June 19, 202406:00
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“The life of a superstar is not what I expected” shoots, without a filter, one of the Argentine artists of the moment. Maria Becerra She started 2024 with a performance before 50,000 people in Times Square, New York, and in March she became the first Argentine woman to sell out two shows at the River stadium; But she keeps her feet on the ground.
“Being famous has nothing to do with what I imagined”she is honest with a certain tenderness – because when she says it she remembers another version of herself that, full of illusions, dreamed of this moment – and is ready to talk with LA NACIÓN about the exhibition, fame and his projects.
Its story actually begins almost a decade ago with a couple of videos uploaded to YouTube. “I know what it’s like to have your house flood, to have the sewers not working properly, to not be able to buy you the toy you want.. I also know what it’s like to have sent me to a lot of castings and that no one gave me the ball.” Today that life is as distant as it is close to her: this month she has 15 dates in Spain and in September her world tour is coming up that includes the United States and Latin America, but María assures: “There is nothing like being at home.”
–You started making videos on YouTube at your home, in Quilmes, what is the difference between that girl who dreamed of being a superstar And your life now that you are famous?
–There are many things that are not as I imagined. That’s because as a girl you imagine many things and then you collide with the real world. That’s what it’s about: colliding with difficulties and not thinking that everything is rosy, as I thought at that time. I believed that if I was famous all I had to do was get dressed at home, go to a show and come back. It is not like this. You have to do a lot of things. There is a lot of preparation and rehearsal to be able to give a show. You have to go through a lot of stress. I still love it that way. I think that when after a lot of effort you achieve what you wanted, the satisfaction is greater precisely because you know everything it cost you. I really like things to cost me. I don’t like to suffer, but I do like things to be difficult for me.take me time: learn, make mistakes.
–Any teenager who sees you may think that your life is perfect, what is the B side of your fame?
–What is most difficult for me is when I am away from home. All of those things have a very lonely side. A very empty side that you have to understand. I had to learn to stabilize myself in those moments. I had to understand that this is what life is about: sometimes you are accompanied by your four dogs sleeping on you and sometimes you are alone in a hotel anywhere in the world, without knowing the language. Anyway, I always try to approach it in a positive way. Instead of getting anxious about feeling like a foreigner, I try to think: ‘Ok, how nice to be in a part of the world where people don’t speak my language and yet, I’m giving a show here.’ People from another country sing my songs!’. I am lucky to have been born in a time when there is the possibility of talking to my friends and family by video call. But it’s not easy to be far away. That’s what was most difficult for me at first – and it continues to be difficult – but I’m trying to handle it better and better.
–You have a very demanding career. Many musicians your age suffered from depression or physical problems due to pressure. How do you protect your mental health?
-Don’t know. I feel like it’s my personality. If I had that depressive tendency, I would surely fall into pits all the time, because this has its moments. I am a very calm, very serene person. I don’t make a problem of anything. Plus, I have a lot of character. From the first day I set my limits. If I don’t like something, I say so. I communicate what I don’t like to do. My team is like a family: I don’t have a team that wants to exploit me nor to tell me: “The song you released is not a hit as we expected” and put horrendous pressure on me. No. Everything is peaceful. If something doesn’t work… next time will be. We are people who vibrate on the same page.
–What makes you most proud of your success?
–What makes me most proud is knowing that my music lasts a lifetime and that when I die it will continue to be there. I flash It’s a lot to think that other generations will get to know me because my music will always be there. That is something very magical.
–And what scares you most about success?
–What scares me the most is losing my peace, that for me is the most valuable thing. I sleep 8 hours every day. I don’t have insomnia, I don’t have things that torment me at night. That is what I am most grateful for because I know that it is something that can end at any moment. I don’t want to be pessimistic, but who knows? Tomorrow they will find things for you to throw at you hate and you had a bad time. Sleep with your head on the pillow without anything tormenting me It is the best thing in the world and what I would never like to lose.
Although “La nena de Argentina” is going strong on stage, the truth is that little by little she began to transfer her music to the big screen. Recently, she joined the universe of Fast and furious as part of the soundtrack. Now, she surprised with her work as a dubbing artist in one of the most successful children’s film sagas of all time: she voiced a character in the fourth installment of Despicable Me 4.
–To your role as a singer you have now added that of a dubbing artist. What was the process of creating the character and voice of Poppy in Despicable Me 4?
–It was a super nice process, very fun. I learned a lot, I suddenly entered a world that I didn’t know and that had a lot to learn. I had two coaches with a lot of experience who accompanied me with a lot of patience. It was all very nice and very nice to navigate. I had a coaching since the casting. First I tried interpreting Poppy’s voice with an Argentine accent, with a neutral accent, without the seseo, and then with the seseo and the neutral accent and the latter remained in the film. It was very nice to understand the character and connect with her, because of his age, the emotions he experiences from her; She is half crazy, half sparky and understands that little world of hers well to be able to represent her the best she could; I think she was achieved in a very beautiful way.
–Did it connect you with your adolescence?
–Yes, a little yes, more than anything with my childhood. I see Poppy looking very childish. The dubbing connected me a lot with a “crazier” personality and I felt identified with the hyperactivity of the character. Poppy shows a kind of split personality and I felt represented. I was always, on the one hand, a very embarrassing girl and on the other hand I had a alter ego who liked to go out and sing and show another, more overwhelming character. She is the same, she has a hidden personality where she wants to be a villain, but in reality she is a super sweet and tender girl. When she was little she had in her head on the one hand the world of Hollywood superstar with whom he played on stage and on the other, at school, he was a completely different and embarrassing person.
–Does that still happen to you today on and off stage?
-Yeah! I feel like on stage I am a very different version of myself. I love that and it’s part of me, but it only comes to light in some moments: on stage and in other moments of sampling. I think it’s very cool to have different moments to bring different things to light.
–Does that protect you from exposure?
–I think it’s the show, it’s what one is born to do. To give an extravagant show with a lot of light and color, you need a personality to accompany it. There has to be something strong! That’s how I see it and how I like to show it. In my house I am the calmest and most serene person in the worldI talk softly all the time, I don’t like anyone speaking loudly, I like Zen music, I like to meditate, light incense…
-I don’t believe you!
-I swear. I’m on my feet all the time. My house is a temple, but outside I am a completely different thing.
–You can’t sustain that powerful energy on stage every day…
-No! I manage to sustain that energy all day and I die. On stage everything is bigger, more exaggerated, because there are people who are watching you from afar, so you have to make everything much bigger. Balance is super necessary.
–Would you like to focus more on acting?
-Yeah! I did a lot of musical comedy and theater and would love to get more into acting. As long as I am interested in the proposal, because I would like to do it well and in a professional manner. If a project comes along that I like, I’ll make the time. But it should be something really worth it because it should pause the music for a while. Both things at the same time would be very difficult to sustain. But I would love it.
