Camila Cabello - A Hero from Havana

Cabello posing for her first solo album cover.https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGUc-g4UIAE9bIg.jpg

“Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed,” -Bob Riley. Hard times can come in many shapes and sizes, they can  be boulders chasing us and preventing us from enjoying life, sharp rocks at the bottom of some daunting cliff warning us against taking the plunge into the next chapter of our, or even a road bumpy, cracked, broken, its earth covered in rocks that stick in your feet and try to get you to stop in your tracks. For Camila Cabello, a popular singer/songwriter, hard times have been that latter metaphor, a rocky path; a long daunting road that has stuck into her heels since the beginning. Sure her life hasn’t been all tough, but after walking a path long enough your feet begin to numb, there are always those few sharp stones that cut at the soles of our feet; the ones that break the skin and cause us pain. And during her hard times, Cabello has shown herself to be a hero. Her unconditional love and concern for her fans and loved ones, her unbreakable strength to stick it out through tough times, Camila Cabello should be seen as a hero.

Camila Cabello meeting young fan at album premierehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQu3IpXUEAAfOW5.jpg

Camila Cabello is a caring person to all people, especially towards her loved ones and even her fans. Most of her fans Cabello has never met before, yet she cares for them as if they were her friends; and even sometimes her children. Back when Cabello was still in the band, “Fifth Harmony,” the group would arrive at airports while on tour and stop to talk to the fans that would gather there to see them. Once when at an airport, surrounded by her other eager bodies, one of which who had a camera focused on her without her knowledge. She was signing pictures and posters when Cabello noticed self-harm scars on a fan’s arm. She stopped signing things and began to talk to the fan about the scars she saw, “Don’t do that anymore. You're so beautiful. There's such a big world out there, and you have a just magical smile and i would never want to see this magical smile gone. Don't do that anymore, ok?” She held the girl’s arm and kissed the scars. Then, she made sure the girl promised to stop hurting herself, “Do you promise me? promise me? Ok, I love you.” (Youtube video clip)  Cabello makes a point to tell the girl that she loves her, knowing the girl was a fan, knowing that her influence over the girl could be used for good. She hadn’t met this fan before, she didn’t know her personally, but she couldn’t bear the thought of the girl hurting herself. She cares for her fans so much that even though she doesn’t necessarily know them, she wants them to be safe. Cabello loves and trusts her fans because of the way they’ve stuck by her through everything, including her uncertain solo career. In a social media post she speaks of her love for her fans and appreciation for their love and support by saying this, “First and foremost thank you for sticking by me. You guys love me… and I feel so lucky I get to have people in my life that care about me so much… thank you for always being such an incredible support system in my life.” (instagram post) Her words are emotional, she means everyone of them as she thanks her fans. It's difficult for most people to be vulnerable with strangers, to trust them let alone love them. She isn't just vulnerable with her fans in person, but on social media as well, trusting that her fans will take her message to heart. This post was made on the day her first solo album came out, a thing she’d been scared and unsure of since she had left her band.  She reached out to her fans, she opened up to them about her doubts and fears and let them know that she loved them, trusted them, cared about them, and that she knew that they held her in the exact same regard. Camila Cabello is kind, caring, and trusting, even with those of whom she's never met, her heart beats for all who need it.

Camila Cabello giving her 2018 Grammy speech in support of DREAMershttps://www.billboard.com/files/media/Camila-Cabello-speech-2018-grammys-billboard-1548.jpg

