𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚, 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓, 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚

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𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑲𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻

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𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑶𝑵 𝑺𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑰𝑭𝒀

+ Maria's playlist of influences and inspiration on MPG

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𝑾𝑰𝑲𝑰 𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑹𝒀

Money, Power, Glory (Spanish: Dinero, Poder, Gloria) is the debut studio album by Spanish-American singer and songwriter, Maria Rosario, commercially known as GLORIANA. It was released on June 5th, 2020 by Worldwide Records in the US and Universal Music Spain in the EU. GLORIANA largely co-wrote the album with her brother Marcelo Rosario, who mainly produced it in his small bedroom studio in Los Feliz, Los Angeles.

Musically, Money, Power, Glory, or MPG as fans affectionately coin it, has been characterized as an experimental and conceptual art-pop album revolving around a breakup. It has influences from hip hop and avant-pop music. Remarkably, it is composed of both English and Spanish language songs. GLORIANA has said the album was inspired by her rise in the industry "with the absence of some who supported her beginnings" and the lyrics, therefore, reflect themes of public opinion and privacy invasion, luxury, and fear intertwined with the heartbreak of first love.

Fans have noticed these themes and experiences are reflected in the album's cover art, which was first spotted on the Instagram feed of Chilean actor Carlos Lopez - it was briefly removed days before the album dropped and the cover is not officially credited to him. While the two have never spoken publicly about their 5-year relationship, Maria acknowledged their past with a photo on Instagram for her song, "Te Regalo" that seems to show Lopez cut out. Noticeably the stars both allow for publications to mention one another with no objections from their respective teams.

Promotion before the album release encompassed the release of four singles: "Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi", "El Querer (The Loving)", "Pienso En Tu Mirá" and "Malamente". The latter two were accompanied by viral videos due to their elaborate aesthetics and poetic symbolism. Other promotional initiatives included the display of a billboard in Times Square, a surprise appearance during Bad Bunny's Coachella set, and critically-acclaimed performances at Primavera Sound in Barcelona - her first solo concert - and the 2020 Billboard Music Awards.

The album received critical acclaim for its experimental production, the use of flamenco techniques and influence, and GLORIANA's chilling, sincere vibrato. It became a commercial success, reaching the top of the Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart and held #1 on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart for weeks, beating a record previously held by Shakira, who congratulated the star on Twitter. Following the release of the album, the singles in addition to her collab with VALÉRIO broke records for reaching the top 10 of the Spanish Singles Chart on the same day, with "Malamente" becoming her first number-one single.

The album won Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, and GLORIANA was nominated for Best New Artist. Dinero, Poder, Gloria also had numerous controversial wins at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards: Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album, Album of the Year, and Best Urban Performance for "Malamente". Marcelo Rosario also received a nomination for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical category at the Grammys and won the awards at the Latin Grammy Awards - the only win from the ceremony that Maria acknowledged on her Instagram.

𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝒀

Upon the release of the accompanying music video to GLORIANA's single "El Querer (The Loving)", Marcelo Rosario was caught on video joking with a fan about playing his sister's love interest in the visual, which was interpreted to be a way to bash the show, Élite, which he has starred in since season 1. Fans were quick to stir rumors about bad blood between Maria Rosario and her ex, Carlos Lopez, who appears in season 3 to play the romantic interest of his on-screen half-sister portrayed by Mexican actress, Denise Paola.

Despite the trending Twitter hashtags #marlos and #carise from fans debating over Lopez's real-life relationships with Maria Rosario and Paola, the rumors were never addressed by any involved party. The cast of Élite continued their press for season 3 and were spotted out in Los Angeles together on multiple occasions. Fans also noticed Lopez did not delete his Instagram post of the photo that became the cover art to Money, Power, Glory, but instead archived it as it's been shown to reappear on and off his profile.

Following GLORIANA's number-one spot for "Malamente", Iglesias Inc. - the former label and representative company for VALÉRIO belonging to his father, Julio Iglesias - announced they were signing Denise Paola. In an emotional Instagram Live video, Juan Valério Iglesias revealed his distressful and emotionally abusive relationship with the company. VALÉRIO accused the label of vindictively signing Paola in response to his label's first number-one hit and urged Paola to reconsider "a disastrous path with the Iglesias family."

The singer further revealed that Enrique Iglesias still owed him royalties from the single that launched VALÉRIO's career, "DINERO FOR DINNER". He also exposed Mr. Julio Iglesias for leaving his mother homeless without forewarning on multiple occasions. Iglesias Inc. released a statement denying all claims. Paola pulled from the recording contract "after much consideration" and stated she "would focus on her acting career at this time." GLORIANA, known for being a woman of few words on social media, merely tweeted translated lyrics from her single, "Pienso En Tu Mirá" - "like a bullet in the chest."

The singer's wins at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards brought up a long-time debate on whether Spanish artists should be considered for awards considering the industry's use of the word "Latin" and a lack of nominations for "urban" and reggaeton artists. This was fueled by GLORIANA's record wins due to MPG's English-speaking tracks despite the album making the 51% Spanish-speaking criteria. In spite of her emotional acceptance speech at the ceremony in which the artist deemed herself unworthy, GLORIANA received further backlash for seemingly avoiding the topic as she only acknowledged her brother's win on social media.

