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Gloria Trevi

 
Artist: Gloria Trevi
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Similar Artists:

Noelia, P!nk, Gwen Stefani, Shakira, Ana Gabriel, Selena, Lucia Mendez, Marisela, Kim Wilde, Belinda Carlisle

Performed Songs By:

Armando Arcos, Gloria Trevino, Oscar Mancilla, Southern Rail

Worked With:

Sergio Andrade

Formal Connection With:

Alberto Barros
See Gloria Trevi Lyrics
  • Active: '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Latin
  • Instrument: Vocals, Main Performer, Performer
  • Representative Albums: "Qué Hago Aquí?," "Una Rosa Blu," "De Pelos: Lo Mejor De Gloria Trevi"

Biography

Often hailed as "the Mexican Madonna," Gloria Trevi was not only one of the most daring and cutting-edge Latin stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s; she may very well be the most controversial figure in the history of Latin pop and rock en español. In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the Mexican singer's name was repeatedly dragged through the mud because of a major sex-related scandal; Mexican law enforcement officials accused Trevi and manager/ex-husband Sergio Andrade of sexually abusing and imprisoning adolescent girls--and in the Latin American media, the Trevi/Andrade scandal has been as huge a story as the O.J. Simpson trial was in the United States in the mid-‘90s (minus the racial element). Regrettably, the abundance of sordid, disturbing headlines surrounding Trevi and Andrade have often overshadowed the importance of her sometimes sociopolitical music, which could be quite challenging and provocative. Trevi was born Gloria de los Angeles Treviño on February 15, 1970 in Monterrey, Mexico, an industrial city in the northern part of the country. The singer had a rough childhood; she was quite poor, and her parents (both of whom allegedly mistreated her) divorced when she was 10. But none of those things discouraged Trevi from becoming seriously interested in the arts. As a pre-teen, she studied ballet dancing and learned to play the piano; eventually, she learned to play the drums as well. Trevi was not only interested in Latin music; she was seriously into American and British rock and listened to Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Deep Purple, Pat Benatar and Janis Joplin (among others) extensively. Against her mother's wishes, Trevi left home when she was only 12 and moved from Monterrey to Mexico City to pursue a career in the arts. At first, life in Mexico City was a struggle for Trevi, who survived by doing everything from singing on the streets for money to selling tacos; she also taught aerobics for awhile. But her career started to take off when, in 1984, a 14-year-old Trevi met producer Sergio Andrade, who was about 28 at the time and went on to become her manager and mentor as well as her husband. After briefly singing with the all-female group Boquitas Pintadas in the mid-‘80s, Trevi became a full-time solo artist and, with Andrade's help, recorded her debut solo album, Que Hago Aqui?, in 1989. Released on an independent Mexican label, that album and its lead single "Dr. Psiquiatra" (which made it to #1 on the Latin charts) were a smash--and in 1990, Trevi landed a deal with RCA/BMG's Latin division. By 1993, she had sold more than five million albums overall. The Mexican Madonna was selling out large venues all over Latin America, where she embraced mostly Spanish-language material but also performed covers of songs by Zeppelin, the Doors and other English-speaking rockers on stage. Between her albums, live performances and racy pin-up calendars (which sold millions of copies), someone who had been dirt poor as a child had become one of Mexico's wealthiest, most affluent and famous women. Even in the early ‘90s--long before her well publicized run-in with the law--Trevi was extremely controversial. The thing that made her so shocking to social conservatives in Mexico and other Latin American countries was her image--an image as defiantly and blatantly sexual as Prince or Madonna. Like Madonna--who she has often been compared to--and Prince, Trevi promoted sexual freedom in a very in-your-face way. Trevi wasn't the only female artist of Mexican descent who was often compared to Madonna in the ‘90s; the late tejano star Selena (a bilingual Chicana from Texas) was also described as one of Madonna's Mexican counterparts. But Selena, for all her sex appeal, was never as controversial or over-the-top as Trevi, whose live performances went out of their way to shock, taunt and offend social conservatives. Trevi's antics included wearing a bandolier of condoms across her bare chest and bringing young male fans on stage so that she could strip them down to their underwear. But there was more to Trevi than shock value and titillation--much, much more. Her material often had a decidedly feminist outlook, and she brought a sociopolitical perspective to topics like out-of-wedlock pregnancies, drugs and abortion. Upsetting social conservatives was exactly what Trevi set out to do; in many respects, she was the Mexican equivalent of a Riot Grrrl. Some Latino