Ali de León | Luna Stage

ALI DE LEÓN | LUNA STAGE

ALICE: We recommend listening to Songs on Site with headphones for an immersive audio experience.

MUSIC: SONGS ON SITE THEME PLAYS UNDER.
SEAGULLS FLY OVERHEAD. A TRAIN PASSES BY.

MICHAEL: From Cocotazo Media and You Don’t Know Jersey—

A BUS PASSES BY.

MICHAEL: —this is Songs on Site—

BIRDS TAKE FLIGHT. A CAR BEEPS. A HORSE (OR THE JERSEY DEVIL) RUNS BY.

MICHAEL: —where we explore the music and environmental soundscapes of the Garden State.

CONDUCTOR: Stand clear of the door.

MICHAEL: I’m your host, Michael Aquino.

COFFEE POURS INTO A MUG. SILVERWARE CLINKS AGAINST DISHWARE. KIDS ON A PLAYGROUND. A CAR PASSES BY. CRICKETS ON A SUMMER NIGHT.

MICHAEL: Hey, there. It's Michael Aquino, host of Songs on Site. We’ll get to part two of my interview with Ali De León in a moment. But first, I want to let you know about this episode’s sponsor—Luna Stage.

Based in West Orange, New Jersey, Luna Stage develops and produces vibrant plays about local and global experiences. The company is dedicated to eliminating barriers to participation in the arts and nurturing the next generation of audiences and artists. Learn more about Luna Stage at Luna Stage dot org.

MUSIC: “WE’RE FAR” PLAYS UNDER.

MICHAEL: We now pick up where we left off in the last episode,. Ali De León had just shared what she loves about being a bilingual lyricist and performer.

ALICIA: I love that I have two languages that are part of me and Spanish connects me to my culture, whether it's my mother's culture or my father's culture, ‘cause they're two different cultures, Dominican and Salvadorian. There's just something so special about that that connects me. To the world now, to the world that came before me, and that's gonna go to the future.

MICHAEL: Here’s the second half of my interview with Ali De León. Can you talk a little bit about hearing your music on Gentefied?

ALICIA: I met a producer and we worked on this song. And he has some connections. One of my friends told me about him. He heard my music and was like—okay, let's work on this. So we worked on it. I was like—awesome. And then he's like—oh, this might, might get a placement. And I'm like—oh, that's so cool.

I was so happy because I remember having a conversation with my best friend and I was like—I want my song to be on a show. I want Netflix. We had a conversation afterwards, and she was like—you know, when you first said that I was, like, how is this girl gonna get a song on Netflix? It was just awesome. It was like—oh, that's possible. And then just the episode itself, ‘cause they play a good portion of the song. And the two women on the screen, they're also Dominican. And I'm like—this is amazing. Like, these are my people.

MICHAEL: Oh, that just gave me chills.

ALICIA: Yes.

MUSIC: “MITOLIN” TRANSITION.

MICHAEL: Can you describe your Jersey City Music community?

ALICIA: I usually get invited to different things by, like, word of mouth. I did Groove on Grove, and that was a person in Instagram who follow me was, like— oh, would you like to do it? I'm, like—sure. But I feel like most of the scene is, like, rock. There is hip hop, but there it is just not so present.

MICHAEL: But how about In Full…

ALICIA: In Full Color. Basically, it's more of a theater company, right? They do some music stuff. And it is something that is for our voices to be heard in the music sense, you know? But it's not, like, the main focus.

MICHAEL: Do you think New Jersey music has a sound? If so, what is the Jersey sound to you?

ALICIA: We're so diverse. This is why I love being from here ‘cause we're so diverse and I feel like even my Dominican culture, like, we're diverse, too, in the Latin community. So I feel like New Jersey, Jersey City—it's all these sounds, all these infusions. It sounds similar to New York, but not, it's not New York. And, I mean, growing up, the one sound that was coming up was the Jersey club sound. But that was a little more for, you know, the youngin’ crowd.

MICHAEL: Could you describe the Jersey club sound?

ALICIA: It's like a fast-paced, beat, rappy, dancing. It was big with the DJs. They would, like, remix songs and make it faster, like, freestyle songs, R&B songs, and make it faster. So it's very dancey. There's a lot of bass and a lot of, like, movement to it.

MUSIC: “MISTOLIN” TRANSITION.

MICHAEL: Your parents' music from El Salvador and from the Dominican Republic. You mentioned their influence on you. Can you talk a little bit about that?

ALICIA: So my dad is Salvadorian. We grew up with him. He would listen to like rock and stuff like that, but there's not that I know of a national sound for El Salvador. It's like cumbia, which is very similar to the neighboring countries. But Dominican Republic also has—they don't have cumbia, but they have merengue and they have salsa and bachata. I feel, like, Dominican Republic is, like, the gate of the world when it comes to sound. Like the merengue, it comes from a cumbia, and even, like, the bachata, boleros these have been in Latin America for a while, so they definitely do influence me in different ways because my dad is more of a cumbia side. But then, Dominican Republic is also very rich, but I would say more aggressive. Definitely. Raw, like really raw. I dissect music so much, and I love knowing songs in different genres. You know, there's a difference in the beat, but it comes from an origin, you know?

MUSIC: “MISTOLIN” TRANSITION.

MICHAEL: You reminded me when you were talking about merengue from Dominican Republic, how it influenced Puerto Rico. In the 80s there was a big influx of Dominican people to Puerto Rico, and they were bringing merengue to Puerto Rico.