Latin artists like Bad Bunny and J Balvin voiced support while the Grammy board notably defended their choices with a focus on gender diversity and fresh faces. Notoriously, her brother tweeted their country is full of "picky motherfuckers who can never support their own" and he learned of their "vulture-like" nature after wearing a dress. He is known for wearing women's clothes at various music festivals and award shows in the country despite some hostility.

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𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑹𝑨𝑴 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑶

@gloriana

30 posts | 600k followers | 600 following |

worldwide

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𝙁𝙄𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝘼𝙇, 𝘾𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝙏𝙀𝙓𝙏𝙎 𝙒𝙍𝙄𝙏𝙏𝙀𝙉 𝙁𝙊𝙍...

༺ 𝑷𝑨𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑨𝒁𝒁𝑰 ༻

𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢 - @ayzrules - 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴

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Natalya Pendergast, aka Spectrum, photographed by Marcelo in-studio while working on her album, An Ocean of Stars (2016). Marcelo produced and played guitar on her song, "Soulmate" but Maria didn't meet the star until 2020.

09. Which Witch
w/ SPECTRUM

LYRICS
notable credits
stomps, claps: Natalya "Spectrum" Pendergast, Maria "GLORIANA" Rosario
trombone, trumpet, saxophone, strings, drums: Spectrum touring band

In another song born from a dream, Maria seems to describe a post-apocalyptic fantasy horror film set in Hollywood when she speaks of writing Which Witch. She plays the naive witch that fell in love with a "golden boy". She loves him so much that it kills him in some accident oh-so-common with the occult.

"Like Malamente, we almost tossed this one. Or rather, left it on the backburner with all our other creations," Maria smiles. "I was afraid it didn't fit with the other songs too well. But then Spectrum saved it."

Natalya Pendergast, better known as Spectrum, was one of the first connections her manager VALÉRIO made in Los Angeles. While they may seem like unlikely friends, coming from different sides of the music industry, Marcelo describes the two as the kind of people who can genuinely befriend everyone.

"When we met at a party, I was just fangirling," Maria continues to gush. "But she's so sweet. It was like we'd known each other forever. It felt unreal meeting someone I admire and hitting it off like that - a true Hollywood Dream!"

During rehearsals for an upcoming, undisclosed project - fans guess it will be a GLORIANA appearance on Spectrum's American tour or perhaps an award show performance - GLORIANA and Spectrum continue developing the visuals and choreography behind their "witchy" song. Maria describes how WW came to be: over a casual dinner that ended in Marcelo's in-house studio. He depicts a flawless collaboration.

"Those two were a ball of energy in the studio. Everything happened incredibly quick, naturally. The song was completely upgraded with Nat[alya]'s band coming in, but her re-recording of the post-chorus and their addition of the haunting outro is really what makes the song memorable."

Spectrum's iconic belting contrasts beautifully with her chilling vocalization added at the end of the song. It's a song that the two musical artists can relate to; both have recently had their break-ups scrutinized in the media. The two come together to sing at the end with lyrics they wrote together: Chained and shackled / I'll unravel, it's a pity, oh / Never to return but I never learn. One can imagine the healing conversations the two had.

"Natalya inspires me so much. I'm so grateful to her. I remember once she left the studio, I actually started writing another song," she laughs, almost as if she is embarrassed. "The work flowed out of us. We were talking about flamenco and suddenly we were creating our own palmas, stomping and clapping around the room. We really felt like mad women about to be burned at the stake. Giving it all we had."

The most notable influence from Spectrum in this song, however, is the pronoun change: the song Maria originally wrote had the line, I'm miles away / He's on my mind. Her reason for changing it post-collab is enough to rile up their fanbases, #spectriana soon trending on Twitter.

"Oh, singing she's on my mind was a change I made because I was singing it to Nat. You know, if we ever perform Which Witch together, it'll feel right," she winks and I think my heart skips. "It's my wild love song to her on an album full of them. I don't know why anyone would be surprised."

10. Dolerme
trans. Hurt Me

EN LYRICS
notable credits
guitar: Marcelo Rosario

Going from the feminine high of Which Witch follows the break-up song that stings the most - Dolerme. This is how GLORIANA responds to heartbreak, and it's no longer ridden in self-doubt or blindness. This energy carries over from the previous track, making the album's gorgeous flow impossible to ignore. Throughout Dolerme, the narrator is painfully aware of her feelings as she asks, "Why doesn't it hurt anymore?"

"I think when we mourn someone - as you do with heartbreak, right, you're grieving over what you had and lost with someone - there's always that moment of clarity," Marcelo begins, his sister notably mum at his side. "It comes after the tears, the late-night calls. With time. Without that initial film of hurt, you can finally look back at the relationship for what it was and begin to break down what happened."

For Maria, the lyrics cover those moments of reflection. Times she put herself second, and in the chorus, a brutal, poetic depiction of wanting an ex's attention through self-injury. She sets up tealight candles for us outside, not wanting us to listen to the song in the dark. After hearing the track, the three of us exchange a goofy moment of showing one another the goosebumps on our arms.

"This was incredibly painful to write down, to finally look at things for how they were. Not only the pain of losing someone. The more painful reasons for why. A breakup hurts, but learning you betrayed yourself too…" Maria trails off.

Fans would kill me if I didn't bring up the ever-dissected line that translates to, The bitches you're with now don't know what awaits them, a lyric taken as a direct shot to her ex who may-or-may-not be dating a co-star in the limelight. Maria is good at turning the conversation back around to her hurt, which powered the album. El doler.