Cabello isn’t just caring, shes strong too, so strong she’s had the courage to leave a band that seemed to be her one career path to start a solo career; so strong that she’s found her voice and she uses that voice to speak out for those who haven’t found theirs yet. In a biography of Cabello’s life her bravery is explained through her career struggles, saying: “The performer found that five years circling the globe touring with Fifth Harmony was demanding and left her little time to create her own music. Cabello, who learned to play guitar on tour in 2016, resorted to sitting on the floors of hotel bathrooms writing songs and recording demos… Finally, Cabello decided to leave the group. The announcement in late December of 2016 immediately drew backlash from many fans of the group and strained relations with the other women of Fifth Harmony.” Cabello wasn't just writing on those bathroom floors, already having strained relationships with her bandmates, who were out partying at the time. She was hurting, and writing about that hurt. She put her pain into music and then gathered herself enough to have the courage to leave. As the biography said, she received a lot of backlash from her fans, the prospect of their favourite group splitting up caused them to feel threatened, but Camila knew that those who really cared for her would follow, and they did. On January 24th, 2018, Billboard wrote an article on Cabello’s new album. It said: “Camila Cabello leaps from No. 12 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Jan. 27) to become the top musical act in the U.S. for the first time.” Her album did very well, her fans showing their loyalty towards the singer, but it isn’t the success we should look at, it’s the music itself. The original concept for her album was “The hurting, the healing, and the loving.” Cabello abandoned the idea as a title, but her songs can still be funneled into each of those categories. She opened up in her music, her fans realized her band had hurt her, the skeptics fell to either side. Cabello was tough, she trusted that the backlash would end and her fans would stick with her, maybe not all, but most. She was brave in a time of great uncertainty. She knew they’d realize she had found her voice. She used her voice to tell her story; and she continues to do so. During the 2018 Grammy awards, Cabello gives a speech about DREAMers, saying: "Today, in this room full of music's dreamers, we remember that this country was built by dreamers, for dreamers, chasing the American dream. I'm here on this stage tonight because, just like the DREAMers, my parents brought me to this country with nothing in their pockets but hope. They showed me what it means to work twice as hard and never give up. And honestly no part of my journey is any different from theirs." Camila Cabello uses her voice for her own story, and for others; to tell others of her own struggle and to give hope. She speaks out in support of DREAMers, showing she hasn’t forgotten where she’s come from, or who got her here. She believes in the equality for all, and doesn’t stay silent about the issues she passionate about. She ends her speech with this:  "I'm a proud Cuban-Mexican immigrant, born in Eastern Havana, standing in front of you on the Grammy stage in New York City, and all I know is, just like dreams, these kids can't be forgotten and are worth fighting for." She states that the kids in jeopardy are “worth fighting for,” she’s stating that she is willing to help in the fight. This call to action, is her way of showing where her loyalties lie; with the people. Cabello’s bravery to not only start anew and find her voice, but also use that voice to talk about the issues that are import shows exactly how much of a hero she is.

Cropped image of Cabello's debut album cover, self entitled "CAMILA."https://theinterns.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Camila.jpg

Camila Cabello’s instinctive kindness towards anyone and everyone, and incredible bravery have proved her to be a hero. She looks out for the well being of all people and has the strength to persevere through the tough times and use her pain to speak out about important topics. She’s continued these traits through every rough patch, in every form, she’s stayed kind and brave through it all. This is why Camila Cabello is a hero.

Works Consulted

Cabello, Camila. Instagram, 12 Jan. 2018, www.instagram.com/p/Bd2w6Z0DRLp/.

Camila Cabello Has Fan Promise to Stop Cutting. Perf. Camila Cabello. YouTube. N.p., 21 July

2015. Web. 29 Jan. 2018.

“Camila Cabello." Gale Biography in Context, Gale, 2017. Biography in Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1650010786/BIC1?u=powa9245&xid=cc83bfb3. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018

Paine, Andre. "Cuba's got talent: Syco MD hails 'authentic' artist Camila Cabello: The former Fifth

Harmony singer's solo No.1 Havana has set her up for a 'very long career,' says Tyler Brown." Music Week, 6 Nov. 2017, p. 6. Biography in Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A518588025/BIC1?u=powa9245&xid=fc9b6d3b. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018

Skelton, Eric. “Camila Cabello Delivers Moving Speech in Support of DREAMers at 2018 Grammys.”

Complex, Complex, 29 Jan. 2018, www.complex.com/music/2018/01/camila-cabello-speech-2018-grammys.

Zellner, Xander. “Camila Cabello Is First Woman Since Adele to Triple Up Atop Hot 100, Billboard 200 &

Artist 100 Charts.” Billboard, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2018, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8095905/camila-cabello-hot-100-billboard-200-artist-camila-album-havana-number-one-adele