Con Alma – Magos Herrera & Paola Prestini

Con Alma is an artifact of emotional resistance. Born at the epicenter of isolation, this project by vocalist Magos Herrera and composer Paola Prestini subverts physical distance to find a sonic communion that transcends borders. The music here is not a passive refuge, but an active bridge built by more than 30 musicians—including Kinan Azmeh (clarinet), Romero Lubambo (acoustic guitar), Jeffrey Zeigler (cello), Vinicius Gomes (guitar), and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería—who collaborated remotely to transmute uncertainty into a cantata of hope.

The album articulates a narrative where the contemporary and Ibero-American traditions converge. Original pieces by Herrera and Prestini engage in dialogue with classics from the Mexican songbook, enveloped in chamber music textures and jazz elements that shun empty virtuosity. There is a luminous melancholy in Magos’ voice, which here expands amidst the choruses of the Young People's Chorus of NYC and the ensemble Sjaella, creating a soundscape that documents the triumph of the collective spirit over political and geographical fragmentation.

It is a multimedia experience that has evolved into a documentary format, as well as performances in global forums. Con Alma functions as an alchemical mirror: it reflects an image of our own fragility, but also of our capacity to cohere through art. It is a reminder that, even in the silence of confinement, music breathes and connects us as a single humanity.