"I didn't realize how masochistic I was until I wrote this." Marcelo laughs at her, and Maria is sweetly flustered but continues. "No, really! It's a thin line between Is this over, am I done hurting? and Come over, please hurt me."

There's no denying the sexiness of the song, with the gorgeous bridge describing what sounds like a booty call: Quick before tomorrow comes. I draw attention to the artwork for the song's promo post on Instagram. Maria curated visuals for each song. Dolerme shows a cartoon-style portrait of Maria in lingerie, lying in bed listening to music, and crying.

"This is basically how she was for like, a year," Marcelo teases. He drew the picture. Maria nearly shoves him out of his chair and he adds, "But she recorded this song in one take, finished it in a day. I've never been prouder."

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Maria in the Pienso En Tu Mirá music video . With little promotion, the artfully crafted video still went #1 in Spain and in many Latin American countries.

11. Pienso En Tu Mirá
trans. I Think of Your Gaze

EN LYRICS
notable credits
songwriters: Maria and Marcelo Rosario
palmistas: Maria and Marcelo Rosario

Maria's favorite track from the album translates to I think of your gaze, and it's not as romantic as it sounds. A song she began to write in her childhood, the lyrics have developed over time through precious collaboration with Marcelo.

"For a song tackling, let's say, toxic relations, I pulled a lot from my personal life," Maria says carefully. "It was with my brother's help that I could reframe the song to be from the point of view of a jealous lover. It makes it very theatrical, which is perfect because that is what I saw in my head from the beginning: a shotgun cocked. Loading my body into a truck. A car wreck."

The music video she describes for the song was the first GLORIANA visual released. It was critically praised and left fans eager for more. Most memorable is the video's depiction of various men bleeding in the chest, which I find interesting, seeing as the song and album thus far would make you think it would be her wounded from a piercing gaze.

"I love the conflict of this song because it really reflects my troubles with affection," Maria chuckles nervously. "A listener will think one line of the song sounds romantic until they realize it is from a lover who is jealous of the sun, the moon. Then the lyrics that always hurt to sing, translated, go something like, When you go out the door, I think you'll never come back. If I don't hold you tight, I feel it'll be my fault. I think anyone who has suffered through love, any sort of love, will relate."

It seems like Maria's top wish with Money, Power, Glory is to have the listener understand her. Does she agree? It is Marcelo's answer that strikes me.

"I've heard many of these songs before. Like this one, they're products of her life so far, whether from old poems she wrote or stories she read. But it wasn't until we sat and listened through the final cut that I was like, 'Joder! So this is you, 'eh?' Like she stepped out of her skin and I saw her for the first time. I think that's what we aimed to do with this album. And I think we did it."

Maria looks at him with tears in her eyes. I think they did it, too.

12. Money, Power, Glory
w/ LANA DEL REY

LYRICS
notable credits
songwriters: Lana Del Rey, Maria Rosario
vocals: Lana Del Rey, Maria Rosario
production: Jack Antoff, Marcelo Rosario

This song came to be when Maria was one of two dancers during her American leg for the LA to the Moon Tour back in 2018. Marcelo had worked on Lust for Life (2017) - the songs "Summer Bummer" and "Groupie Love" have his "urban" touch and features friendly industry acquaintances, A$AP Rocky and Playboy Carti. Lana met Marcelo through Pharrell; it was this connection that introduced Maria to Lana in the first place, and the two became very close. They played tourist and crashed at house parties everywhere they went. It was after playing Coachella that they first started to write together.

Notably, the song blends their vocals and purposely makes it hard to differentiate who is singing what. This was done on purpose, meant to reflect the two women under the influence and attached at the hip that summer. The song didn't make Lana's latest album, so Maria asked for permission to put it out.

Maria decided to name the album after MPG because she felt the song reflected, not only her rise to fame, but the way it was made summarized how GLORIANA was born in the first place.

It's a beautiful coincidence that "Glory" is in the title and "Gloriana" was a childhood nickname. It's also her middle name. Maria would use it when pretend-playing being famous, making nonsense music with Marcelo. These facts are glorious indeed.

13. Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi
featuring VALÉRIO

EN LYRICS
notable credits
songwriters: Marcelo and Maria Rosario, Valério Iglesias
vocals: Maria Rosario, Valério Iglesias
production: Marcelo Rosario

Maria didn't have to fight with Valério over listing their duet - the song that made GLORIANA famous - as a bonus song on her debut album despite it being released 2 months ago. When Rio asked for her reasoning, she simply described it as a footnote to the rest of the tracklist. Maria explained that, while this song brought her recognition, it was the other tracks that prepared her for such a moment. Most of the songs were started with her brother for fun over the last 10 years, whether the product of jam sessions or voice memos while touring as a dancer for other musical artists.

Technically, Yo x Tu is no different. Maria and VALÉRIO recorded it in the suite of the Hard Rock guitar-shaped hotel in Miami on one of the last days of his MUNDIAL tour, when they were already focused on their next project: Worldwide Records. Recalling the night, the singer buries her hands into her long chocolate-colored locks and allows them to cascade into her face.

"Oh my god," she squeals. "It was so… awkward."

Marcelo nods once in agreement: "She was still in denial."

So the story of Rio handpicking Maria from his talented friends to join his record label is true? "Yes, but remember, we weren't friends," Maria says with a laugh that shakes her whole body.

