Guanabee met up with Mexican singer and actress Ximena Sariñana at the Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York City. After getting lost trying to find the bathrooms (awkward), we sat down with Ximena and talked about her music, her personal style and why you’ll never see her shaving her head in the pages of a tabloid magazine.

Guanabee: Sup Ximena. Let’s get our own dorkiness out of the way: You were on “Luz Clarita” way back in the day! We loved that show. Do you think the fact that you were a successful child actress has helped or hurt your musical career in any way?
Ximena: Aw, haha! Well, I don’t think having been on the show or having done novelas has had any impact on my being a singer. I always think of the two as separate and I think other people seem to think of it that way.

Guanabee: Is there one path you enjoy more, singing or acting?
Ximena: I love both! They allow different ways to express myself, although music is more personal.

Guanabee: There seems to be a trend, at least among American pop stars, to branch out and become a “brand.” Are there any plans for a future Ximena clothing line or makeup line or brand of body wax?
Ximena: Oh God, no. I have no clue about fashion; I have no sense of style. I have fashionable friends, so I go to them for fashion advice and to make sure I look presentable. No, no plans for any of that. I just want to focus on music right now, and acting.

Guanabee: What about another trend among pop stars in the U.S – Complaining about the paparazzi. Is that something you’ve had to deal with in Mexico?
Ximena: To be honest, I’ve never had to deal with it. I’m not out at clubs or parties or anything like that. Usually, I’m with my family or friends or my boyfriend, just hanging out. I’m just a normal girl, you know? I’m a pretty calm person. Plus, paparazzi in Mexico only really pursue soap opera stars. And, really, I’m not that famous!

Guanabee: So no shots of you falling out of cars or dancing on banquets? Oh well. Back to the music, then. Your songs are an interesting mix of genres – jazz, folk, pop, etc. You must have quite a wide of range of influences.
Ximena: Yeah, I like all kinds of things. I’m really into 70s artists like Betty Davis and Alice Coltrane. I like a lot of Brazilian music. Lots of things. My boyfriend [Ed. note: That would be Omar Rodríguez-López, the very afro’d lead guitarist of prog-rock “The Mars Volta.” Their music is so different… Wonder if it leads to arguments? “Your music sounds like a robot masturbating!” “Well you do, like…. chick rock!”] is, like, my music guru and always recommends new bands or styles to me. I have a stack of like twenty CDs from him that I still have to get through.

Guanabee: We really love the album art for your CD, Mediocre. Can you explain the cover and title and what they mean?
Ximena: The cover is a take on the idea that women in the 40s and 50s had to be “perfect.” Perfect hair, perfect clothes, sitting quietly and making perfect meals and embroidering perfectly. And, ironically, they were all perfect in the same, uninteresting way so that ended up making them all mediocre. That was the idea.

Guanabee: Do you think your music appeals mostly to women, then?
Ximena: I’m not sure. I guess, yeah, I think it must. As a woman myself, I automatically write things that have to do with women’s issues and I can see how other women can listen and relate to what I sing about.

Guanabee: Would you ever consider producing an album in English?
Ximena: Actually, when I first started writing songs, they were all in English because I felt more comfortable writing and expressing myself that way. But my bandmates didn’t know English as well, so I switched to learning to write more in Spanish. So I think I would like to write songs in English, but now I’d have to work to switch out of that “thinking in Spanish lyrics” mindset.

Guanabee: You’ve mentioned quite a bit about women’s issues and solidarity with women. Would you consider yourself a feminist?
Ximena: No, I wouldn’t call myself a feminist. But I think that, as a woman myself, I’m in tune with what other women think and feel. You know what I mean? Women have, like, a bond. Its like when you talk to your girlfriends, and you’re all speaking the same secret language. One thing I’d like to do, actually, is develop a community of female singers and artists in Latin America. I think it’s harder there, you know, to really succeed and we should all support and help one another, build each other up.

We agree, sister-child. As such, we’d like to share one of Ximena’s songs, “Como Soy” with all of you. Enjoy:

And, as an extra treat, here’s her rendition of “Volare:”