Elsa y Elmar talks about mental health and the new album “Palacio”

In our Q&A/feature series Tell Me Más, we ask some of our favorite Latin celebs to give us the inside scoop on their lives and the ways they prioritize their mental health. This month, we spoke to Colombian rising star Elsa y Elmar about dealing with burnout, protecting her mental health, and how all of this impacted the creation process of her latest album, Palacio.

Elsa Margarita Carvajal is no stranger to success. The Latin Grammy-nominated singer, better known by her stage name Elsa y Elmar, has been making waves on the music scene for more than a decade. But with her latest album, “Palacio,” out August 30, and just before her biggest tour yet, Carvajal is about to reach a whole new level. To reach this level, she previously had to spend many years on the indie circuit, playing solo in bars to reach people who had never heard of her. And although her days as an unknown indie artist are behind her, the singer admits the pressure is still there. Carvajal says pressure can be both good and bad. On the one hand, it can push artists to achieve bigger and better things, reaching the levels previously achieved by their idols.

On the other hand, the constant pressure to strive for more and compare herself to her peers or predecessors can be damaging from a mental health perspective. The singer says that at times she found herself in a constant state of work, thinking about what more she could do. This prompted her to take a much-needed break to recharge after her last album, “Ya No Somos Los Mismos.” However, over the past two years, the singer-songwriter has learned valuable lessons about self-care and understanding when she needs to be “on” and when she needs to take time for herself. With this mentality and two years without labels and A&Rs asking her about new music or what she would do next, Carvajal was able to come back from her bout of burnout with her new CD, “Palacio.” The album is the first to be released on her new label, Elmar Presenta, and tackles various challenges that many of us face on a daily basis. In a recent interview, she spoke to PS about mental health and creative pressure, and touched on some of the feelings behind the project.

PS: You're about to perform your biggest gig ever. How does it feel to have reached this point in your career?

Elsa y Elmar: You know, it's really interesting because all the odds were against me. I'm not part of that generation of women in pop like Belenova, Julieta Venegas and Natalia Lafourcade. And I'm not an urbano artist either. I'm an artist that the people I work with would say to from day one: 'I don't know where you fit in. I don't know how to explain it. [your sound]whether you are indie or alternative.”

PS: What things might surprise people about the reality of being a professional musician?

Elsa and Elmar: It is physically and mentally demanding and requires a lot of patience… I feel like I am always on air.

PS: How have you learned to balance the pressure to be creative with the need to switch off and treat yourself?

Elsa and Elmar: I try to make the most of the times when I'm most creative and come up with as many ideas, songs and videos as possible, because I know there will always be dry spells. But I also try to make the most of the times when I'm not feeling so creative and not stress about it, but trust that the creativity will come back.

PS: What factors led to your two-year break?

Elsa and Elmar: I was fed up with all the bureaucracy, the expectations, working with the big labels, constantly chasing the carrot. I decided that if I was going to chase a carrot, it would be my carrot.

PS: The album is full of songs that deal with real-life issues. But the song that has perhaps garnered the most attention so far is “Entre Las Piernas,” a song that celebrates menstruation. What inspired you to address a subject that is still considered taboo for some?

Elsa and Elmar: To be honest, the subject didn't really occur to me as worthy of a song until one day I realized that half of the world's population bleeds once a month. And even today, in 2024, it's still a taboo subject that still disgusts people and that we're not supposed to talk about… and I just thought, “Thousands of love songs have been written and nobody has written about this subject that is so widespread?”

PS: In another highlight of the album, the song “Visto” shows incredible sensitivity to the “little heartache” that comes from not being read – a unique digital problem that the singer makes seem timeless. Why do you think something as simple as being ignored by text message can be so painful?

Elsa and Elmar: I mean, there are of course legitimate reasons for people to be left on “read”… but what I'm talking about in the song is when you show yourself vulnerable to someone and they leave you on “read.” It feels awful not to understand why the other side of the conversation, instead of communicating what they're feeling, shuts down the possibility of communication and leaves you with a mountain of questions and self-doubt.

PS: Finally, can you give some advice to those who may be going through the same things you have been through over the last two years – heartbreak, pressure to create, not being read – on how you found your center?

Elsa and Elmar: Recently I listened to a little chat and [heard something] I thought that was very nice. If a problem has a solution, it is not a problem. And if it has no solution, it is not a problem.

Whether in her interviews or her work, Carvajal's vulnerability comes across effortlessly. And yet she also understands that vulnerability is challenging for many of us in this day and age. But if she's learned anything in the past two years, it's that to make room for love, work, or anything else, we must first make room for ourselves, room for ourselves in our “Palacio.” “Palacio” is out August 30.

Miguel Machado is a journalist with expertise at the intersection of Latin American identity and culture. His offerings range from exclusive interviews with Latin music artists to opinion pieces on issues relevant to the community, personal essays on his Latinidad, and thoughts and pieces on Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican culture.