Gracie Laboy
(Photo : Gracie Laboy's website)

Puerto Rican songstress Gracie Laboy shares her inspiration about her newest single "Boricua" through a one-on-one interview according to a published report in Be Latina. 

The Latina singer is one of the rising singers of today's generation who draws inspiration for her songs. She became popular last year after she released her hit songs 'Take it Slow' and 'That's How You Know'.

This time, Gracie is back again with a more powerful, empowering, and sensual bilingual single. In her new single, she combines reggaeton beat with Puerto Rico's unique sound of its native frog, the coqui.

She says that her newest single is something very personal for the Latina singer. The title of the song reflects a deep root of Puerto Rican heritage. It is derived from a Taino word which means "Land of the Brave People."  

The cover of her album also shows her great pride and respect for her culture. One of the photos in the album was taken by her grandfather on the island during the 1980s and one was personally taken by Gracie when she visited the island in 2018.

Nonetheless, here are the facts that you should know about the Latina singer and her newest single "Boricua":

Gracie Laboy's Passion in Music

During an interview with the Latina singer, she said that singing has been her passion since then as far as she can remember. However, she admitted that she realized she wanted to become a singer when she grew up as she toured Italy with the Children's Chorus of Washington.

She also shared her experience after seeing people crying while they were performing a town in Tuscany where no one spoke English. Laboy also mentioned that seeing how music impacted people's souls made her realize that music is something that she wanted to do forever.

Gracie Did Not Come from a Musical Family

The Latina singer said that neither of her parents are musicians but her grandmother was a singer and she has cousins from the Puerto Rican side who are also musicians. 

She doesn't know where she got her talent for music. However, even though her parents are not musically inclined, she is still happy because they support her in her career. Her family does whatever they can just to support her.

Her Inspiration for Writing "Boricua" and the Importance of the Coqui Sounds

As mentioned earlier, "Boricua" is a term that means 'Land of the Brave People'. Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Maria in 2017, the aftermath is one of her inspirations in writing the song.

Despite the challenges that Puerto Rico encountered including the recent earthquakes, Puerto Ricans remained steadfast and resilient. 

The coqui sounds in her album are originally taken from her phone when she was in Puerto Rico. The coqui sound and the rain reminds of her the noises and calls of people that are comforting her. She said that it's the same thing as the sound of the rain that makes some people feel at peace.

Gracie Embraces Her Latina Roots

Gracie shared that she grew up with her father speaking to her in Spanish a decent amount. She also learned how to cook Puerto Rican food from her Abuela. As she grew, she also learned on how to speak Spanish. She embraces the language, music, food, and everything about her Latina culture.

Moreover, Gracie Laboy is expected to become one of the most influential Latina artists this year following her recent release.