journalists have compared her to Irish agitator Sinead O'Connor--a very outspoken feminist--and Trevi was often quoted as saying that she hoped to run for president of Mexico someday. In fact, one of her pin-up calendars depicted her as a nude presidential candidate. The singer's career was seriously interrupted in the late ‘90s, when Mexican law enforcement officials accused Trevi, manager/ex-husband Andrade and choreographer/backup singer Maria Raquenel Portillo, a.k.a, Mary Boquitas, of corrupting minors, sexual abuse and kidnapping. The authorities' main witness was singer Karina Yapor, who was only 12 when, in 1996, she left her native Chihuahua to live with Trevi and Andrade in Mexico City. Yapor went to them for musical training, but Mexican officials alleged that Trevi and Portillo (who recorded a solo album for Sony's Latin division in 1995) brought the aspiring singer to Mexico City in order for her to have sex with the much older Andrade. Yapor was only 13 when she became pregnant--allegedly by Andrade--and she has since written a book about her experiences with Trevi and Andrade, who she accused of "horrible physical and psychological abuse." Subsequently, the case against them became even stronger when two other aspiring Mexican singers, Karola de la Cuesta and her sister Katia de la Cuesta, came forward and made allegations of sexual abuse against Trevi and Andrade. Trevi hired the de la Cuesta sisters as backup singers when they were still adolescents; Mexican police have alleged that Trevi was actually recruiting them for Andrade's sexual pleasure. And in 1999, another teenage singer who Trevi allegedly recruited, Delia Gonzalez, told Mexican television that Andrade forced her to make a pornographic movie in San Diego, CA and that he "raped me for nine months…He would get mad and spit on me, he would strap me, he would lock me in a room." Between Yapor, Gonzalez, the de la Cuesta sisters and Andrade's ex-wife Aline Hernandez (who made many of the same allegations of sexual abuse), Mexican law enforcement felt that the case against Trevi and Andrade was incredibly damning. Once praised by social progressives for encouraging sexual liberation and female empowerment, Trevi found herself being accused of promoting sexual enslavement and female oppression. Nonetheless, Trevi still had her share of diehard fans who refused to see her as villain; some fans have argued that she was manipulated by Andrade and was very much a victim herself. But Trevi's detractors, including Yapor and Gonzalez, have asserted that she knew exactly what she was doing and was a very willing accomplice in his alleged crimes. The Laredo Morning Times quoted Hernandez (who has often described ex-husband Andrade as a sadistic, controlling misogynist) as saying, "I think Gloria arrived as innocent as the rest of us were. If Gloria contributed to all this, it is because (Andrade) made her ill, turned her, trained her, educated her in his way." When prosecutors accused Trevi, Andrade and Portillo of crimes that were major felonies under Mexican law, they denied all charges and ended up fleeing to Brazil. In early 2000, they were apprehended in Rio de Janeiro, where they vowed to fight extradition back to Mexico. Trevi was being held in a Brazilian federal prison when she became pregnant; at first, she claimed to have been raped by a prison guard, but Trevi subsequently recanted that story when DNA tests proved that Andrade was the father of Angel Gabriel (the baby son she had given birth to). Exactly how Trevi became pregnant with Andrade's son behind bars is unclear; officially, she was denied conjugal visits, although there was speculation that Trevi and Andrade bribed a guard (who arranged for them to have sex). Some Brazilian prison officials have alleged that Trevi became pregnant on purpose through artificial insemination, possibly because she believed that getting pregnant would help her avoid extradition. The Brazilian government wasn't quick to hand the alleged offenders over to the Mexican authorities; in April 2000, a Brazilian federal court ruled that the evidence against them needed to be studied extensively before Brazil could agree to Mexico's extradition request. But in late 2002--after almost three years behind bars in Brazil--Trevi, Andrade and Portillo finally agreed to quit fighting extradition and returned to Mexico to stand trial. In Mexico, Trevi's return was every bit the media circus that the O.J. Simpson trial had been in the U.S., and some Mexican intellectuals argued that the country's media were paying way too much attention to her case--often at the expense of serious political and social issues that needed to be addressed. To be sure, the return of Trevi, Andrade and Portillo was the top story in the Mexican media, just as the Simpson case had dominated the U.S. media in the mid-‘90s--and like Simpson, they had a "dream team" of high-priced defense attorneys (at least 12). In late 2002 and 2003, Trevi awaited trail in the Aquiles Serdan prison near Chihuahua. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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Gloria Trevi

Gloria Trevi in 1994 concert.
Background information
Birth name Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz
Also known as Gloria Trevi
Born February 15, 1968 (1968-02-15) (age 41) Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
Genres Rock, Pop, Alternative
Occupations Singer-songwriter, writer, philanthropist, actress, TV hostess, music video director
Years active 1989 – present
Labels Sony Music Ariola 1989-2004, Univision Music Group 2005-2008, Universal Music Group 2005-
Associated acts Olga Tañón, Chenoa
Website http://gloriatreviweboficial.com

Gloria Trevi (born Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz on February 15, 1968) is a Mexican pop-rock singer-songwriter. She was described as the "Supreme Diva of the Mexican Pop" by the music channel VH1 and sold over 12 million records worldwide 1.

Contents

Biography

Born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, she left Monterrey at the age of 12 to pursue a career in Mexico City,[1] where she met her future manager Sergio Andrade. Before that she had sung and danced on the streets for spare change, teaching aerobics and serving quesadillas at a food stand. In 1985, she was a member of a short-lived girl group named Boquitas Pintadas.[1] After the break up of the band in 1988, Gloria Trevi approached Sergio Andrade for the production of her first solo album, "...Qué Hago Aquí?".[2] She is now married to Armando Gómez and has two children. She now resides in McAllen, Texas.

Debut

Trevi released her first album in 1989, ¿Qué hago aquí?. The album scored an instant number one hit, "Dr. Psiquiatra", and four other songs from the album climbed the charts. Trevi followed her first record with Tu ángel de la guarda, which was more successful than the first. "Pelo Suelto" became her most widely known hit, reaching number one all over Latin America and Spain as well as becoming popular with the Latino population of the United States. Her third album, Me siento tan sola, was released in 1992 garnering another hit, "Zapatos Viejos". All three albums were recorded in Los Angeles.

Lyrics

Though her lyrics were heavy sexual references, direct or indirect, she also aimed at exposing hypocrites, addressing the upper class, hunger, prostitution, religion and war deaths, issues few wanted in Mexico to confront at the time. Thus she made powerful enemies, including the Mexican government. Trevi also became known as a challenger to the machismo ideas of many of Mexico's men, breaking social standards and taking a feminist stand in many of her songs, while exploring sexuality in a way no other female Mexican entertainer had attempted. To taunt social conservatives, she engaged in antics such as stripping male members of her audience. Despite the way she portrayed herself on stage, she was very popular with Mexican and Latin American children. It was common for girls to imitate Trevi's concert attire.

  • "A Gatas", an attack to those who suck up to the wealthy. In the song she says she would "prefer to walk like a cat on all fours than be like the upper class", and knocks those trying to keep in fashion by saying, Prefiero ser naca que ser una tarada. She goes on to trash those who suck up to people with fancy last names (the rich) commenting they are involved in drug trafficking.
  • "Qué Bueno Que no fui Lady Di", she would rather be a "regular person" than to be Royalty since she would not be a good example. Gloria also states that she has her own opinions and she would never let anybody tell her what to say or feel. Therefore, Trevi is unwilling to compromise herself for the Royal Family.
  • "El curita, la niña y la loca" is a song recorded in 1996, when Gloria shows her thoughts about the love between people of the same sex and teenagers.
  • "Todos me miran" (2007) Is Gloria Trevi's most recent successful single, which brought her to fame for second time in all Latino America, Spain, and the US.

In other songs, she talks of children screaming in shops that they are penniless, or screaming out the window how lonely she is, or that her blood boils every time she meets a man chosen for her against her will, or entering the church, on her knees, screaming, and refusing to repent for her sins, or screaming to the psychiatrist ("Dr. Psiquiatra") that she is not insane but quite desperate to live her own life.

Trevi also, however, showed herself to the public as a girl who could break down and cry at any minute and about anything. Many times during television interviews, she would end up crying when hosts and interviewers mentioned her childhood.

Techniques

Gloria Trevi employed unique recording techniques. Many of her songs utilized background chorus and uncommon antics along with sounds. In "Dr. Psiquiatra" she starts the song with bottles of glass breaking. In most of her songs, she shouts incessantly; except in Hoy no voy a Gritar, where she remains silent for children who have died as forced soldiers, among other things.

Film and calendars

Trevi then filmed a movie, called Pelo Suelto. In it, she participated with Humberto Zurita. The film topped the Mexican box office, setting new box office records. Her second movie, also named like her song, Zapatos Viejos, was released, acting alongside boxing champion Jorge "el Maromero" Paez.

Gloria Trevi also released a calendar, which was considered by fans and critics to be very suggestive and sexually oriented. After the initial success of the first one, Gloria released several calendars in the following years. Her calendars were the first to be released in Mexico, and every calendar sold around 200,000 copies.

Touring

In 1992, she began a tour all over the Caribbean and South America, which took her to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Venezuela and Chile.

Meanwhile, she kept talking in public about such things as teen sex, abortion, drugs, AIDS, prostitution, panhandling, and gay, women's, and children's rights.

Scandal

For years, rumors and speculation surrounded Gloria Trevi. In 1998, Sergio Andrade's former wife published a book claiming that Andrade would pick up teenage girls and lure them into a web of sex and slavery by promising to make them superstars. According to the book, named De la Gloria al Infierno, Trevi was also a willing participant of Andrade's scams, and she had fallen in love with her manager, supposedly participating in her manager's sexual orgies and slavery acts with the teenage girls to please him.

Around 1999, many of the girls who were allegedly abused escaped from Andrade and exposed on television stories of horror and violence. Andrade and Trevi fled from Mexico. She was believed to be hiding in McAllen, Texas, stopping in Spain and Chile before they were declared, along with a third accomplice named Mary Boquitas, as fugitives of the Mexican judicial system.[3] Soon after, Karina Yapor, a girl from Chihuahua, Mexico, gave birth to a baby boy she alleged to be Andrade's son. By this time, Trevi, Boquitas and Andrade were the talk of every Spanish tabloid television show in the United States, and most of Latin America. Trevi, Andrade and the rest of their 'troup' soon escaped to Argentina, where the remaining girls escaped.

Capture

Before Trevi, Andrade and Boquitas were caught, they escaped to Brazil, where they were able to live for several months, until they were finally caught by Brazilian police and arrested. When they were captured, the news quickly spread throughout Latin America.

A legal battle ensued, because Brazilian prosecutors wanted to charge them, but Mexican prosecutors claimed the three prisoners should be tried in Mexico as they had begun their practices while still in Mexico. Trevi, Andrade and Boquitas were flown from their original jail to another facility due to overcrowding. Soon after, a tape where Trevi can be heard singing songs (allegedly to Andrade) on the plane ride became public. In one song, which did not seem to be a written song, but one she was making up, she talks of how she had "done everything for the love of" a man.

In the new jail facility, Trevi became pregnant. She was released under a Brazilian law that allows women, who give birth while prisoners, to live in a house with their children. However, her freedom was brief, because the Mexican authorities renewed extradition proceedings against her again, and she was returned to jail.

Brazil's authorities came to an agreement with the Mexican authorities on December 21, 2002 to extradite Trevi and Boquitas to Mexico. Her baby was sent to live with his grandmother, Trevi's mother. Andrade was sent back to Mexico a few months later.

There were allegations that, while fugitive, Trevi gave birth to a baby girl by Andrade, and that they left the baby to die. However, no evidence or body was found. Lack of evidence made it impossible for them to be charged with homicide. Trevi later admitted in a comic strip that she does not know of the whereabouts of this daughter.

On November 27, 2003, Andrade was jailed in the same facility as Trevi, but they were not allowed contact with each other.

On February 24, 2004, Trevi was expecting to be set free by Mexico's justice system, but was denied freedom at the time. After she learned that she would not be allowed to go free, she began a hunger strike.

Released

On September 21, 2004, Trevi was acquitted and set free by the court citing lack of evidence. She had spent 4 years, 8 months, 8 days in prison in Brazil and Mexico.

