Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonia McLaughlin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have always loved singing. I sing when I am joyful, solemn, hopeful, hopeless but mostly all of the above and usually at the same time. There is a great quote I’ve read in a book recently called Wintering by Katherine May she states “Like the robin, we sometimes sing to show how strong we are, and we sometimes sing in hope of better times. We sing either way.” I couldn’t agree more. When I was growing up, I would sing songs that I would learn from the telenovelas that my mother would put on. We had a satellite that would directly link us up with Brazilian television channels. It was a way for us to stay connected with my mother’s family in Sao Paulo whom we spent too few of time with every year. You see, my mother came to the United States in both grief and determination. After her mother had passed away, she decided to reach out to a distant relative and organize a year of living together while she earned a business certificate at Berkeley. She didn’t know she would stay to make a home and raise a bicultural family with my father.
I learned a lot of my Portuguese through Brazilian music. I loved singing in Portuguese because when I heard it it sounded so much like a song, words easily rhythmic and statements so poetic. I like to think that learning another language is a lot like learning lyrics to a song you love. Of course, it wasn’t the only music I listened to. I also love to sing songs from Billie Holiday, Adele, Etta James, and even into some funk like Rufus.
So, my musical interests and my love for Brazil had me casually looking for bands in Austin, Texas that were playing Brazilian music. I connected with a guitar player, who connected us with another guitar player, we found a bass player who knew a drummer, and we were recommended a flute player before we became Nossas Novas. We love to play and sing Brazilian Bossa Nova, a specific musical genre which literally translates to “new samba jazz”. It was born on the beautiful beaches of Rio de Janeiro, where Brazilians, while lazily laying in the sun created a softer version of samba, Brazilian music and rhythms, and American jazz. The name “Nossas Novas” is a play on the genre Bossa Nova, meaning “our new”. We are recreating Bossa Nova for the city of Austin.
I feel so lucky to be playing music with my band mates and to be connected with the music scene in Austin. We are so happy to share this music.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would describe the bumps on the road as being ones that are not truly extraordinary, except for the pandemic. That was not expected by anyone from our time. Nossas Novas had been getting gigs pre-pandemic, the road seemed smooth enough, but we weren’t exactly sure of where we were going. We just know that we enjoy playing this music, reinventing it, and sharing songs from a different culture. So, we ha to take a COVID-19 break for a little over a year like most of us did, I thought it was over. I didn’t feel confident that we were all so invested as to pick up playing the songs again. I thought after a year we had grown apart, but we were all excited to play again. So much so that we recruited a completely new guitar player, reworked the songs with his influence, and we played our first show back in the late spring of 2021. Since then, we had lost our flute player and I was saddened by this but was reassured by both my band and others that this was typical. Everything changes. If you were to ask me where the road is going now, I would probably say that I am honestly not sure still, haha. However, I have some ideas of places we’d like to work our way up to playing and I trust that we can get there without looking too far ahead.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Brazilian American. The influence hasn’t only guided me in my singing but also in my profession. I graduated from the University of Austin in Latin American studies. Since then, I have worked in a lot of international capacities and now I support Environmental Defense Fund’s strategy for ocean conservation in the Caribbean countries. I am an organizer, an entertainer, a friend, and a planner. I love bringing people together from different countries, lifestyles, cultures and learning from each other. I enjoy facilitating cultural exchange and because of my bicultural background, my go-getting humor, and relentless optimistic personality, I’d say I am pretty good at it! I had a manager tell me once that I take myself seriously, but not too seriously. It’s what I am most proud of and what I think makes me different.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think having a good sense of humor is one of the most important qualities that anyone can have. If you can laugh at yourself while confidently staying true to yourself, I really think you can do anything. There are a lot of times where I feel like I don’t know what I am doing. When Nossas Novas formed and I was turning into the leader, I didn’t, and I still don’t at times feel like I have the experience or the qualifications to be leading a band.
To share another quote, Brene Brown says “soft front, strong back, wild heart”. Not knowing something means asking a question and making a mistake means taking a step back and trying again. These words have made me remember my sense of playfulness in this world, has put me in a position to learn so much, and has shown me that I can have some fun while pursuing my goals. You can be vulnerable without letting go of your power! I feel this most when I use my voice. It is amazing!
Contact Info:
- Email: nossasnovasatx@gmail.com
- Website: https://nossasnovas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nossasnovas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NossasNovasATX/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxKxQYpsM7sWsk6mdF56U4Q
Image Credits
Sydney Fuller, Hannah Puck, Claire Mayberry