Rio immediately agrees when I tell him what she said over the phone. "We still aren't. Ella es mi hermana." She's my sister.

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05. Cellophane

LYRICS
notable credits
co-writer: Valério "Rio" Iglesias
composer: Maria Rosario
piano: Marcelo Rosario

Arguably the hidden gem of the record, Cellophane confirmed GLORIANA is a force to be reckoned with as critics raved over her ethereal voice, high and melismatic with ease.

"I wanted to blame everyone when my relationship ended. I was bitter," Maria admits. She dodges eye contact. "And I was becoming a success, and so was the person I was writing for. It was ironic how great things looked 'on-camera' when behind the scenes, we were falling apart. One of my favorite songs comes to mind, written by my good friend Natalya [Spectrum]. The Waiting Game."

Marcelo cuts her off to sing the lyric he already knew she was thinking about: What if I never see you 'cause we're both on a stage?

"Exactly," Maria jumps in her chair with excitement, the two of them always on the same wavelength. "It's so specific yet somehow universal, touching. I tried to write Cellophane like that, speaking on my experience, hoping someone would understand why I was pissed with the world. It was therapeutic."

With the album promo already revolving around a relationship that ended a year ago - and MPG isn't even out yet! - one can't really blame her. Vocally, Maria sounds defeated. Hand-in-hand with Cosmic Love, the album seems to be telling the story of star-crossed lovers. If that song's the angsty moment in Romeo and Juliet where they run away from their families because the world is setting them up to lose, would Cellophane be the moment Juliet poisons herself?

Taking one look at his sister's grave expression in response to my question, Marcelo finishes lighting a cigarette and leans back, exhaling smoke and changing the subject with ease. "This song was when I learned Rio's English is much better than mine."

The mention of VALÉRIO finally brings a cackle out of Maria, and I sigh in relief. The Latin superstar has an impressive co-writer credit on Cellophane and Maria confirms the two began to write it towards the very end of his Mundial tour. This fact conjures up an image so glamorous and downright historical in my mind, but the truth is sadder.

"The verses were mostly rants in my Notes app, and I often played the melody on Mario's keyboard [a member of VALÉRIO's touring band], trying to make it something. It wasn't until we became friends that Rio demanded to know what I was working on."

I got the truth behind those romance rumors. One would think hunky Valério and Maria were thicker than thieves on the world tour if, by the end of it, she was signed to his label! In reality, the demands of being a dancer and the awkward hours of performing meant the two were only interacting on stage. That's not to say the chemistry we saw onstage was movie magic. On off-days, they found themselves having heart-to-hearts. The two had a lot in common. Their passion for music was overwhelming, and they shared a constant drive to craft their own.

"I was honestly a little mad at her when we first started talking, you know, becoming friends," Valério tells me over the phone, on a short but riveting call we managed to book. He remains in lockdown mode, recording his upcoming album 11:11, but didn't hesitate when it came to an article about GLORIANA.

"I remember we were going over my setlist one night and found ourselves talking about all the music she was secretly working on. I couldn't believe it! I was like, 'Why am I the one performing?'" He laughs. "So embarrassing. All the rehearsals we did before the tour, no jodes!" He sounds like Maria when he uses her favorite curse word. "I wish we'd been dancing to Malamente instead! So I signed her."

Fans are no stranger to the star supporting GLORIANA from the beginning: whether he's viral on TikTok motorbiking to De Aquí No Sales or greeting us in the morning with an IG Story harmonizing to Cosmic Love, even I have to admit it was difficult to not "ship" the two. I'd never say it to Maria, but we did discuss why I couldn't imagine Valério writing such a melancholy tune like Cellophane. How did she manage to humble him - get him in his feelings - to match her energy on the rest of the album?

They want to see us apart / They're hating, they're waiting, and hoping I'm not enough.

Maria gets up to brew us a pot of green tea. She brings out Japanese candies in a basket from her latest shopping spree at the local Asian market as we wait for the water to boil. Marcelo is smirking to himself before finally admitting what he's thinking: "She hates talking about other people."

"I hate speaking for others," Maria clarifies. She shoots a worried glance my way and her kind brown eyes soothe my nerves. She continues to speak, reassuring me that it wasn't personal.

"Rio taught me a lot about how to handle all the attention, the media, publications. From his mistakes!" She giggles, all at once breaking the tension over marshmallow gummies. "He has loved and lost in the spotlight. It wasn't until I shared my heartbreak that he told me… he felt he could heal from his. That meant so much to me. It's all I want to do with my music. I want people to know they're not alone."

Undoubtedly, Maria refers to Valério's relationship with Brazilian singer, Thaí. The women are known to publicly support one another's music as well. Only recently have fans found the exes following one another again - do we have Maria to thank?

Whatever the case, it tells us that Cellophane is not only a tender story of loss under the spotlight. It's telling of newfound friendship. The product of late-night talks. Free therapy. Valério and Maria took their heartbreak, and the sour side of fame, and made lemonade à la Beyoncé.

06. Déjenme Llorar
trans. Let Me Cry

EN/ES LYRICS
notable credits
backing vocals: Marcelo Rosario

Arguably — and I say this not knowing who could ever argue against it — the best songs on Money, Power, Glory are the stripped-down tunes showcasing Maria's vocals. Just her, her brother, and a guitar. This track takes us back to the heartache that opened the album. It feels like a breaking point of feeling: Let me cry, I want to get it out of my chest, she sings. I want to say goodbye in silence / Make myself understand that for this, there's no remedy.

