Malaka, the “powerful mommy” of urban life in Cuba

MATANZAS, Cuba. – Malaka (Jennifer Heydi González Cabrera), a Cuban urban singer, took her first steps in the choir of the Catholic church where she was taken as a child. Her voice stood out along with that of a classmate. Both quickly became the main singers of the choir.

However, years later, Malaka became a different version of herself than when she started: an empowered woman, without taboos, restrictions or ties, happy with what she has achieved. This is the artist who has a community that follows her and that she leads, sometimes even without wanting to.

―What is the current state of Malaka’s career, especially after having achieved several hits among the public?

―I’m in a very strange moment, which at the same time makes me very happy. I’m being very creatively free, exploring a lot; I don’t care about the genre of the song I’m going to release, whether it’s going to be successful or not, I don’t put pressure on myself, I enjoy it.

I recently opened a new YouTube channel, something coordinated with my company; we wanted to do it, to have my own channel to upload whatever I want. I want to make music thinking more about the world, not just about whether Cubans will like it, because, unfortunately, thinking only about the Cuban public limits your creativity and it doesn’t make sense if you know you can do more.

―Who is your music aimed at?

―When I compose, I don’t think about whether I’m going to direct my music specifically at someone. I try to go with the flow, with whatever comes to mind, with whatever mood I’m in, or whatever’s going through my head. I suppose that, by identification, young women and a slightly older generation connect with my music, although I also have male followers.

It makes me very happy when I feel that women who listen to me are empowered or justify being more daring, more spontaneous and free, or when a song takes them out of a mood. I consider that of the female artists [del género urbano] I am one of the most visible women in Cuba, but if you compare me with many men of the gender, most have a more powerful position and followers.

―Why did you say that you don’t consider yourself influencer?

Since it has cost me to get to where I am, I will not allow myself to not be free. The word influencer I’m scared of that. I know I’ve ended up influencing a lot of people. Most of the people who have approached me to tell me that I’ve influenced them in some way have mentioned positive things; that makes me incredibly happy. For example, girls who have written to me that they have felt more confident with their bodies have started training…

―How do you make your musical discourse understood as empowerment and not as sexualization?

―I don’t think about that, I just feel empowered when I make a song that touches that nerve, without being too demonstrative, because I don’t like that. I think that what I feel I transmit to other women; for that reason they feel empowered. Yes, I have had followers who, when I have made a song about sharing, do twerking and maybe they sexualized it a little.

I believe more in freedom, that’s why I also don’t like being called influencerbecause you get into this kind of dilemma. I don’t want anyone to be sexualized for me, I just want you to be comfortable with your body. If you do it and you feel good with X clothes, showing X amount of skin, let it be for that reason and not to sexualize yourself.

―Do you think that some types of audiences can be offended by the content of your songs?

―We are at a time when everything is offensive, even the most absurd, because we have become much less tolerant. I think that we have to be like this with situations that were allowed and wrong years ago, but human beings have a hard time finding a middle ground, a more rational one; I feel that we are going to extremes.

I don’t think it’s logical to offend the way I want to express myself or the way I see life, because it’s mine, it’s my consideration. I’m a woman who can speak very eloquently, or suddenly I can utter 40 bad words, because I don’t care, that’s my day to day life, I feel very free.

―How do you deal with criticism, especially on social media?

―It’s not linear, it depends on the mood you’re in, the vibe of that day… In general, I handle it pretty well, I don’t fight it too hard. I have my insecurities like everyone else, but I feel like I’m pretty confident, that helps me not to feel bad. It also depends on the way they say things. When something bothers me a lot, I just keep quiet. To block someone, it has to be for very strong reasons.

Twitter [actualmente X] It is a platform where I am very present, I have a fairly large account, and it was a great lesson in how to deal with criticism and, above all, the hate [odio]. In posts by people like Adele, for example, what are they going to criticize her for? However, you see that she has hate or pointless criticism, because people have a compelling need to give their negative opinion. In any case, I don’t consider myself to be an over-criticized artist.

―What song marked a before and after in your music?

―It is difficult, because, for example, Powerful mommy It’s a trap, a song that didn’t do the numbers of others like Diavola o Let thinkwhich are more cast-based and a little more popular, but it made people see me as a more empowered artist.

If we talk about results, well, there are a lot of collaborations that I have done. Let think It has also left its mark on me, I am no longer the “powerful mom”, now I am more of a “tanker”.

―What does it mean to be one of the few women who defends the urban genre in Cuba today?

―That has changed over time. At first I felt very special, but then it’s not so coolbecause sometimes it represents a pressure, more than for a male artist who is at my level of reach. There is more pressure on me, because I am a woman and they are always saying: “If you are the only one, how come you don’t have so-and-so’s numbers?”

In the end, I’m not the only one. There are a lot of girls making music, but they’re not as visible. What I think about is making music, not whether I’m representing women in the genre. I’d like to make my music, be happy, have more people listen to it every day, have my community be closer and believe in me more.

―What can the public expect in terms of projects for the rest of the year?

―I plan to continue releasing music. I don’t want to perform anywhere, but rather study a lot and remain in the state I am in, very free. On my YouTube channel people have fun, I make reaction videos, I talk about movies, I show them what my life is like, they see what the processes I have as an artist are like… I’m immersed in that, which takes up a lot of my time, but I love it. I’m generating a lot of content in general, I feel like I’m going crazy, but I’m happy.

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