Julieta Venegas Percevault is a Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer who specialises in pop-rock-indie music in Spanish. She embarked on her musical journey by joining several bands, including the Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Venegas is proficient in playing 17 instruments, including the acoustic guitar, accordion, and keyboard. Born in Long Beach, California, Venegas grew up in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico since the age of one month old, and began playing instruments at the age of 8 when her parents first sent her to piano lessons. In the years that followed, music became her passion. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Additionally, she has a twin sister named Yvonne, who is a photographer.
In 1997, she released her debut album, “Aquí,” to favourable reviews in Mexico from the rock audience. Her subsequent production, “Bueninvento” (2000), also produced by Gustavo Santaolalla, garnered praise from international critics and was considered the third-best album in the history of Spanish Rock by Rolling Stone. In later years, she established herself as one of the most prominent songwriters in Latin pop, achieving fame in 2003 in Latin America and Spain with the album “Sí” and singles such as “Andar Conmigo” and “Algo está cambiando,” which topped the Latin Billboard charts.
In 2006, she released her most successful album, “Limón y Sal,” which remains her best-selling album to date. “Limón y Sal” attained Platinum status in several countries, propelled by the worldwide hit “Me Voy,” certified Gold in Mexico. Her first live album, “MTV Unplugged” (2008), sold more than 400,000 digital copies, earning a diamond certification in Mexico. Under Sony Music, Venegas released her fifth studio album, “Otra Cosa” (2010). She followed with her sixth studio album, “Los Momentos” (2013), marking a transition to indie pop. Her seventh studio album, “Algo Sucede” (2015), debuted at number 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart.
Since 2017, she has resided in Buenos Aires, where she made her debut as a theatre actress in the play “La Enamorada” by Argentine writer Santiago Loza. Additionally, she released the album “La Enamorada” (2019), featuring themes based on the play. It is estimated that she has sold 10 million records worldwide. Throughout her career, she has earned eight Latin Grammy Awards, seven MTV Awards, seven Broadcast Music, Inc. Awards, five VEVO Certified awards, three Oye! Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, and over 100 other awards. She has also received accolades such as the Master of Latin Music Award at Berklee College for her career and a Musa Award in honour of her compositions.
She had described the inspiration for her music with the following quote: “I mostly aspire to be a storyteller. I loved people like Suzanne Vega, and Lou Reed, or Cat Stevens, but it never occurred to me to write in English. I started listening to people like Silvio Rodriguez, who wrote some wonderful lyrics. When I went to live in Mexico City, I met a lot of people who helped and influenced me, like Café Tacuba, Gustavo Santaolalla, and they helped me to find my voice. Gustavo produced my first record, Aqui, in 1998, which was very important for me.”
