Becky G’s “Encuentros” and New Green Space Honors Her Roots

Becky G has always expressed her pride in both her Mexican roots and her hometown of Inglewood, California. The singer, whose real name is Rebecca Maria Gomez, demonstrates a deep connection to her heritage and community in everything she does. “Encuentros,” her fourth studio album and her second regional Mexican album, delves deeper into música Mexicana, and she recently returned to Inglewood in partnership with Vita Coco to open a green space at her former elementary school.

“In order to know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been,” the Mexican singer tells PS, paraphrasing an iconic Maya Angelou quote.

When Becky G opened a 2,100-square-foot greenspace at Oak Street Elementary School in Inglewood earlier this fall, her motivation was to address the need for greenspaces in the neighborhood. Latines make up 49.3% of the population in Inglewood, with a large majority being Mexican American. Lack of greenspaces in brown and Black communities is unfortunately quite common. In fact, it’s often referred to as “the nature gap.” Despite nature being a necessity — not a nicety — for every human’s health and well-being, 100 Americans, including 28 million children, lack access to local green space, with only one in three people in Latine communities living within a mile from a park.

“I don’t think we get to speak enough about it in depth, and it really is due to there just not being enough accessible information about the benefits,” she says. “I come from having [access to] these green spaces and I feel very lucky and very blessed that it’s a knowledge that was taught to me when I was young. I come from a family of gardeners.”

Becky G’s grandmother, who lives in Inglewood, attended the opening of the green space in Oak Street Elementary. The space features garden plots, compost bins, a farm stand, fruit trees, a water feature, reading nooks, a versatile outdoor classroom, and a play area for students and neighborhood residents to enjoy.

Growing up, Becky G remembers watching her grandmother prepare fresh salsas, as well as pulling certain ancestral herbs from her garden to whip up a remedy for every ailment or need.

“This goes even further back into my family lineage,” she says. “I mean, we’re talking about my Mexican Indigenous grandmother who would always tell me, ‘What the earth gives you is what’s best for you,'” she says. ” It was such a blessing to have been introduced to that knowledge so early on in life and to know that we can make an impact by doing that for the youth and communities that I grew up in is everything to me We all should be having our five to 10 minutes a day of getting some sunshine to ground ourselves.”

Becky G says she always feels grounded in her Mexican roots and culture. It’s one of the reasons why she’s thrived so much in the Latin music space. Last year, the singer released her first música Mexicana album, “Esquinas,” something she had been wanting to put out for a while. Leaning into the music she grew up listening to was heavily inspired by her grandparents. The artist felt so deeply connected to the genre she released her second música Mexicana album on Oct. 10.

“‘Esquinas’ is actually what set up ‘Encuentros.’ ‘Esquinas’ was me really opening up this box of vulnerability that I had access to in a lot of ways via therapy and via connecting with my fans but never necessarily in my artistry,” she says. “It was cathartic, and it was painful and beautiful at the same time, and I feel like I almost struck an artery. This bleeds culture. This bleeds community. This bleeds creativity that I haven’t really been able to access within myself until now.”

“This bleeds culture. This bleeds community. This bleeds creativity that I haven’t really been able to access within myself until now.”

While the genre has been taking off globally thanks to artists like Peso Pluma and Grupo Frontera, for Becky G, “Encuentros” is so much more than exploring a genre that she grew up hearing. Unlike the genres she began with, like pop and reggaetón, música Mexicana is like the blues music of Mexico. The songs are meant to speak to one’s soul as they tap into feelings of heartache and longing. In many ways, this album represents Becky G’s very own rebirth.

“I think everything happens for a reason because the way that I think about it, life is this process of becoming. Not necessarily becoming in ways where all these things are external, but I think it’s almost like figuring out who you’re not to become who you’ve always been deep down on the inside,” she says. “I feel like that’s what’s coming through today for me. When I get back to making music in other genres, I feel like I will exist in them so differently than I ever have before because of this very beautiful chapter in my life. That’s why Otro Capítulo is the name of the tour that we’re going on right now, because I do feel like I’ve shed so much skin and I’m turning a new leaf, and I feel the most me I’ve ever felt.”

The timing of the greenspace opening in Inglewood, the release of “Encuentros,” and Becky G’s upcoming “Otro Capítulo” tour feels divinely aligned. At the heart of it all is a common thread: her culture and the profound influence of her grandparents, who instilled a deep sense of Mexican pride in her. Each project serves as a tribute to her roots, beautifully displaying how her heritage continues to shape not only her music but also her commitment to community.”

“I feel like my grandparents have set me up in a way to go so far. I don’t think I would have been able to dream as big as I have without them. The sacrifice that they’ve made is a lot. When you think about the American dream, and I hear their stories, I’m like, this is everything but a dream,” she says. “You don’t get to see really the fruits of your labor until you’re at an age where you are now seeing your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren take the semillas (seeds) from those and say, ‘Okay, now we’re going to go even bigger,’ and that is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly.”

Johanna Ferreira is the content director for PS Juntos. With more than 10 years of experience, Johanna focuses on how intersectional identities are a central part of Latine culture. Previously, she spent close to three years as the deputy editor at HipLatina, and she has freelanced for numerous outlets including Refinery29, Oprah magazine, Allure, InStyle, and Well+Good. She has also moderated and spoken on numerous panels on Latine identity.