María Natalia Lafourcade Silva, born on February 26, 1984, in Mexico City, Mexico, is a prominent Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter who has established herself as a significant figure in the Latin American pop rock scene since her debut in 2003. She performs with her band, Natalia y La Forquetina, and her vocal range is classified as a lyric soprano.
Born into a musical family, Lafourcade's father, Gastón Lafourcade, is a Chilean musician, and her uncle is the writer Enrique Lafourcade. She received her early education at the Instituto Anglo Español, a Catholic middle school, where she pursued various artistic disciplines, including painting, flute, theater, music, acting, piano, guitar, saxophone, and singing. At the age of 10, she began performing with a Mariachi group.
Lafourcade was raised in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico, where she studied music under the guidance of her mother, María del Carmen Silva Contreras. Inspired by artists such as Gloria Trevi and Garibaldi, she developed her musical talents. Her mother, a trained pianist with a specialization in musical pedagogy, created the Macarsi Method for musical education, which she adapted for Natalia's rehabilitation following a forehead injury sustained from a horse.
In 1998, Lafourcade joined a girl trio named Twist, but the group disbanded the following year due to a lack of success. At 17, she received an opportunity from Loris Ceroni to join a pop/rock group, but instead, he encouraged her to pursue a solo career. Ceroni produced her debut LP under the Sony Music label, which was recorded in Italy and co-written with Aureo Baqueiro. The album, featuring a blend of pop, rock, bossa-nova, and Latin rhythms, includes notable tracks such as "Busca Un Problema," "Elefantes," "Te Quiero Dar," "Mírame, Mírate," and her major hit, "En El 2000."
In 2003, Lafourcade was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Best New Artist category for her debut album. She also contributed to the soundtrack of the Mexican film Amar te duele and recorded "Un Pato" for the movie Temporada de patos. At the 16th Lo Nuestro Awards, she was nominated for Rock New Artist but lost to Alessandra Rosaldo.
Her accolades continued in 2011 when she won the Best New Producer of the Year award at the Indie-O Music Awards for her work on Carla Morrison's album Mientras tu dormías. In 2005, she released her second album, Casa, credited to Natalia y La Forquetina, which showcased a more mature, rock-influenced sound while retaining elements of pop and bossa-nova. The album, produced largely by Emmanuel del Real of Café Tacuba, features the lead single "Ser Humano" and the follow-up "Casa." Aureo Baqueiro also contributed to the production.
On June 2, 2006, following a tour of Mexico and parts of the U.S., Lafourcade announced her decision to leave La Forquetina to focus on her solo career. The band's final performance took place on August 18, 2006, in San Luis Potosí, and shortly thereafter, Casa was awarded the Latin Grammy for Best Rock Album by a Duo or Group with Vocal in September. A documentary about the band aired on MTV Tr3s in the fall of 2007, showcasing their experiences on the road.
In addition to her solo work, Lafourcade has collaborated with various artists, including Liquits on "Jardin," Kalimba on "Dia de Suerte," Control Machete on "El Apostador," and Reik on "Amarte Duele." Her contributions to compilation albums include "Y Todo Para Que" on Intocable's X and "Piel Canela" on the Tin Tan tribute album, Viva Tin Tan. In 2011, she collaborated with Los Daniels on the music video "Quisiera Saber."
After a year apart from La Forquetina, Lafourcade recorded an instrumental album titled The 4 Seasons of Love under the Sony BMG label and penned the lyrics for "Tú y Yo," featured on Ximena Sariñana's self-titled album. In 2008, she performed on Julieta Venegas' MTV Unplugged album and DVD, both artists gaining recognition for appealing to a hipster audience.
Lafourcade's 2009 release, Hu Hu Hu, reached the top 10 in Mexico and was produced by Emmanuel del Real, Marco Moreno, and Ernesto García. The album earned a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Album at the 2009 Latin Grammy Awards and for Best Latin Pop Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Club Fonograma recognized it as the second-best album of 2009 and the seventh-best of the decade.
In 2012, she released Mujer Divina, a tribute album to Agustín Lara, and followed it with Hasta La Raíz in March 2015. The album's first single, "Nunca Es Suficiente," was released on February 10 and gained significant popularity, reaching No. 5 on the Viral 50 Global Spotify Chart and No. 1 on the Viral 50 México chart.
