Puerto Rican singer-songwriter iLe teases her third album Nacarile, which is to be released on October 21 via Sony U.S. Latin. The lead single “Traguito,” features Chilean musician Mon Laferte who expresses admiration for iLe’s talent and voice, “I like iLe’s voice, it has a lot of personality and I really enjoy the type of music that she makes. Although the song was already in the works, iLe invited me to write a new part of it so it was a challenge to add something more to a story that already existed.”
The Latinas have added their combustible energy to the classic bolero music. The lyric quotes parts of Puerto Rican writer Julia de Burgos’ poem “ Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta,” which translates to “I Was My Own Route.” iLe says, “Drinking is a pleasure as well as a right, which helps overcome chest pains that cannot be endured. If one knows how to love then they will also learn how to forget.”
iLe and Laferte have written a heart-piercing song that conveys both agony and hope. The lyrics reveal the pain of not being accepted for who you are, at the same time having the strength to get over that person by putting yourself above all.
iLe sings, “He says that I’m not easy, but how boring would I have been if I was, it wasn’t that I was difficult, it’s just that I was who I wanted to be”, “Dice que yo no soy fácil/ Y qué aburrido sería/ No es que yo fuera difícil/ Es que fui como quería/ Y por eso estoy aquí/ Confesándome de nuevo/ Pidiéndome otro traguito/ Haciéndome que le quiero/ Pidiéndome otro traguito/ Haciéndome que le quiero.”
The forthcoming album includes her previously released song “En Cantos,” featuring Natalia LaFourcad, which won a Latin Grammy in the Best Alternative Song category. iLe chose to name the album as a reference to her name and the Puerto Rican colloquialism “nacarile del oriente,” which roughly means “not at all.” She clarified in a statement, “It’s about accepting those moments where you feel a little lost – embracing that, but not staying in that feeling,” iLe said in a statement. “It’s like saying, ‘Thank you, I learned a lot, but no. I’m not going to stay there.’”
Watch the Official Lyric Video here:
