By: Fredwill Hernandez
A Latin Grammy [I predict] could finally be in the horizon for “El Hijo Del Desierto” [Spanish for The Desert’s Son] the second single and title track of Dasahey López Saavedra, known artistically as El Dasa, third studio album, released Fri. – Dec 15, 2017.
“I been singing since 12 years old, ever since I found I had a gift and passion for singing and music,” explains The Regional Mexican singer, songwriter and [now turned] actor who was born July 27, 1989 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. “I was 15 [yrs. old] when I went to a Quinceña, and asked Banda Costa Azul who was performing and who I considered to be the best banda in Hermosillo, in that region, if they would give me a chance to sing one of their songs, the song that was popular at radio at that time, they allowed me to sing, and after I sang they offered me a spot singing and I eventually became the lead and only vocalists for the band for five years.”
El Dasa who has not released an album in three years also feels that one needs to take advantage of the opportunities as they arise, in reference to his story as a solo artist which began in 2011, when he was discovered by Mexican Musical Icon, Ranchera singer Vicente Fernández, whose [Mariachi] band asked him to listen to his chauffeur singing.
“I had been Vicente’s chauffeur for some time and during his concert at the Gibson Amphitheater he brought out to sing, after I sang Juan Gabriel’s “Cuando Yo Quiera Has De Volver” which was the song he had previously heard me sing and after the public requested another song, then we sang “Amor De Los Dos” together. I am humbly grateful for that opportunity, it really changed my life. Hypothetically speaking, if that would of never happened, my career might of taken a bit longer, but I would of found another opportunity, another way, I know myself.”
Three weeks after singing with Fernandez, El Dasa, signed a record deal with Regional Mexican powerhouse Fonovisa, under the Universal Music Latin Entertainment umbrella, and in 2013, had a nod [Latin Grammy nomination] for Best Banda Album for his [2012] debut Pá La Raza, that was followed by his second album “Alegre y Enamorado” released in 2014.
Why “El Hijo Del Desierto” means so much ?, “It’s a song with a lot of respect, dedicated to all of us, I say us because I’m from Mexico too, we leave our country to come here and start from scratch, we cross the desert in one way or another, leaving our culture, [our] families, our roots. I sing this song and through this album, letting them know – I’m here, I’m one of you, being successful, you can also excel and be successful too, set your sights on your goals, on your dreams, you have to believe in yourself, you have to be honest with yourself, when you listen to “El Hijo Del Desierto” you feel the anger, the pride of what the song’s about. When I say were not criminals, it’s something I wanted to say through my music, It also has to do with everything that is happening [in the US], and where I’m from, from one “El Hijo Del Desierto” [The Desert’s Son] to the next,” eloquently explained El Dasa, on the fifth floor of the iconic Capitol Bldg., where he opened up alongside his French Bulldog Benito. “Nods and accolades are nice but for me it’s all about the [reciprocal] love I receive, I feel [it], and my fans know I give it right back.”