“Quebrantado is an EP Full of Hope and Freedom": Blanca Talks Healing + Being Vulnerable in New Release

New York-born Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Blanca is winning listeners over with the stunning honesty and beautiful, overwhelming emotion she channels into her music.

Blessed with a powerful, soul-enamoring voice, the talented pop vocalist recently released her new EP Quebrantado, an incredibly personal collection rooted in heartbreak, faith, and growth. Comprising five tracks, the EP follows the release of her 2016 English-language album Shattered and honors her Hispanic heritage, featuring the Spanish-language versions of five of the album’s original songs.

Creating the EP has served as a necessary source of healing for the singer, who not long ago experienced two of the greatest losses anyone on Earth could ever know: the death of both of her parents. Through songs like “Preguntas,” the Spanish version of her single “What If,” she shares her lifelong struggle with anxiety and fear and the triumph she felt when she found her strength in God.

Blanca recently sat down with Musical Notes Global to talk all the details of Quebrantado. Check out the full interview below.

Musical Notes Global: Quebrantado is a super personal EP, and in it you get incredibly vulnerable. How difficult--or easy--was it for you to open up like this?

Blanca: Vulnerability is a bit scary for me to do, and honestly doesn’t come as easy as I would like it to. But during this process of recording my record, it was the only thing I could do. I didn’t know how to hide the emotions I was feeling with the loss I had felt. And I knew God was pushing me to open up. I’m so glad I did because it was a very healing experience for me.

MNG: Do you think creating this EP helped you heal in any way?

Blanca: There was so much healing that came from this album. There’s times even now that I sing these songs live and I can feel it soaking to my soul. I can remember the place I was in when I wrote it, and I’m able to look back now and see a lot of the healing that has come from releasing some of the emotions through song.

MNG: What is the most meaningful song for you? Why?

Blanca: That’s so hard!! I love so many songs. But I think in this very moment, I would say “Shattered/Quebrantado” the title track to the album, is the most meaningful. I feel like it carries my heart in it and has been a source of so much strength for me.

MNG: What is the most important thing for your listeners to know about Quebrantado? How do you hope they connect with it?

Blanca: Quebrantado is an EP full of hope and freedom. And those are the biggest messages I want the audience to connect with! Freedom to express themselves in a real and honest way, even if it’s anger or fear or even confusion. Cause I feel like when we allow ourselves to express these things, that’s when God can really step in a work it out with us. It’s not too much for him ;) he can handle our deep emotions. And hope to know that if your walking through loss or trauma of any kind, God is there, He is walking it out with you, and In the end you will end up stronger than you ever thought possible.

MNG: For anyone else experiencing such terrible fear and anxiety, what would you want them to know?

Blanca: You are not alone. Words so simple but carry so much weight. I’m learning to let go of the things that I can not control and give life to the things I can. Reminding myself that I’m not in it alone... not only do I have Jesus to help me through it but I also have these amazing people in my life that are there for me to help me through it as well. My fave scripture that I go to in times of fear and anxiety is Joshua 1:9 “have I not commanded you, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged for the lord your God is with you wherever you go.

MNG: What would you say to your fans if they were standing in front of you?

I would say thank you, for the kindness and love they show me. I don’t ever take it lightly. And a lot of them have been a source of healing for me. I would also tell them to embrace who they are. All the parts that make them who they are. So many times we focus on all the things we aren’t and the things we have yet to achieve but there’s so much beauty in the current season we are in. Embrace it and know that Hod will use all of it for his purpose.

Listen to Quebrantado below.