Entertainment
Camila Cabello's Miami is a place of constant transformation, much like the artist herself. Her Miami is a bottle-blonde fantasy with dark roots peeking through, and it lives in the neon sherbet bands that blanket the sky at dawn. Nestled on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, it's a place of warmth and clarity.
Unveiling Camila Cabello's Miami Through Her Art
Camila Cabello's Miami: A Blend of Cultures
Born in Havana to a Cuban mother and Mexican father, Camila Cabello spent her early years in Mexico City before moving to Miami at the age of 6. Her Miami is a place where she feels at home, a melting pot that understands all of her. "I'm so close to my parents," she says. "We have way more in common than we don't. I'm kind of like an old soul."This city of immigrants and strivers is defined by its fusions. Linguists have identified the Spanglish creole spoken here as an emerging English dialect. Camila Cabello called on L.A. hip-hop producer Jasper Harris and Pablo Díaz-Reixa to capture the chaos of Miami in her album C,XOXO. "Our overarching mission was to make something fresh," says Harris. "And a big part of the album that Pablo really pushed was contrast."Camila Cabello's Musical Journey in Miami
From her start in the X Factor-formed girl group Fifth Harmony to her solo career, Camila Cabello has been on a journey of self-discovery. Her 2017 hit "Havana" became her first No. 1 single and earned her a Grammy nomination. She scored another chart-topper with "Señorita" and paid tribute to salsa icon Celia Cruz on 2022's bilingual Familia.As Latin music experienced a global renaissance, Camila Cabello was figuring out where her art fit in. "As an immigrant, I don't feel like I completely fit in with people that grew up in the United States. I always feel in this weird middle ground where nobody is ever going to fully understand me," she says.Camila Cabello's C,XOXO: A Nocturnal Masterpiece
C,XOXO is an open-vein coming-of-age album written in the shadow of a public breakup. The album features a push-pull dynamic between romantic woes and a sense of power. "Gotta have a sense of humor when it comes to us / Don't know what the f*ck I'm doing," she professes in "Twentysomethings."One of the standout songs is "June Gloom," a sensual tour de force that alludes to an on-again-off-again relationship. "The hook lyrics were so vulnerable and brave in a way I hadn't seen from her yet," Harris says.Camila Cabello's Artistic Freedom
Camila Cabello may not fit neatly into the American pop ecosystem, but she has a dedicated fan base that rides for her experimental twists and turns. She writes for the Bad Bitch on Collins, the Daddy's Girl in Coral Gables, and the Strong Eldest Daughter."Now I just think about how much I love it and how much fun I'm having making it," she says. In unleashing her own freakness on C,XOXO, she invites her fans to do the same.Belonging, she realizes, won't be found in a genre or a corner of the industry, but in the world she creates in her own songs.