"This was one of the hardest songs to record because it's one of the last I wrote," Maria admits. "We didn't even plan for Mar's vocal track, but I don't think I could've gotten it out without him at my side."

Grabbing her hand, Marcelo's face is overcome with pride.

"I never told you this, but this song's my favorite you've ever written," he tells her. "It has some of my favorite lines, some so candid that I can't even believe you got them down from your mind, let alone put them out into the world."

This tender moment is one I feel like an intruder on, but I manage to ask Marcelo for a favorite lyric. He translates for me on the spot: You are the night and I'm your dream, you my storyteller. I tell them I enjoy the first verse the most - when Maria reflects about loving without fear.

"Learning to love someone like that is an ongoing lesson," Maria nods. "Writing this, I came to terms with how I dove headfirst into first love and got hurt in the end… but how overall, love is worth it. Accepting this was hard for me. The feeling caught me off guard! It hurt right here," she points to the center of her chest. "I started to spiral. Like, telling myself I was never going to feel that again."

We sit a bit stunned by the intimate confession. I almost feel corny for asking, but I must: is she dating? Has she gotten a taste of that fearless rush once again?

Marcelo and I giggle together when, surprisingly, I still noticed her blush in the dim light of dusk. Maria's brother asks a better question, rendering me useless: Would the Maria-writing-this song be happy with current-Maria's love life today?

"Oh, I think she would be scared! But she would stop crying. At least she would stop crying."

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Maria in the De Aquí No Sales music video, to be released in July as her third single

07. De Aquí No Sales
trans. You Don't Leave From Here

notable credits
palmistas: Marcelo Rosario, ARÓN [Piper, Marcelo's costar and longtime boyfriend, whom he famously never brings up], Juan "VALÉRIO" Julio Iglesias

LYRICS
I've sweet-talked you for so long
And you're forcing me to make sure
That you don't leave from here

It's hurting me more than it's hurting you
Don't mess with me
With the back of my hand, I make it clear to you

Bitter sorrows I sell you
I have sweets too

Marcelo refers to this track as one revealing his sister's dark side. Not the dark side of GLORIANA? I ask. Throughout our conversations, I began to think of the two as separate identities.

"If Cosmic Love gave us a taste of GLORIANA, I feel this one really transitions the work completely. The remaining songs have more bite to them, more edge. The way I saw it while producing? GLORIANA is the stronger, more confident persona Maria found comfort in. GLORIANA is what the public sees, the presentation. Maria is behind the scenes, the wizard, the puppet master."

"Visually," Maria smirks, well-aware that we'd expect a metaphor from her, "Writing this song felt like I was wading in gasoline. Then GLORIANA came to the microphone and struck the match."

Pining it as the album's most aggressive point, Marcelo describes their desire to include a short and bittersweet moment of release for the listener. The weight of the sadder love songs is meant to be released, the tension lost preferably through dance.

"I started this a long time ago, as a poem. I was like 16, in Miami. I was inspired by a novel I read about an unhealthy, jealous relationship… I found myself resonating with it even though I wouldn't date anyone seriously until 5 years later. I had quite the imagination," she laughs. She adds that it had to be sung in Spanish or else the song wouldn't feel complete.

De Aquí No Sales is clearly about the power plays of toxic relationships. It's a topic neither bring up. Perhaps they are unable to still, their thoughts on their parents, and we'll get another song for continual healing. They are, however, eager to speak of the fun they had making the track.

"Maria pulled one of her, I see a bike gang, I see cops moments," Marcelo laughs. "She wanted this masculine edge to it, which is great because it's all about her taking control, in the song, in the relationship. And she did."

"I really did," Maria smiles shyly until her eyes lit up. "I even taught the boys to do palmas!" Palmas is the art of handclapping in Flamenco music, a clear rhythmical influence on the album. "I wouldn't let it go until they agreed."

"We were horrible palmistas," Marcelo shakes his head. "And she was so kind about it, the best teacher. But so many takes. So many takes. I have no idea how it came out so well."

08. Malamente
trans. Badly

EN LYRICS
notable credits
palmistas: Marcelo and Maria Rosario
backing vocals: Marcelo Rosario

If the GLORIANA side of the album isn't apparent in the confidence that oozes seconds into this song, it's the edgy and catchy flow Maria delivers. One can easily imagine the cutting dance routine she'll exhibit for the track. The song will have been out for a week tomorrow, and it's their first number one - a feat the siblings are ecstatic to achieve together. But it wasn't done easily.

"It was one of the last songs we did. And este chica almost scrapped it!" Marcelo's eyes bulge just from the thought of such horror. Maria is laughing.

"It felt too experimental. I reworked the lyrics countless times. It's fitting, though, since it started from a dream."

The lines of crossing a bridge, and going out into a starless night despite a gypsy's warnings, remind me of what Maria said about El Querer (The Loving). Are the two songs linked by that fight-or-flight moment that comes with listening to gut instincts?

"You put it so nicely," Maria smiles, "To say yes shows how personal it is for me. I tried to hide behind the storytelling - really inspired by some flamenco songs I adore. But to hear you put it simply like that… well, it's definitely about jumping and hoping for the best landing. El Querer covered a fall, but this is braver. Here we're running before the leap, you know? I'm glad it comes across this way. Can you relate?"

I wasn't prepared, as the interviewer, to be asked a question. Marcelo is curious, and adds, "What do you think of the chorus?"

The repetition of malamente y mal (badly and bad) has gotten stuck in my head more times than I want to admit. In the best way. I channel my inner GLORIANA with these words: a mantra whenever I need to toughen up for my best boss bitch moments.

Maria is clapping her hands in glee when I tell her this. She affirms this feeling as she does in her chorus: "Así sí!"

Marcelo nods. "That's it. We did it for the culture."

alt text

Marcelo and Maria Rosario, aged 4 and 5, living in Miami

01. Nos Quedamos Solitos
trans. We're Left Alone

ES LYRICS ☆ EN LYRICS
notable credits
backing vocals, guitar: Marcelo Rosario

I have no clue how I fit into their schedule, but I'm sitting in the Rosarios' patio chair and Marcelo starts the album, a rum and coke in his other hand. What I hear is the first song Maria ever wrote with her brother/collaborator/producer. She sits beside me still as a statue, wet curls framing her serious face. She only has herself and her work playing on the Macbook.

The song was inspired by a real-life moment: the night Marcelo shook her awake to share that their mother died.

"I was 8 at the time," Maria slowly reflects on the morning of September 11th, 2001. "Old enough to know something bad happened, but couldn't understand or even be told." They were living in Miami already and their aunt flew in from Spain to babysit them for the week; their parents often disappeared for business and pleasure as internationally-renowned architects with demanding clients.

Marcelo was only 3 and doesn't recall having any idea, either. Strangely, he does remember the night of 9/11: he couldn't sleep. This was odd for an energized toddler that always collapsed like a rock. Earlier that day, he only caught a glimpse of the news channel before his aunt turned him away from the screen.

Era la dos de la noche / Viene mi hermano a llamarme: "Despierta." ¿Por qué te despiertas, hermanito? It was two in the morning / My brother came in to call me: "Wake up." Why do you wake up, little brother?

In the middle of the night, Marcelo was still awake when he watched his aunt burst into tears, hands shaking during a phone call. She thought it odd she hadn't heard from the children's parents, but they were on their way to a wedding in San Francisco and assumed they got caught up in the events. Whether it was a coincidence, Marcelo's genius, or simply his creativity, no one knows - the siblings often return to the question.

But what they do know is that her brother's haunting words that night - Our mother died, and we're left alone - retell exactly what occurred in a Pennsylvanian field around 10 that morning. Somehow, baby Marcelo knew from the sound of his aunt's heartbreak. It wasn't until Maria was a tween that she began to write the song in a moment of grief. Marcelo didn't become serious about music until his teens when she shared her pile of journals full of personal lyrics. She never held back from sharing with him.

"When he read my lyrics, we knew right away this song was different than the others. More powerful," says Maria, her voice somehow softer than usual. "We don't talk about our parents often. I mean, my memories of them are so different from his because Mar was so little when they passed."

"Everything I know about them, I feel I learned from Maria," Marcelo adds.

Together they begin to decipher Maria's problematic past with the people who gave her life. It's still an ongoing process. Notably, neither of them enjoy publicly speaking of their personal lives. It's easy to understand why Maria took on the persona of GLORIANA altogether.

Even with a warm invitation to their home, it took some time to feel like I wasn't intruding as I woke up in their yellow-walled guest room to the smell of Marcelo's fresh French press coffee. The more I learned, the clearer it became that the Rosarios tactically behaved the way they do to protect themselves. The personas we see on social media and the infamous nature Marcelo has with fans in those viral (cringe-worthy) videos were barriers for separating the public from their gooey, fractured middles. With all this in mind, I couldn't help but wonder: why did GLORIANA release this song into the world? Let alone begin her album with it?

Maria merely shrugs. "It's my truth."

Always the more serious one despite his younger age, Marcelo leans in across the table with a grave expression. "That outro was our most difficult recording. We kept cracking over the guitar, even without lyrics… maybe because of the absence of words. It was healing. Like we finally said everything we could on the subject."

I shit you not, a lively breeze rushed through the palms then, on an otherwise windless afternoon. That's when I first felt their magic.

02. Cosmic Love
☆ LYRICS ☆
notable credits
backing vocals: Marcelo Rosario
harp: Cleopatra Pierre

"Since that first track exposes me more than any other - me, Maria," she explains with an intense gaze, "This song is when GLORIANA takes over. Naturally, she needs a much bigger introduction."

"She needed the harp."

Maria bursts into laughter at Marcelo's intrusion and he joins her. The harp is a big fucking deal, and it's become an inside joke.

"I really didn't realize we were making an album for Columbia Records until we were in the studio with a harp." Maria giggles, but her dark eyes reflect sincerity.

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out / You left me in the dark / No dawn, no day / I'm always in this twilight, in the shadow of your heart.

This is not a song to be taken lightly. The drums are thunderous, Marcelo provides a deep, haunting echo, and the listeners are thrust into what Maria calls the album's "blackest bit." It's meant to catch the listener off-guard. Even the song's title Cosmic Love emphasizes a lack of control, a romantic facade. A relationship left to the cosmos and fate with the worse cards drawn.

"I have no idea how this song came to be," Maria confesses. "Writing it seems like a bunch of fever dreams now."

First, it was a voice memo in her iPhone, where Maria often recorded ideas when dancing on tour for other artists. She saved the chorus as gold to black. "Cosmic Love was a joke, but then it stuck. I like playing with expectations. But the love I wrote of - well, at one point I really did think it was cosmic. So in a way, I'm making fun of myself."

"Or GLORIANA is making fun of you," Marcelo smirks at the thought.

"Oh, I'll kill her," Maria jokes darkly. It's juxtaposed with a bubbly giggle like clockwork. These are what I call Maria Staples, and hearing her sing a capella at the patio table reminds me of another.

Whenever she sings - and whatever she chooses, even if it's a dirty bop like La Bebe which was stuck in her head the entire weekend we spent together - Maria never fails to deliver emotion. Bringing herself to tears every time, she captures the attention of her audience with a voice that melts in your ears like sugar on the tongue, transfixing you in place.

Yeah, she's basically a sexy Spanish witch.

When performing a piece she wrote, it's easy to be sent into the world she created. I'm reminded of her first-ever performance with VALÉRIO on his MUNDIAL world tour. In a spotlight wearing gold, her voice was somehow the only bright light on an otherwise dark stage. (A video of the performance has an impressive 500K views at the time of publication.) Hearing her for the first time can be as blinding as she visually was then.

A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes / I screamed aloud as it tore through them, and now it's left me blind.

Maria finishes her delivery of the opening line and blinks at us expectantly. Her brother only shakes his head.

"I worked on this song knowing it was going to be big. I thought it would be the opening track, but… I love and support Marí's vision," Marcelo grins, then the smile falters. "The lyrics really kick off so many themes of this album."

I point out the most obvious - the idea of blindness or feeling blindsided as a result of abandonment. Perhaps a loss of vision, metaphorically, for one's future. Maria remains quiet. She characteristically holds up her guard. She will have to do the same throughout her promo for the album in the wake of rumors involving drama with Marcelo's co-star, Carlos Lopez, who happens to be her ex-boyfriend of five years.

"This album is the result of a very low period in my life that brought up every other trauma I've experienced," Maria nods. "I trusted no one but Mar to help me get it out. I would've otherwise gotten lost in the darkness."

We sit in silence after that rare moment of her vulnerability and I feel special. Marcelo breaks the heavy moment. This is a Marcelo Staple: an ability to make anyone laugh at any time.

"And I made that shit Grammy-ready."

03. Te Regalo
trans. I Give To You

ES/EN LYRICS
notable credits
piano: Marcelo Rosario

Here GLORIANA delivers a gut-wrenching ballad for that cosmic love and, in four minutes, Maria refuses to let go of it. She gave the relationship her best shot - it's a common experience for anyone reluctantly ending a long-term partnership. The literal translation of the song's title, I Give To You, already details its lyrics. From giving away limbs down to her very soul, Maria sings of gifting someone love until it kills her.

"Looking back on the lyrics, it feels like reading someone else's story." Maria's smile is sweet but sad. "At the time, it was important for me to keep the repeated line of Te voy amar hasta morir - 'I'll love you until I die' - because that's all that was on my mind. I like that for some, it's a song for weddings, but for me… for the album, it's a dark song."

Money, Power, Glory intertwines English and Spanish with no clear logic for why some songs aren't kept in Maria's native language and delivered in English instead. Marcelo grew up in Barcelona post-9/11 and blends into their parents' Spanish culture. Maria is more attuned to her Latin acquaintances on the other side of the world. After all, her manager and superstar sidekick VALÉRIO is Colombian and her second home is in Miami, where she's often spotted with the likes of Bad Bunny and J Balvin. She blames the Floridian city for her Spanglish speech.

"I like writing in Spanish because the words sound more poetic to me," Maria mused. "Sometimes I feel it's easier to express my feelings, too. The lines come more naturally."

"Yeah, it's funny watching Marí in interviews because - without a second thought - she'll sometimes switch to Spanish to answer a question. To really get her thoughts across. We're always worried about our ideas getting lost in translation."

Maria nods in agreement. "I also worry about making people work overtime adding subtitles," she laughs into her hands.

Working in Spanish is not without its challenges, Maria confesses. She has her lyrics proofread throughout the songwriting process for basic grammar when she's feeling like her worse critic. Besides Cellophane, the only English songs on the album after Cosmic Love are collaborations with American singers. Was this done on purpose?

"She will never admit it, so I'll say it," Marcelo puts a manicured hand over his sister's mouth so she can't argue. "Maria's always doing the most for her art." He laughs and I do too, hearing his sharp accent punctuate the words. "Even if she drafts a song in Spanish, she'll end up writing it in English. Always bringing us three, five different versions of the song."

Maria seems embarrassed hearing this. She picks at her long nails with a sly smile. "I'm pretty stubborn and I had a vision. So sometimes working on this album felt like I was a student submitting the same essay over and over again. Aiming for the perfect grade."

For the fans, I have to ask: could it also be that most of her lyrics were intended for a Spanish speaker? Her cosmic love?

Maria answers without a beat: "No. Lovers speak a universal language."

alt text

Marcelo and Maria in the El Querer (The Loving) music video, where they play on-screen lovers. The visual is accepted by fans as a tongue-in-cheek mockery of the half-sibling romantic relationship portrayed in the Spanish show, Elite that's partly played by Maria's ex, Carlos Lopez.

