Ángela Aguilar may be an elegant interpreter of música Mexicana, a genre that her family has dominated for generations.
Yet when I sit across from the 21-year-old singer at a dining hall on Olvera Street, she exudes a commanding diva spirit that is all her own.
It is a fierceness that surfaces most prominently when the conversation turns to the business of music, her family’s legacy and her recent marriage to young Mexican singer-songwriter Christian Nodal.
When it comes to her latest album, “Nadie Se Va Como Llegó,” Aguilar’s 12-song set of romantic ballads, it’s clear the Latin Grammy-nominated singer is delving into music rooted in heartache — but she insists that the latest songs, colored by the agony of unrequited love, have nothing to do with her personal life.
“I’m not singing to anybody, I’m not answering to anybody,” declares Aguilar. “I speak through music, but I’m not sending messages to anyone except to let people know of my love of Mexican culture.”
That pride for heritage also comes from being part of a prominent musical dynasty. With conductor Gustavo Dudamel at the helm, she will perform two nights at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 15 and 16 with her famous family, including her hitmaker father Pepe and her brother Emiliano. Her late grandparents, Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre, were icons in both music and films; her mother, Aneliz Alvarez-Alcala, the matriarch of the family, oversees the family’s Machin Records.
Alvarez-Alcala also guides her famous daughter as a manager. It’s a role that, beyond the recording sessions, performances and red carpet appearances, took a challenging turn in recent years as Aguilar was bombarded with criticism online about her marriage, her vocal style — and just about everything else in between.
“Turmoil,” Alvarez-Alcala says, was at the epicenter. “People have been very opinionated about her personal relationships and it’s been very hard for her. Our family has always been very loved by the public. Those criticisms were so undeserved and hard. The way I see it, it made her stronger and more appreciative of the good things, moments and the people who love her.”
For Aguilar’s part, growing up in music was the norm, and her spotlight has expanded with each project. Childhood showcases with family led to a mesmerizing performance of “La Llorona” at the 2018 Latin Grammys, when she was met with a standing ovation. It was a seminal moment that marked her place in music, beyond just any nepo baby or child entertainer.
“I deeply admire her artistry and the impact she’s making in música Mexicana,” says Yvonne Drazan, vice president of Peer Music’s Latin Division, West Coast. “She represents a new generation of women reshaping the genre with talent, grace and vision.”
Drazan cites the range of Aguilar’s latest album, which she says “felt like a modern-day ‘Romances,’ much like what Luis Miguel did, reintroducing timeless Latin standards to a new audience with a young and fresh approach.”
Before recording her latest album, which she executive produced, Aguilar took time away from the family business to cope with the overexposure in the tabloids following her wedding to Nodal. In fact, it was her husband, she says, who encouraged her to “take time to enjoy life.” The newlyweds traveled to Los Cabos, spent time alone and sang to each other in their own space for inspiration — even if during a typical grocery store outing, as fans filmed their every move.
The sabbatical revived her passion for music — and it was support from family and friends that helped Aguilar find her footing once more. The great salsa singer Marc Anthony, who was in attendance at the Aguilar-Nodal wedding in the summer of 2024, was the reason that the Pablo Preciado-penned power ballad, “No Quiero Hablar,” made it on the new album.
“I’ve known Marc since I was 5 years old, so I’m super close to him,” says Aguilar, who concedes that she doesn’t often share her music with others. “One night we were having a party at Marc’s house, having so much fun and I got the courage to share with him some music. Two weeks later, I got a message about the song, and I [was] thinking he wrote me in error.”
The result is a lovelorn duet that is punctuated by the swooning harmonies of Anthony and Aguilar. “He worked on the song, changed the arrangement and when I heard his voice on it … well, it [was] ridiculous,” she says.
When it comes to being part of her family’s independent label, Aguilar says it’s not easy — in many ways not being on a major label goes against the current of the music industry, and that alone can make business difficult. In fact, she adds, her father has been on a mission to own masters of every one of his albums.
“My dad has been fighting,” she says. “He’s the owner of 27 masters, but he has more albums than that. And it’s similar for my husband — he doesn’t have one master in his career, and he’s one of the top-selling artists in Mexico.”
Aguilar recalls having a revealing conversation over dinner with an industry manager in regional Mexican music. “It’s hard to be around you guys and hear your conversations because for me,” he told her, “if I give my artist a watch, a car, they’ll shut up.”
Aguilar thinks often of young, inexperienced artists who didn’t have the privilege of being in a family of savvy entertainers — those who run the biggest risk of getting cheated out of royalties. It is why she’s plotting a foundation that provides education and support to burgeoning artists, so they don’t get exploited.
“When that person told me how he works with his artists, I was like ‘S—, this is crazy,’” she says.
As she builds on her leading and producing roles in music, Aguilar can always count on her own creative edge and her family’s legacy.
“Trees with roots don’t blow away,” she says as the interview comes to an end. Hovering nearby is an entourage of about half a dozen people, including a makeup artist who’s primed to make Aguilar’s next touch-up.
“Those roots are embedded within me,” Aguilar adds, “and that is what keeps me grounded, centered and real.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