ALICIA: You have them coming in. Mixing in with the culture and then coming to New York. NuYorican coming in, like, they were doing English with these merengues too. It's beautiful. It's storytelling in a way where you have no limits. So, you can do whatever you want.

MICHAEL: Especially when you're making your own music and you make it on your own time.

ALICIA: Yeah. Yeah.

MICHAEL: Ali, are you ready to perform—

ALICIA: (overlapping) I’m ready. Let me get some water.

MICHAEL: —your music at Luna Stage in West Orange?

ALICIA: Yes, I am. Cheers.

MICHAEL: Cheers. Let's do this.

THEME MUSIC TRANSITION.

MICHAEL: And now, enjoy “Déjate Llevar,” written by Ali de León.

ALICIA: This song is called, “Déjate Llevar.” It's a story of not letting go of a love that was so dear.

MUSIC: “DÉJATE LLEVAR” LIVE AT LUNA STAGE.

ALICIA:
No tires la toalla al suelo | Don’t throw in the towel
Que yo aun te quiero | That I still love you
Que yo aun te deseo | That I still want you
No finjas cuando te veo | Don’t pretend when I see you
Que esto es un sueño | That this is a dream
Esto no es un sueño | It isn’t a dream

No le corras mas | Don’t run anymore
Sienteme, sienteme, sienteme, sienteme | Feel me, feel me, feel me, feel me
Déjate llevar | Go with the flow
Esto es agua pa’ beber | This is water to drink
No le corras mas | Don’t run anymore
Sienteme, sienteme, sienteme, sienteme | Feel me, feel me, feel me, feel me
Déjate llevar | Go with the flow
Esto es agua pa’ beber | This is water to drink

Esto no es veneno | This isn’t poison
Vitamina pa’ tu credo | Vitamins for your creed
Dame de tus besos | Give me your kisses
Pa’ revivir lo nuestro | To revive what’s ours
Como una flor | Like a flower
Nace y muere por calor | Made and destroyed by heat
Hubo malos tiempos | There were bad times
Pero el abril siempre llego | But April always came
No me falta na’ | I’m not missing anything
Solo tu | Only you
Donde estas | Where are you
En que ruta te perdi | In which path did I lose you
Tu no te acuerdas cuando dije si | You don’t remember when I said yes
Jardinero’e mi jardin | The gardener of my garden
Eres mi calma y en el fin | You are my peace and in the end
El comienzo del vivir | The start of my life

No le corras mas | Don’t run any more
Sienteme, eh, eh, eh, eh | Feel me
Déjate llevar | Go with the flow
Esto es agua pa’ beber | This is water to drink
No le corras mas | Don’t run anymore
Sienteme, sienteme, sienteme, sienteme | Feel me, feel me, feel me, feel me
Déjate llevar | Go with the flow
Esto es agua pa’ beber | This is water to drink
Esto es agua pa’ beber | This is water to drink

No le corras mas | Don’t run anymore
Sienteme, sienteme, sienteme, siente | Feel me, feel me, feel me, feel
Déjate llevar | Go with the flow
Esto es agua pa’ beber | This is water to drink
No le corras mas | Don’t run anymore
Sienteme, sienteme, sienteme, sienteme | Feel me, feel me, feel me, feel me
Déjate llevar | Go with the flow
Esto es agua pa’ beber | This is water to drink

MICHAEL: Ali De León, it's been a pleasure spending time with you at Luna Stage in West Orange for Songs on Site.

ALICIA: Thank you so much. It has been an honor for me to be here.

MICHAEL: And now, the most important question is—where are we going to eat?

ALICIA: We gonna go eat tacos right next door. Taco locos.

MICHAEL: Nice. All right, let's go.

MUSIC: SONGS ON SITE THEME (INSTRUMENTAL) PLAYS UNDER.

MICHAEL: Thanks for listening to Songs on Site. I’m your host, Michael Aquino. Songs on Site producers are Michael Aquino and Dania Ramos for Cocotazo Media; and Ed Magdziak and Alice Magdziak for You Don’t Know Jersey. This episode was sponsored by Luna Stage in West Orange, New Jersey. Special thanks to Ari Laura Krieth, Liz Cesario, and Lee DeCecco. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. If you’d like to hear bonus content with the featured musicians, you can unlock it by supporting us at Patreon dot com slash Cocotazo M. We’ll be back in two weeks with the next episode of Songs on Site.

MUSIC: SHIFT IN THEME MUSIC (INSTRUMENTAL) CONTINUES UNDER.

ALICE: Audio editing, design, mixing, and theme song by Michael Aquino. Story editing, script writing, and additional audio editing by Dania Ramos.

The featured musician was Ali de León. “Déjate Llevar” lyrics and vocals by Ali. Backing track by Donavelo. Learn more about Ali de León at linktree slash Ali de León music dot com. You can find a link to her website and our website in the show notes.

This episode was recorded at Luna Stage in West Orange and was produced in Essex County, New Jersey. Both locations are situated on the traditional territory of the Leni Lenape people.

As always, thanks for listening.

KIDS ON A PLAYGROUND. A CAR PASSES BY. CRICKETS ON A SUMMER NIGHT.

MICHAEL: Now, do you have any questions about the questions?

ALICIA: It's the same ones you emailed me. Right?

MICHAEL: Completely different. I'm switching it up on you. Quick-fire. BMW, Mercedes-Benz?

ALICIA: Neither!

MICHAEL: Neither!