Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Kany García brings her biggest tour yet to the US

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Kany García has built her Latin Grammy -winning career on intimate, deeply personal music, but now she is bringing that connection with fans to bigger stages as her Puerta Abierta tour heads to the United States.

After drawing more than 14,000 fans to Mexico City's Palacio de los Deportes and another 15,000 in Medellín, Colombia , the US leg of the tour begins Sept. 7 in Highland, California, with stops in San Antonio, Orlando, Los Angeles, and Chicago, among other U.S. cities, as well as Toronto and Montreal in Canada. She will also participate in Billboard Latin Music Week in October in Miami.

Unlike on past tours, García said she’s focused on the “here and now,” making a point of doing things such as reading the local newspaper in the cities she visits so she can "enjoy and savor” the experience.

The greatest challenge, she said in an interview with The Associated Press, has been to preserve her essence and captivate the public despite performing in larger venues.

“One of the things I wanted to do with this tour is to play a lot more instruments than I used to do,” said García, a seven-time Latin Grammy winner . “When you sit behind a piano and see all the musicians, it creates an atmosphere of greater intimacy.”

In addition to playing piano, García performs with her inseparable guitar and shares acoustic moments onstage with regional Mexican musicians . She said she hopes to continue her relationship with the genre for many more years, after releasing songs such as “Te lo agradezco” with Carín León and “La Siguiente” with Christian Nodal .

“I feel like it's in my DNA, embedded in my entire system, and it's something I think I'll hardly abandon,” she said. "Beyond whatever the trends may be, I do it in a way that feels very natural to me, with a lot of passion and, of course, a lot of respect.”

One of the most popular songs from “Puerta Abierta," the album behind the tour, is the regional Mexican song “La mala era yo” ("I Was the Bad One") with Mexican singer Yuridia, with whom García said she always wanted to work.

“Yuridia has always been very coherent with her songs, with what she does. She has an incredible connection with the audience, besides having a great voice," said García. “I had wanted for a while to make a song that felt more like a conversation between two women who stop blaming the other and being victims.”

The concert unfolds with musicians and performers in constant motion. The visuals feature the same giant image of a girl that appears on the cover of “Puerta Abierta." The girl is García, wearing a haircut given by her father and her sister when the family couldn't afford to go to the hairdresser.

“It’s a way for me today to give a place — and a voice — to the girl I was once, and also to honor my roots and the sounds that I grew up with, many of which are on the album.”

In another song of the album, “La culpa," a collaboration with Venezuelan band Rawayana , she talks about the experience of life in the Caribbean, where people can love “without electricity and without water," they sing.

The recent earthquakes, like those that hit Colombia and Venezuela , added another hardship to Latin America.

“What we are experiencing is devastating, and I don't think anyone is prepared for this,” said García, who supports the ABACO organization in Colombia and other aid organizations in Venezuela. "The problem is that it becomes old news, news that no one talks about anymore. And the needs are changing. So, that’s why I think it’s important to support today, to support a month from now, and to support three months from now.”