by Trevor Carolan
Fans of Vallarta’s brightest songbird Anais Belloso, are familiar with her polished style that’s way beyond her years. After wowing audiences here since committing to a singing career at 18, Belloso is poised for April release on Spotify and new online video of her rhythmic tune, “El Café.”
Like many a vocalist, Anais grew up singing in church. A Vallarta native, after a stint near Barcelona studying cinematography, she realized music was her future. Back in her hometown, her talent soon had her gigging around the town’s hotels and lounges where she’s cultivated a dedicated following. With her engagements routinely booked through the week, you can enjoy her performances at several local venues.
El Rey Restaurant Lounge on Calle Viena in the Versalles area features Belloso three evenings a week.
A comfortable Oklahoma-smoked BBQ room, owner Lorenzo Goodwin explains, “It was a customer referral that led us to Anais. We heard she had a great voice, and I gave her a call. She auditioned, and that was it! People know her from the radio, and she’s in
videos online, so they enjoy dropping in. She’s got that kind of presence. Her music’s in a film they’re working on up in Los Angeles too.”
Always, it’s Belloso’s voice that incites enthusiasm. We caught her at El Rey on an early Friday evening. The two-for-one happy hour red already had visitors and long-stay residents in the mood, and I asked a friendly Aspen local what draws them back. ‘We love her passion, the beauty of her music,” he told us. “She does lovely versions of “Tequila Sunrise” and “Imagine,” but she has her own songs and music that we like—and there’s her magical voice.”
It is magical. Floating effortlessly into higher registers, then warbling with the country feel of Linda Ronstadt and the breathy emotion of Norah Jones, she croons back with love tunes like her own “Tuesday,” “Paris,” and “El Café” taking you deep into nights full of stars, between romance and the blues. Unsurprisingly, she confesses to the influence of Celine Dion and Taylor Swift.
While producers in São Paulo have tried capturing her charisma in the studio, a definitive recording still awaits. In April, however, Spotify will feature a new release of her “El Café.”
“For a younger artist in Mexico, it’s difficult to grow,” Belloso confesses. “If you don’t have connections, it’s still hard to find that larger audience attention.”
That means bigger cities, the capital. Her response to the challenges has been to work harder.
In addition to singing dates, she hosts her own radio program, “Cantando Con Anais” Monday to Friday, 11 am -1 pm on Oreja 105.1 FM. She welcomes one or two guests daily with casual dialogue that extends to her performances on stage.
Regarding her guitar proficiency, she relates it came during the pandemic. “I was a solo singer who worked with a guitarist, but everything was so unreliable at that time,” she says. “I decided to learn the guitar myself, so I studied it online.” And there’s that señorita smile. “Now I work instrumentally with the ukelele too, and I’ve written some compositions for it. These days, audiences ask for those songs as well.”
With her tune “El Café” now optioned for U.S. streaming-film production and a pocketful of rhythmic tunes to keep audiences bopping, this Vallarta songbird has star power sparkling all over.
See her at Café Roma Monday 7-9 pm
El Rey, Tuesday 6-8 pm; Friday and Saturday 7-9 pm
Gabistro, Wednesday 8-10 pm
La Traviata, Thursday 8:30-10 pm
