The Guru does not fit into conventional narratives of sudden success or premeditated decisions. Her career, as she herself describes, is the longest-lasting “toxic relationship” she has ever had.
Daniela TK was born in Bucaramanga and, more than an early vocation or a talent discovered in adolescence, her story with music was slowly woven, like someone, without knowing it, falling in love with something that has always been there. Now, with a voice that has already made a place for itself in the urban scene, La Guru presents a work that reflects her experiences with a broken heart, her constant struggle with the industry, and the resilience of a woman who has known how to move her cards .
His first approaches to music began before he could remember it. “My mother would play music and dance when I was in her womb,” he says. Since I was little, I felt like I had an innate tuning. She imitated the songs she heard and that was when her parents enrolled her in music classes at school. He learned to sing and play the flute, but over time, his parents’ support faded. “Following the dream was quite a challenge,” he admits, making it clear that this lonely path was not a limitation.
Already at university, music slipped through the cracks of his academic life. He would skip classes to play with his band and spend hours in recording studios just to watch, listen and learn. She played in bars, restaurants and even on the streets, struggling to find her place in a music scene that was not used to seeing women leading the way. “There wasn’t a lot of credibility from the industry at the time,” he recalls. However, music never stopped being a constant. “At times I have let go of her, but I realize that I am not the same without her.”
Her first musical influences were as varied as the style that defines her today. “When I was little, my dad gave me my first cassette. And it was Big Boy’s, from ‘My Eyes Cry for You.'” From there, her tastes began to expand: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, the Backstreet Boys, and other pop references that defined the era in which she grew up. “It was the rise of pop, of the exemplification of the idol artist who knew how to sing, dance, act, or rather, he had to do everything well in order to be an iconic artist. And I wanted to be like them.”
At the age of 15 he discovered jazz, soul, R&B and hip-hop. “I’m like a mix of a lot of things,” she says, and it’s not hard to imagine when she talks about how her family also exposed her to Latin rhythms like merengue and salsa. “But my great love was always Amy Winehouse. And then, later on, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, you know? Like these old women who put on their performance, their show, I have always admired that a lot.”
As he grew older, spirituality began to form a crucial part of his life, transforming his relationship with the world and, of course, with music. “I had been believing for many years that I was dedicated to music and believing that he believed in me, but in reality I was a very insecure person, who still did not trust 100% in his abilities,” she confesses. The internal doubt was always present, and although the exterior seemed not to matter, inside there was a void that he felt he had to fill. That need to find something deeper led her to seek answers in spirituality, a path that changed her perspective and laid the foundation for her resilience. “Believing in myself was what got me to the point where I am right now.”
“All my life I was raised from fear and not from love. Unlearn those things that made me limit myself, let go of all those beliefs and then start to see things from the ‘yes it is possible’ perspective. That was what helped me raise my career from spirituality,” he says. “I experienced God in all colors, so to speak. I did not stay in a single current, but I had the blessing of experiencing God in different ways, from music, from meditation, from the church, from mantras, from an endless number of feelings.”
But the biggest challenge would come as she entered the music industry, where often being a woman “is a disadvantage.” “It’s no secret to anyone that the industry is mostly men. It is very difficult to see women producers and composers. And there are, of course, but it is very scarce,” he laments. “Even if you show that you have all the capabilities, and even many more capabilities than the other people who are with you in the room, they will not look at you with the same eyes for the simple fact that you are the only old woman there” .
These experiences in the industry, coupled with abusive personal relationships, pushed her on more than one occasion to consider giving up music. “I have gone through some tough times, I have been abused in work environments, and from music I have also had people around me who have been very abusive,” he reveals. “When I sit down to talk with artist friends, I realize that I am not the only one who has been in these situations. There are so many things that happen that we don’t talk about. But things are still happening that one thought only happened 10, 15 or 20 years ago.”
None of these obstacles were weighty enough to divert her from her destiny and in 2022 she launched herself into the world with her debut album, Gurundanga. This project, loaded with various musical influences, was a risky bet in an industry where success is usually linked to following proven formulas. “What stopped me the most from launching this project was that it was not commercial. It was not what was playing, it was not what was going to sell,” La Guru admits. “If people are consuming empanadas, then let’s make empanadas, because we already know what people like, right? I was making pandebonos, do you understand me?”
