Julieta Venegas: La Leyenda de Tijuana

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“I am a bit of a romantic fabulist,” says the venerable Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas in her new memoir, “Norteña: Memorias del Comienzo.” When we meet, she’s standing amid the shelves of Libros Schmibros, a Latino lending library in the heart of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, leering at the stacks of books from authors exhibiting the vast range of experiences and perspectives across the Latin American diaspora.Venegas is now adding her voice to this shared-but-fractured written history; albeit, not entirely on purpose.Inspired by writing classes she took during the pandemic, Venegas began by drafting personal essays before losing interest and going back to her day job.

“I just wanted to do another record,” she admitted.“I wasn’t really interested in my own memoir.”She soon realized that her new songs were beginning to parrot the themes and stories of those essays.

The result is not only her first book, but also her 10th full-length LP, “Norteña,” which comes out on Friday.“I realized I was actually inventing my own musical memoir.

So I thought it made sense to actually do [both projects] together.”In combination, the two projects serve as a chronicle of Venegas’ path in becoming one of pop music’s great observers of love.Each is centered around her first love: her hometown of Tijuana, and its essential place in her journey.

“I was reading a lot of writers from Baja California, writers from Tijuana.This whole project was my way of coming back.

I hadn’t realized it when I started, but I was thinking about Tijuana.I was thinking about Baja California.”The “Norteña” projects highlight the grit and glamour of life between borders.

“So far from God, and yet so close to the United States” is how Venegas describes it.The book provides a snapshot of her family’s life bouncing between homes on both sides, and the process ...