Music Review // Lexi Valentine "Niña Feliz"

 

Music is a form of language in itself.  As Lexi Valentine sings the lyrics to "Niña Feliz" in Spanish, the idea and emotion felt within the song can be expressed through the music itself.  Though, to be completely fair I do recognize that the word "Niña" means "Girl" and "Feliz" means "Happy", mostly because of being able to recognize "Happy Holidays" in Spanish.  So being able to piece together that title with the little bit of Spanish I know, you can sense that this song is about being happy because the music has an upbeat vibe as well.

There exists a certain level of pop music from the 1980's going into the 1990's that wasn't just mall pop, but it was the type of sound that defined an era of music.  Artists like Cyndi Lauper, Tiffany and Debbie Gibson all stood out and in the same way, Lexi Valentine resembles that time in a nostalgic type of way.  At the same time, there are elements of modern pop music in here, with this sounding like radio artists such as Olivia Rodrigo.

This song, as I am told, is about the time Lexi Valentine spent between Mexico and Canada when her father was having health issues, but it's also about just finding ways to carry the weight of the past with you but in a good way.  One thing that I've always kind of known and respected about Mexico as a culture is that they celebrate the lives of people when they die as opposed to mourning them.  And in some way, if you carry those memories with you, if you take that knowledge that person bestowed upon you, then that person truly never dies but rather stays alive with you.  That's the positivity that we need.

While this music video can contain some care-free dance scenes it also has close ups of hands just crushing fruit and letting it spill out.  I'm not sure why this is, but all of the seeds and everything this is likely to make some people uncomfortable.  But the idea of the song, to have that positive attitude in life and just to- as the old saying goes- make lemonade out of lemons feels like it can be brought upon by the music as well.   To find that positivity and to keep going is sometimes the most important thing there is.