Songwriter Espinoza Paz reflects on the new song from the late diva.
A new posthumous Jenni Rivera single dropped Friday (Feb. 28) titled “Engañémoslo,” a powerful and empowering mariachi song about having the strength to leave a violent relationship and the importance of self-worth.
The track, penned by Espinoza Paz, is the latest single to be released by Rivera’s family and it was among the 11 songs that the family recently found in a hard drive.
“Engañémoslo] will lift you up and we invite you to this movement because it’s about men, women, equality, we’re not trying to step on anybody, we just have to remember that we’re equals,” Rivera’s sister, Rosie, previously told Billboard. “That powerful, vicious woman is back.”
The chart-topping artist, who passed away in 2012, recorded multiple songs throughout her career written by Paz including “No Llega el Olvido” and “Inolvidable.”
Paz, who wrote “Engañémoslo” many years ago, didn’t know whether Rivera had recorded the song or not. To his surprise, she did. “Destiny has brought us back together,” the Sinaloan singer-songwriter tells Billboard.
Below, Paz shares with Billboard the moment he found out Rivera had recorded his song “Engañémoslo” and reflects on previous collaborations with Rivera.
When did you write “Engañémoslo” and did you write it specifically for Jenni Rivera?
I wrote the song a long time ago, to be honest I don’t remember how many years ago, maybe 8 years ago. It was a song that came naturally to me, like most songs do. You sometimes want to say something that you haven’t said before in a song and you finally have the right words to say it. That’s how I wrote “Engañémoslo.” When I finished writing it, I reached out the team I was working with back then and told them that I thought Jenni should record the song and the next day we sent it to her. They never said if they would record it. She actually recorded other songs written by me like “No Llega el Olvido” and “Inolvidable” and a few other songs but didn’t know if she had recorded “Engañémoslo” or not.
When did you find out that she had recorded it?
A few days ago, I got a call from Sony Music and they told me they had news for me. They said, ‘the next Jenni song is one of yours.’ ‘Mine?’ I asked. I thought maybe she did a cover of one of my songs. They they told me it was “Engañémoslo” and I thought she had never even recorded it. I had sent that song such a long time ago. I got very excited. It’s a beautiful surprise. I was able to spend time with her and 15 days before she passed, we were on a plane together where she talked to me about many things like music, the amazing things that had happened to her in life, and now, destiny has brought us back together: me with my inspiration and her giving voice to my inspiration. What I love about her was that she made us and still makes us feel so many emotions when she sings.
You collaborated with Rivera on multiple occasions, what was that like?
One of the most special nights was when I had the opportunity to open for her at the L.A. Nokia a long time ago. But, every time I would sing with her or see her, it was a special moment. I had a lot of respect for her and it was an honor to share with her so many special moments in her career and personal life.
