Mexican Vocalist Aida Cuevas Meets Berklee on November 14

The Signature Series at Berklee will welcome Grammy Award–winning vocalist Aida Cuevas to the Berklee Performance Center, on Thursday, November 14, at 8:00 p.m. for a special concert.

Known as the “Queen of Ranchera Music,” Cuevas won her first Grammy in 2018 in the category of Best Regional Mexican Music Album for her first solo project, Arriero Somos Versiones Acústicas. The album is a collection of covers performed with guitar accompaniments. Ranchera music, which dates back to before the Mexican Revolution, began in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, where it was sung by farmworkers and ranch hands.

“Her dedication and passion are a symbol of the power and presence that Mexican women have had for many years on the international musical stage."

—Oscar Stagnaro, Executive Director, Berklee Latino

Cuevas began singing at the age of 11 and was later influenced by singer/songwriter Juan Gabriel, whom she first met in 1982 at age 19. “He was my mentor and the first major artist who believed in me,” she said in a 2018 interview with a Vancouver news outlet, the Georgia Straight.

Since that pivotal meeting, the singer has recorded 39 albums, won Grammy and Latin Grammy awards, and added multiple gold and platinum records to her library. “Her dedication and passion are a symbol of the power and presence that Mexican women have had for many years on the international musical stage,” says Oscar Stagnaro, executive director of Berklee Latino and professor in the Bass Department. “In a career spanning four decades, Mrs. Cuevas’s work represents the rich dimension and musical diversity of Mexico.”

Cuevas’s unique voice and style will be on display during the concert, which that include an ensemble of Berklee students. The show will feature popular ranchero songs such as "El Pastor," "México en la Piel," and "Bésame Mucho." Arranged by Berklee students, the concert is being produced by Stagnaro and Matthew Nicholl, dean of the Professional Writing and Music Technology Division.

Aida Cuevas Meets Berklee takes place at the Berklee Performance Center, located at 136 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, on Thursday, November 14, at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $10/$15 in advance and $15/$20 on the day of the show. Tickets are available online and at the Berklee Performance Center box office.