One year after the release of Vendrán Suaves Lluvias (2025), Silvana Estrada has taken her acclaimed album to numerous countries, venues and formats, from the Teatro Metropólitan in Mexico City to La Cigale in Paris. Touring the world with her music already felt like “a gift from life” to the Mexican singer-songwriter, but the six nominations her sophomore LP received for the 27th Latin Grammy Awards, which take place this Thursday (Nov. 12) in Las Vegas, is “the cherry on top.”
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Estrada is competing in major categories like album of the year, record of the year and song of the year (for “Dime” in both cases), as well as best singer-songwriter album, best singer-songwriter song (“Dime”), and best roots song (“El Alma Mía”) for her independently produced record. Adding to the good news is her recent appointment as the first creative director of Latin music for the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil).
“For me, all of this is much more than I ever imagined,” Estrada tells Billboard Español in a video call interview. “It’s the cherry on top of something very beautiful that was already happening.”
Her new role with the LA Phil involves curating and creating projects for venues like the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford, where Estrada has performed over the past three years with projects such as “Canto En Resistencia” and collaborations with Panamanian icon Rubén Blades and jazz artist Cécile McLorin Salvant. She has also worked with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles.
“It’s a luxury and a dream. For me, it’s truly the ideal job,” she adds. “Being able to call the people I love, the people I admire, and those I believe are truly changing the sound of Latin America — or updating and elevating it — is incredible. It’s proven that Latin America isn’t just one sound or one thing, it’s truly an infinite musical field. Being able to work with that and bring it to venues I love is a privilege.”
Estrada, who won the Latin Grammy for best new artist in 2022 and has since received nine more nominations (including this year’s), also opened a new chapter in the journey of her second album with a special expanded edition titled Vendrán Suaves Lluvias (y el tiempo prudente), released in October with new songs including “Pensarte” and “Todo Baila,” the latter in collaboration with M. Ward.
Before assuming her new role with the LA Phil, the 29-year-old artist will perform at the Latin Grammys and make her debut at Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional on Dec. 12 and 13 for the grand finale of her tour and the most significant stage of her career thus far. Afterward, she plans to take a sabbatical year away from the stage, as she confirms to Billboard Español.
Below, Estrada expands on the end of one chapter and the beginning of another for Vendrán Suaves Lluvias, her six Latin Grammy nominations and her new role with the LA Phil.
Many wonderful things have happened for you in the last year. How do you feel about all the achievements and challenges that have come your way?
Very happy, fulfilled and proud! It’s been so much work! I haven’t stopped performing, giving interviews, going into the studio, recording remotely. I haven’t stopped for ten years! I’ve been very focused, very grounded, saying: “This is my life, how great!” Everything I dreamed of is happening organically, without compromises, making the music I love, in the way I believe in. I’m exhausted, but happy. As soon as I step onto the stage, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, and the exhaustion disappears.
How do you receive the invitation from the LA Phil?
For me, it’s a luxury and a dream. It’s truly the ideal job. I’ve been working with the LA Phil for a few years now. I feel like I know the materials and tools well to work with them. At the same time, I feel deeply honored; out of all the people they could have called, the fact that they reached out to me to bring my vision of what Latin music is — to tell our stories, to expand the picture of Latin America — is incredible. Our region is infinite, so how do you approach the infinite? I think [Gustavo] Dudamel, along with the LA Phil, has done a beautiful job of bringing these stories and creating these spaces to work on and showcase the pride and identity of the Latin American diaspora in the U.S. For me, it’s one of the greatest privileges of my life.
What does this new role entail?
I’ll act as a curator while also creating projects. I think it’s about inventing or imagining concepts that enrich identity — asking ourselves what it means to be Latina or Latino — and, based on that, imagining and proposing ideas. I have to contribute ideas, and then the incredible LA Phil team executes them. I’m there to provide my imagination, creativity and dream big.
How will you balance this new role with your other commitments? How long will your new appointment last?
I think it will be two years. It will align beautifully with my other commitments because next year will be a sabbatical year away from the stage, which is perfect because I’ll have time — especially mental time. I’m looking forward to coming home, sleeping and living a slower life, having time to imagine and think about all these things I want to create. You’ll find out more soon, but during my sabbatical year, I have many other beautiful projects that don’t involve touring. The timing of this invitation is perfect.
What do the six Latin Grammy nominations mean to you?
For me, it’s an enormous source of pride. Not even in my wildest dreams did I think I would be nominated in categories like record, album and song of the year, which I always saw being awarded to artists backed by major record labels and teams of hundreds of people. In my case, I’m an independent artist; it’s just three people handling everything. Vendrán Suaves Lluvias is an album that was recorded across five countries over three years. It’s a very ambitious album. It was a lot of work and a massive investment — it was crazy! The six nominations are the cherry on top of something very beautiful that was already happening.
In addition to your own tour, you’ve joined Mon Laferte on her Femme Fatale Tour in the U.S. as a guest and opening act for several of her shows. How has that experience been?
It’s been wonderful. It’s truly a brilliant idea. I’m happy, and I love Mon! She’s a spectacular woman. We’re roommates now — we sleep on the same bus, drink tea, sometimes beer. I already loved Mon so much, but now she’s become my family. I’m very inspired watching how she works, her team. She’s incredible and super generous.
What can you tell us about the two closing dates of your tour at the Auditorio Nacional?
I’m preparing something very special. For me, those two nights will be a journey through ten years of my career. These days, people lose perspective, but for me to fill two Auditorio Nacional dates without promotion, without having a billboard on the street — it’s thanks to the people who bought tickets. These shows will be my way of thanking everyone for their support over these ten years. I can’t reveal much because it’s a surprise, but there will be very special moments where I’ll honor my beginnings — from those days with my Venezuelan cuatro to the orchestra.
