will there be a part two to this project?

More than a part two, I hope it inspires other artists. The first step was Thalia’s soundtrack, but I hope other artists come along and do their own mixtape.

This story originally appeared in the June 3, 2023 issue of Billboard.