Does it take “street” to rap? Meet the Peruvian meteoric rise: she sang with Yahaira and now she’s coming to the movies

Just a few weeks ago chinese cinnamon, Analucía Valdez Peralta’s alter ego, celebrated the million reproductions of the collaborative song “Acaríciame” with Yahaira Plasencia. Today, she packs her bags to record songs in Colombia. The 30-year-old singer acknowledges that she entered the artistic world very late with the release of “La purita verdad” in October 2020, but she also knows that her career is on the rise: only three years after her musical debut, she is already dabbling in acting with tape “The worst of my weddings 3″directed by Adolfo Aguilar and which will be released on July 27 in all theaters nationwide.

From a young age she followed the artistic path, but it would not be until her father told her to choose between acting or music that she would begin her journey through different scenarios. Her stage name is a mix between Canela, an affectionate name given to her by her grandmother because of her skin color, and China, as her friends call her. When she described the aromatic seasoning, she didn’t hesitate to use it as an alias.

“I really find it admirable that there is someone who opts for new faces and who, without knowing the artist other than his work, risks believing in a character like Canela China”, mentions the artist in an interview with El Comercio, regarding the opportunity she receives for the big screen.

“The difficult thing was to lose the prejudice that you had to “have a street” to do it, more than anything because marketing sells it to you that way”

—How was working on “Acaríciame”?

Just yesterday I was chatting with Sergio [George]and I told him that at the time I didn’t know if he was going to like my flow so that it would stay in the song, because the job was “Let’s see what you can do [por la canción]” and not a “Let’s do it with you”. I thought I was going to sing salsa and they told me “qWe want you to rap, because of the other there is already”. I had only rapped on one of my songs, so I asked for references to get that flow that Sergio was asking for, and he sent me “Ya no queda nada” by Tito Nieves with La India. “That is what I want”, he told me, but I did not do that. In the same way, I got into character and got into it.

The difficult thing was to lose the prejudice that you had to “have a street” to do it, more than anything because marketing sells it to you that way. I told Sergio that I didn’t have a “street”, and he told me: “A good artist is the one who puts himself in the shoes of whoever he has to put on and takes it out because he takes it out”. In doing so, it went well for me, and I did not feel that I was losing what was mine or turning into a Puerto Rican, because I am still a Peruvian who puts the flow in their own way.

—How did you feel after the controversy of the topic?

I knew that she was going to fall a lot of hate because they always criticize her. I have seen for many months that Yahaira is an artist who is focused on her career and on doing things well. Sergio George’s work is also impeccable, and being able to work with him on this latest production was the best. To me, taking a song and reversing it seems like a great idea as long as you make it your own. When it’s like karaoke to sing over I don’t feel like there’s a job, but this isn’t the case.

—There are several iconic bands in Peru that do covers, but male singers are not usually complained about when they cover songs.

It is true and it seems completely unfair to me because she is doing things well. It’s hard to be in the music industry here, but for women it’s harder because there’s more pressure. Yahaira is a pretty girl who sings well and in the song [“Acaríciame”] it is more noticeable because she dances, sings and does everything. Yes, there are large cumbia groups that do a lot of covers; In fact, we all do covers at some point, but what seems cool to me is when you make it your own, just like Marc Anthony did with a song by Juan Gabriel.

—Your career began in music, now you’re going to the movies. How did you get the opportunity to participate in the movie “The worst of my weddings 3″?

It fell out of nowhere, I was dying to have an opportunity and for that I am very grateful to Adolfo. I met him at an event where I sang at another colleague’s debut. Adolfo approached me, he told me that he liked how he showed me on stage. I told him that he had studied with Roberto Ángeles and Miguel Iza, and that if at any time there was an opportunity, he should call me. A couple of months passed and he told me that he had a character for me.

—Who do you play in the movie?

My character is Tania, who will be Carlos Palma’s sister, a Piurana who is supposed to be the same as Carlos’s character, but no. She will go in to stir up the chicken coop and, as Adolfo asked me to, she is practically like China Canela, a tender, sexy and funny character at the same time. Although music is my letter of introduction, my ideal dream is to be able to act, sing, write a book and many other things in reality.

—Which artists did you meet during the recordings?

There was Maricarmen Marín, who is super loving; Carlos Palma and Carlos Casella, who handle comedy very well; Milett Figueroa, whom she already knew from before; Ismael La Rosa, whom I used to see in “La Rica Vicky” when she was little. There were also actors who are not from Peru, like Gabriel Soto or Thalía’s sister, Laura Zapata, who was very supportive because it was my first film and advised me to have fun.

—You start in music in 2020 and just now in the acting world. How does it feel to record with artists who have been in the business for years?

It was great to be able to work with them, although it was hard for me to keep up with the comedy, because there were jokes where if you took a little longer, they wouldn’t come out. I have super-fun memories of the shoot, for example, with Laura Zapata, who was introduced to me by Adolfo, and with whom I shared scenes where it was terribly cold, and while I was wearing a short, she would look at me and say: “Ah, bastard, but how cold it is here”. I’m dying to see the movie, I haven’t done it yet because they want all the actors to see it together in the cinema, although there will be a meeting to see the trailer beforehand.

—And being under the direction of Adolfo Aguilar?

Adolfo has been super loving and patient. When I went to record, I found out that he always gives opportunities, as in my case. For example, there is Thiago Bernal, who was given a chance by Adolfo in the first film of “The worst of my weddings” and who now in the third film will be the boy who falls in love with me, even if it is minor, thus creating a situation very crazy. I really find it admirable that there is someone who opts for new faces and who, without knowing the artist other than his work, risks believing in a character like Canela China.

“Are you always Chinese Cinnamon?”

I am someone much more shy and full of doubts, China Cinnamon is not. I started very late in the artistic world because I felt a lot of doubts, I had too many insecurities, I didn’t consider myself a good singer and I was terrified of acting. As a result of a very toxic episode with a person, I missed a lot for a long time. Creating the character Canela China was risking it for what I love the most, a very deep side that was born to finish giving me that security that I did not have and launch myself into the world in the most honest way, which in turn is like a life saver for me. .

—Now that you got into acting, what will happen to your musical career?

I also wonder that. So far, I’ve been exploring and seeing where I feel most comfortable in terms of vocal performance, but I want to be clear. Now I realize that I like my musical side much more, although I don’t consider myself a reggaetonera, because it’s not my thing. What’s coming is that I’ll go to Colombia, and I hope also to Argentina, to lock myself up to work on new songs and to find myself musically. With this, I don’t want to say that I don’t like what I’ve done, but I feel that it’s not my label, and it’s time to work on building one.