Ely Guerra

Ely Guerra
Background information
Birth name	Elizabeth Guerra Vazquez
Born	(1972-02-13) February 13, 1972
Origin	Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Genres	Alternative Rock, Pop rock, Mexican rock, Jazz
Labels	EMI, BMG, Homey Company
Website	ElyGuerra.com

Ely Guerra (born Elizabeth Guerra Vázquez, February 13, 1972) is a Mexican singer-songwriter who was raised in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Life and career

Daughter of Alberto Guerra and Gloria Vázquez, Ely lived the first years of her life in Monterrey, where she was born, before moving to San Luis Potosí and then to Guadalajara, due to her father's work. It was in Guadalajara where she first discovered her passion for music. Ely wrote her first song at age ten.^[1] Ely attended school at The Evergreen State College in Washington. In 1986, Ely was the backing vocalist of the band Carmín.

At the age of fifteen, Ely decided to follow her dreams and look for opportunities in Mexico City. At age 20, she signed her first contract with BMG. Recorded in Spain and produced by Teo Cardalda, her debut album Ely Guerra was released in 1992. However, the album failed to achieve the expected success.^[2] After finishing her contract with BMG, Guerra signed with another record label, EMI. In 1996, Ely moved to London to work on her next record with Scottish producer Sandy McLelland. Her second album Pa' Morirse de Amor was released in 1997. "Ángel de Fuego" and "Peligro" were released as singles to promote the album.

In August 1998, Ely and Julieta Venegas appeared on the cover of TIME's Latin American Edition and were named "The Most Promising Performers in the Mexican Rock Scene".^[3] Recorded in New York and produced by Andres Levin, her third album Lotofire was released in 1999. The album spawned three singles "Tengo frío", "Yo no" and "Vete".

In 2001, Ely contributed with a cover of "La Tumba Falsa" to the Los Tigres del Norte tribute compilation El Más Grande Homenaje a Los Tigres del Norte.^[4] In 2002, her albums Pa' Morirse de Amor and Lotofire were re-released. The same year Lotofire was edited in the United States by Higher Octave, the label also released a 12″ compilation of remixes titled The Lotofire Mixes. In 2003 a compilation EP titled 4 was released in Argentina and Chile. It contained songs from Pa' Morirse de Amor and Lotofire.

For her next record Ely worked with five different producers. Sweet & Sour, Hot y Spicy was released in 2004. The singles were "Ojos claros, Labios rosas" and "Quiéreme mucho". In 2005, Ely received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album for Sweet & Sour, Hot y Spicy.^[5] In 2007, Ely released her first live record Teatro Metropólitan.

Ely left EMI and created her own label Homey Company. In 2008, Ely started working on her next record. She asked several male musicians to send her an harmonic sequence that she would use as a base to compose the songs for the album. Some of the collaborators were Enrique Bunbury, Juanes and Gustavo Santaolalla.

Ely's fifth album Hombre Invisible was released in 2009. In October 2010, Hombre Invisible won the award for Best Alternative Music Album at the 11th Latin Grammy Awards. Hombre Invisible was also nominated for Best Recording Package.^[6]

The same year, Ely released a version of the popular song La Llorona in the album Bimexicano, Nuestros Clásicos Hechos Rock.^[7] In the fall of 2010, Ely appeared on the cover of T Magazine. In October 2011, Ely sang the Himno Nacional Mexicano in the Pan American Games closing ceremony. A jazz version of Hombre Invisible, titled Invisible Man, was released on November 22, 2011.

In November 2012 Ely participated in a tribute to Chavela Vargas with Eugenia León and Tania Libertad. The event took place on November 27 in Carnegie Hall^[8] and on December 5 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.^[9][10]

During February 2013, Ely released her first live DVD, Ciclos, recorded live at Mexico city's Teatro Metropólitan on December 9, 2011. On July 29, it was confirmed that Ely had finished production of 3 tracks for her new album.^[11] A year later in July 2014 Ely released the live album El Origen.

Ely Guerra was named a UC Regents’ Lecturer for 2015-2016.^[12] As part of this she visited a Spanish 150 class at UCLA in 2015.^[13] “[She] is an internationally acclaimed artist whose artistic and intellectual interests include literature, film, art and fashion, and who has used them all for positive statements on women's independence and creativity,” said Professor Héctor Enrique Calderón Valle, chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, who hosted her in his class.^[14]

Discography

Studio Albums

• Ely Guerra (1995)
• Pa' Morirse de Amor (1997)
• Lotofire (1999)
• Sweet & Sour, Hot y Spicy (2004)
• Hombre Invisible (2009)
• Invisible Man (2011) Re-release Jazz version

Live Albums

• Teatro Metropólitan (2007)
• Plug and Play (2007)
• El Origen (2014)

DVD'S

• Ciclos (2013)

EPs

• 4 (2003)

Collaborations

Soundtrack Work

In 2000 Ely composed the song "Dime cuándo comenzó el dolor" for the Amores perros movie soundtrack.

In 2001 Ely wrote the theme for the film De la calle.^[15]

Ely was the voice of Grace in the dubbed Mexican version of Disney's movie Home on the range. She also contributed vocals for the soundtrack.

In 2007, "Bésame" was featured on the soundtrack of the Mexican TV series S.O.S.: Sexo y otros secretos.

In 2008 she covered Selena's Bidi Bidi Bom Bom for Los Campeones de la Lucha Libre Soundtrack.

In 2010 Ely sang the song "Amorcito corazón" for the 2013 film Reencarnación.

In 2012, Ely contributed vocals to the main theme of the Mexican animated movie El Santos vs. La Tetona Mendoza.

Touring and Performances

Vive Latino

Ely has participated in this festival in the years 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2014. During her performance at the Vive Latino 2005, Ely had a wardrobe malfunction, exposing her right breast. During the Festival Vive Latino 2006, Ely had a guest appearance during Kinky's performance of "¿A dónde van los muertos?".

Latin Grammy Nominations

References

Further reading

• Caballero, Jorge. Ely Guerra Interview (in Spanish). La Jornada, 2002.

External links

• Official Web Site
• Ely Guerra on Facebook
• Ely Guerra on Twitter
• Ely Guerra on Myspace
• Official Fan Site