Camila Cabello: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

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Camila Cabello performs a Tiny Desk (home) concert. / NPR

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Tiny Desk is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with an "El Tiny" takeover of the (home) concert series, featuring J Balvin, Camila Cabello and several more musicians from all corners of Latinidad.

To the beat of her swishing hips and swaying percussionists, Camila Cabello's famous "Half of my heart is in Havana" reverberates across this musician-packed Miami set, with an at-home ease that feels novel for the global popstar.

Born to a Cuban mother and Mexican father in Havana, Cuba, Cabello is no stranger to blending borders and connecting worlds. As the final performance in our Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, her El Tiny concert epitomises the cross-cultural, transnational musical identities we've centered over the course of the series. Each unique arrangement of her universal hits represents and explores a new facet of the identities and experiences that make up Cabello.

These stripped-down renditions of her hits "Havana," "Real Friends," "Señorita" and "Don't Go Yet" include more Latin instrumentation than the recordings — presumably bringing them closer to sounds that were first introduced to her as music during her childhood in Havana, Mexico City, and Miami.

The interlude featuring a sacred Afro-Cuban Santería chant and the following performance of the unreleased, Mariachi-based "La Buena Vida," firmly root Cabello's El Tiny performance within two cultural traditions that don't typically glitter under the harsh lights of a global stage.

Here, we find Camila on the precipice of a voice that magically layers pop with tradition, holding all parts of a complex identity in seamless harmony. Flanked by Cuban congueros and Mexican mariachi, all aglow under the Miami sun, Camila Cabello's heart has never felt more whole.

SET LIST

• "Havana"
• "Real Friends"
• "Señorita"
• "Don't Go Yet"
• "La Buena Vida"

MUSICIANS

• Camila Cabello: vocals
• Edwin Carranza: bass/music director
• Marcus Kincy: keys/glockenspiel
• Chris Johnson: drums
• Luke Iono: guitar
• Yisel Duque: vocals
• Jackie Mendez: vocals
• Alex Garcia: guitar
• Camilo Velandia: guitar
• Daniel Lopez: percussion
• Joel del Sol: percussion
• Gerardo Rodriguez: trumpet
• Mayerlin Carrero: trombone
• Luisi "Rosca" Beltran: saxophone
• Cheche Alara: accordion, rhodes
• Jimmy K. Cuéllar: violín
• Luis Zambrano: violín
• Ángel Guzmán: violín
• Gustavo Zambrano: violín
• Saúl Ruiz: violín
• Gustavo Hernández: guitarra
• Jason Franco: vihuela
• Albert Jimenez: guitarron
• John Vargas: trompeta
• Grover Castro: trompeta
• Music Production: Cheche Alara, Ricky Reed
• Music Director & Arranger: Cheche Alara

CREDITS

• Video: Justin Francis
• Audio: Lawrence Manchester
• Video Production: Hidden Pictures
• Camera Op: Alexandra Vivas
• Backline Techs: Okwa Andrew, Edward Mendoza
• Recording Engineer: Ryan Cecil
• Playback/Recording Engineer/Editing: Mike Kopulos
• Monitor Engineer: Taylor Holden
• Production Manager: Chris Coffie
• Steadicam: Zach Burgh
• A Camera AC: Joe Ariberto
• B Camera AC: Alex Cristofoli
• Digital Imaging Tech: Leungson P. "Coco"
• Gaffer: Ricardo C. Lopez
• Grip: Brian Sills
• Swing: Brandon Vencino
• PA: Jonathan Ruffini
• PA: Kevin Cuenca
• Art Director: Luis Roman
• Art Assistant: Joel Figueroa
• Colorist: Marshall Palante
• Location: Soho House Miami Music
• Transcription: Boh Cooper

TINY DESK TEAM

• Producer: Anamaria Sayre
• Video Producer: Maia Stern
• Audio Mastering: Andy Huether
• Alt.Latino 'El Tiny' Team: Felix Contreras, Reanna Cruz, Anaïs Laurent, Stefanie Fernandez
• Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Bobby Carter, Kara Frame, Josh Rogosin, Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis
• Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
• Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

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