Upon her release, Trevi quickly hit the studio, recording her famous album, Cómo nace el universo, which was a success in the United States, being certified platinum and being nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards. She subsequently embarked upon a nation-wide sold-out tour titled Trevolucion. The tour played arenas like El Palacio de Los Deportes in Mexico in front of 14,000+ fans as well as Arena Monterrey with 12,000+ fans in attendance. The tour was briefly postponed due to an unexpected pregnancy. The tour was resumed in Phoenix, Arizona.

Afterwards, she promoted La Trayectoria, which includes 14 of her greatest hits Live as well as four new unedited songs including "Todos Me Miran". The album also includes a live DVD of her songs, La Trayectoria has been certified gold in Mexico (for her 50,000+ copies sold). "Todos Me Miran" become a popular song in Latin America and Spain. It became a hit in Argentina, Venezuela, Spain, United States, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The album has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide.

In 2007, Gloria Trevi released the album Una Rosa Blu. It shipped over 48,000 copies the first day in the United States. It has been certified platinum in Mexico and USA. It hasn't been released in Spain, and Argentina. Its first single, "Psicofonia" has peaked #1 in Mexico. After the successful release of "Psicofonia" Gloria Trevi released, in Mexico, the now #1 hit, "Cinco Minutos" in March 2008. Within weeks of its release, the song became an instant hit for the singer/songwriter. Una Rosa Blu has sold over 200,000 copies in Mexico and the United States combined. She has embarked on a nation-wide tour, Tour La Rosa Blue, packing arenas, theaters and other venues.

In 2009, her single Psicofonia was certified Gold in Spain, selling over 20,000 units in the official Spanish singles chart. She made a duet and a videoclip shot in Los Angeles with the popular Spanish singer Chenoa. The aim of this collaboration is to promote both singers in Spain and America.

Discography

Studio Albums

Year Album Top Latin Albums Latin Pop Albums Top Heatseekers The Billboard 200 Mexico
1989 ¿Qué Hago Aquí? - - - - 1
1990 Tu Ángel de la Guarda - 4 - - 1
1992 Me Siento Tan Sola - 8 - - 1
1994 Más Turbada Que Nunca 43 - - - 1
1995 Si Me Llevas Contigo - - - -
2004 Cómo Nace El Universo 4 2 5 -
2007 Una Rosa Blu 9 3 - 169 5
Year Album Top Latin Albums Latin Pop Albums Top Heatseekers Mexico
2006 La Trayectoria 29 8 42 3

Singles (U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs)

con los ojos cerrados

Year Single Peak Position
1989
Dr. Psiquiatra
1
1989
El Ultimo Beso
36
1989
Satisfecha
n/ch.
1989
¿Que Voy a Hacer Sin El?
22
1989
Mañana
5
1989
¿Que Hago Aqui?
9
1990
Pelo Suelto
1
1990
Tu Angel de la Guarda
2
1991
Agárrate
12
1992
Con los Ojos Cerrados
6
1992
Zapatos Viejos
6
1992
Me Siento Tan Sola
6
1992
Los Borregos
19
1992
La Acera de Enfrente
n/ch.
1994
La Papa Sin Catsup
1
1994
A Gatas
n/ch.
1994
Que Bueno que no fui Lady Di!
n/ch.
1994
El Recuento de los Daños
1
1994
Siempre a Mi
17
1995
Ella Que nunca Fue Ella
8
1995
Si Me Llevas Contigo
n/ch.
2004
En Medio de la Tempestad
4
2006
Todos Me Miran
1
2006
Sufran con lo Que Yo Gozo (single)
39
2006
Estrella de la Mañana
38
2007
Psicofonía
12
2008
Cinco Minutos
4
2008
Pruébamelo
n/ch.
2009
El Favor de la Soledad
n/ch.
2009
Lo que una chica por amor es capaz
n/ch.
2009
Que Emane
n/ch.

Filmography

  • Pelo Suelto
  • Zapatos Viejos
  • La Papa Sin Catsup

References

  1. ^ a b ::: Gloria Trevi Página Oficial :::
  2. ^ Slick Transit Gloria - New York Times
  3. ^ http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/july23/warrent.htm

External links

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