04. El Querer (The Loving)

ES LYRICS ☆ EN LYRICS
notable credits
samples: Legend of Zelda sound effects, a sexy and relaxed 80s lounge instrumental from Marcelo - formerly unreleased
production: Maria and Marcelo Rosario
Speaking of Maria's bilingual work, the next song we listen to is titled in English and Spanish. Why?

"This song is where Maria started to veer into eh… No-Bullshit territory," Marcelo says, quick to give his sister a supportive smile. "We wanted to make sure everyone could understand. Como que, 'This one's about love.' Make 'em listen, vale?"

As I expected, Maria goes quiet again. This is a bitterly honest song: a confession driven from a deep point of hurt and betrayal. To translate, Maria sings the following words in the chorus about love:

Oh, the loving / In this moment, I would like to be crazy
and not love / Because loving causes pain / Pain that has no end / And only the crazy live without it

I ask Maria if writing this song brought her any relief. Is it comforting to release this weight off her shoulders and into the world?

"I think I'm a masochist," she finally says, bringing her brother to tears with laughter. Maria is slightly blushing as she continues, "My mother always told me to expect love to… disappoint. It was her way to teach me that it's unconditional. I think." A hint of tears thickens her throat and she clears it to continue. "This song came after I realized I would spend the rest of my life loving someone despite their flaws, even if it could be painful."

Despite the risks? She flashes me a romantic gaze and a soft smile. Notably, Maria decided to sample a video game sound effect. At the end of the third verse, it sounds like someone gets stabbed. Her vocals afterward bring me to tears every time. Her lyrics mention blood and a first I love you which brings us to the topic of virginity.

"When you've never been so devoted to someone before, it's hard to let go of them. Y'know, that first love. For me, by the end of that relationship, it all felt like a curse because of what I was taught. That's what I call it in the song - una maldición. Even though it hurt, I wrote about not wanting to admit it. The fear that my mother was right."

For someone reasonably frightened to share her private life in the wake of fame, hearing every tidbit of Maria's relationships with others - especially her relationship with her distant, dead parents - makes her all the more interesting.

"The song describes her walking down a road," Marcelo adds. "I remember working on that part, and the verse, If I name it, I confirm it. Sometimes people would rather suffer in silence than just accept the truth."

I slightly jump in my seat in surprise when Maria speaks up. "It came to me in a dream, to describe the pain as a path. Because despite all my losses, I was experiencing this kind of grief for the first time. It was like traveling into new territory."

Her eyes go glossy from tears, but her brother is grinning. "It's neat, too, because she was in new territory as a producer. She was the one who looped all the samples in, just listening to my tips over the shoulder. For some reason, she had to be the one to do it on this track - the idea from seed to blossom."

It's my turn to smile: the metaphor of his sister's heartbreak turned into something beautiful, like a flower. Like this song which she produced, self-taught.

"Thank you," Maria beams, and we drink in her brightened presence like a garden would a sunbeam.

"I taught her everything she knows." Her brother, of course, brushes off the sappy moment with a wink.

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

𝑴𝑶𝑵𝑬𝒀, 𝑷𝑶𝑾𝑬𝑹, 𝑮𝑳𝑶𝑹𝒀: 𝑨 𝑷𝑳𝑨𝒀-𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯

At home with Maria and Marcelo Rosario before their infamous Money, Power, Glory

written by Sasha Nadle for ᴡᴡᴡ.ʙɪᴛᴄʜɪɴᴍᴀɢ.ᴏʀɢ

𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

Before I wrote for Bitchin', I worked for Ariana Grande...or so I told myself. I was a full-time stan. I saved every coin for shows and merch. I met friends online via my semi-popular Instagram account dedicated to her dancers on the Sweetener Tour. In my account bio, I listed the number of times Ari or her dancers would share, like, or comment on my content. Maria Rosario was a name I saw almost every day in my notifications. I often claimed she was Ari's favorite and best dancer, and frequently raved about how she kissed me on the cheek during God Is A Woman in Miami. I haven't been the same since.

As I began reviewing and writing on pop culture gems, my interests broadened, and I stumbled across the Élite fandom. I made my Latina mami proud with a newfound hobby refining my Spanish on Duolingo so I could join fan discourse. Bitchin' was blessed with having Marcelo Rosario on our cover this summer midst his busy schedule promoting season 3 and polishing the debut album of GLORIANA - a rising star that my mind refused to believe was the same girl I gushed about on my "Arinator" account only a year ago.

You don't realize the Rosarios are siblings until they speak to one another. They're close: besties with the same traumatic childhood. Marcelo has darker hair and skin, reflecting what he calls the "Arabic side" of their family: their Cuban-Lebanese grandparents raised their children in Spain. Maria is the spitting image of their mother. Her brother calls her a poster girl since she often mirrors the flamenco art you'd find in touristy restaurants around Barcelona, where she was born. Like their late mamá, Maria's heart beats like bulerías. Fiery passion burns in her eyes and sounds over her brother's catchy beats. Spain might not always claim them, but this American-raised duo is becoming their most popular export.

I was kindly invited to stay in their gorgeous Spanish courtyard-style within a quiet part of Hollywood on June 2nd and 3rd 2020, days before the release of Money, Power, Glory. That's weeks after a critically-acclaimed performance of Maria's first solo single, El Querer (The Loving) at the Billboard Awards and mere 48 hours after her debut at Primavera Sound in Barcelona.