The main challenge of Gurundanga It wasn’t just its gender diversity, but also the internal process it involved. The album began to take shape in 2020, in a context marked by the aftermath of the pandemic. “It was a challenge to do it for art. I asked myself: am I going to do it for myself or am I doing it for the masses?” The purpose of the project was more than clear: it was not intended to generate income, nor to follow the currents of the moment. “The good thing was that there was no money, there was nothing, there was no business. It was simply releasing music because I wanted to release it. I said: ‘Let’s put this outside because if I don’t take it out now, I’m never going to take it out.’”
However, La Guru did not expect that this intimate and personal project would have a much greater impact than she had imagined. Among the songs on the album, ‘Perra Melancólica’ was the great success of the moment and even managed to reach the ears of one of the most prominent singers of the urban scene: Karol G. “I say that the universe, God, or whatever you call it you want to call, it has ways of making itself felt. “I had given up on being an artist as a life project,” he says, remembering the moment when he decided to move to the United States to work and look for other opportunities. “I come from a circle where very few people think about fulfilling their dreams. I was already a little away from music until Karol happened and it was the only sign I needed. And here I go.”
La Guru’s next project, Sweet Tearspromises to offer a new personal and musical perspective in relation to his debut work. The artist already has more than one hundred songs for this new album, as a sample of her evolution and transformation so far. “I think this project is like when you update an application, it has improvements and errors are corrected,” he says. “It’s about all that powerful force, that magic of the moon, the feminine energy, having embraced that energy, because I hadn’t felt myself for a long time.”
While in Gurundanga The roots of Colombian folklore and traditional Latin sounds were already evident, Sweet Tears expands that spectrum, incorporating influences that have impacted his creative mind after leaving Colombia. His debut was born from the pain of a “tusa ni la verraca”, and now, Sweet Tears It will be a celebration of the rebirth that comes after a broken heart. “This album is too energetic. Gurundanga It had songs that were a little sadder. These are much more focused on celebrating life, on dancing, on feeling cool with yourself.”
But this new project is also loaded with female empowerment, celebrating the strength, independence and pride of being a woman who is not afraid to raise her voice. “Very few people right now in the music industry highlight those values of being a verraca woman, forward, who doesn’t copy anything, who doesn’t pay attention to what others say,” she says. This is a central theme in Sweet Tearsan album that invites women to embrace their power and not allow outside voices to limit their path.
Although the exact date of the release of Sweet Tears It is still a surprise, La Guru has already given us a preview, which prepares the ground for the arrival of the album. This is ‘Bareto y Chanel’, her most recent single which, according to the artist, is just a small sample of what is to come. “This album is more about turning pain into something productive,” he says.
This new project also reflects La Guru’s personal process when dealing with love and relationships. The artist is not shy about expressing her frustrations with romantic dynamics, especially today, where lack of commitment is increasingly common. “Sometimes I feel like I’m all hater of men, but the thing is that the manes pass. Good thing,” he says with a laugh. However, rather than remaining in regret, Sweet Tears It promises to be a source of courage that results in empowerment. “My favorite state is when I’m super nostalgic. Not sad, but simply contemplating the small details,” he confesses. In his creative process, pain has an artistic and emotional value that he has known how to channel throughout his career, making it an essential part of his proposal.
Looking ahead, La Guru is more determined than ever to hold on to her dream. With new collaborations and projects on the way, the artist plans some upcoming releases that begin to build this new chapter of her life. “Now there is a time coming when I am going to start making music more so that they can hear it in a disco, to dance, to enjoy it,” he anticipates.
This is the next chapter of an artist who has learned to find beauty in vulnerability and strength in uncertainty. “I know that I have fallen and made many mistakes, but I feel that now I am a little more prepared, I am calmer, I feel awake, with my eyes wide open to everything that is happening. “I’m not ignoring anything at all.” Now, La Guru is ready to show how each stone along the way has become the foundation on which she has built her “farmhouse.”
