by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Picture what you were doing at 23. Traveling? Graduating from college? Maybe landing that first big job?

Lifelong friends Azalea “Asália” Segura-Mora and Norma Rodriguez, both 23, have added a new possibility to that list: the Claremont residents are in Mexico, gearing up for the final round of the inaugural “Mexico Canta Por La Paz y Contra Las Adiciones” (Mexico Sings For Peace and Against Addictions) song contest, sponsored by the Mexican government. The live finale from Mexico City’s Theater of the City Esperanza Iris airs at 6 p.m. this Sunday, October 5, viewable on youtube.com, by searching “Canal 22.”

 Up for grabs are recording deals for the winners in best song, best performer, and jury prize categories.  Segura-Mora and Rodriguez, known onstage as Asália y Norma, are among the contest’s 10 finalists. Months after they first submitted their original song, “Empezar” or “To Begin,” for consideration, they find themselves as one of the United States’ western region representatives.

(L-R) Azalea Segura-Mora and Norma Rodriguez, also known as Asália y Norma. Photo/courtesy of Alejandro Segura-Mora

“I didn’t know that after we finished performing that we were going to have the announcement that who was going to go on to the finals,” Segura-Mora said. “And so, each of the judges were saying their bit, and then they announced, ‘With great honor, we move on to the finals Asália y Norma.’ And I think we were both so shocked … I think my first reaction was just like, honestly thinking about all the contestants behind me.”

The contest opened up for submissions in April. Segura-Mora said she learned about it from a family member who heard it during one of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily press conferences.

“The contest arises with the aim of creating new musical narratives that move away from the apology of violence, through lyrics that evoke the love, heartbreak and greatness of Mexico,” reads the contest description at mexicocanta.gob.mx.

Pushed to enter, the duet played a song they wrote a year ago and filmed their audition in Segura-Mora’s bedroom.

The contest’s selection committee then narrowed the competition from an initial 15,000 entries to just 365. From there, 48 acts from six regions — western, central and eastern U.S., and northern, central and southern Mexico — were named semifinalists. Artists traveled to Mexico over the summer to perform live and determine who would advance to the final round.

Neither musician envisioned getting this far. Through the contest, the pair tracked a second version of “Empezar” at a Los Angeles recording studio. Rodriguez said it’s unfathomable how their first professionally recorded song gained such momentum.

“To have ‘Empezar’ carry us this far is really crazy because we would just make stuff at the park. We’d meet at the park, jam, and really just have fun with what we were making,” Rodriguez said. “Especially seeing what the other contestants had created themselves, it was wild to see our song up there.”

Clearly, the judges for “Mexico Canta Por La Paz y Contra Las Adiciones” felt it belonged.

“I feel like we have a very unique sound, and it represents who we are, truly who we are, pieces of ourselves from being Mexican, but also pieces of ourselves and being American,” Segura-Mora said. “It’s kind of like this duo, this fusion that we represent in our music. I think that’s what music is for, just bringing people together, bringing community together and uniting people and feeling.”

Long before their turn in the international spotlight, the pair played cello together in the El Roble Intermediate School orchestra. At Claremont High, their friendship and musical partnership blossomed. They formed a group, Corazon de Melon (Heart of Melon), and took first place in CHS’s battle of the bands competition their sophomore and junior years and performed at the Sadie Hawkins dance.

After graduating in 2020, Segura-Mora went on to the University of California, San Diego and created another band, Alegrias. That group was part of National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Concert tour in 2023. Meanwhile, Rodriguez, who plays guitar for Asália y Norma, studied to become a nurse.

Despite school demands, the duo made it a priority to get together during breaks to work on music. “Every time that I would come back for breaks … Norma is always someone that I wanted to make the effort to see,” Segura-Mora said. “She’s one of my besties.”

Regardless of the outcome on Sunday, the young musicians said they already feel like winners.

“I remember something my grandpa said once we were even going to the City of Mexico for the first time for semifinals, something that he told me was, ‘It doesn’t matter if you win: you’ve already won. You’ve already won being there, being in the space with the right people,” Segura-Mora said.

The pair plans to keep making music after the show wraps.

“Asália and I are really good friends, but when it comes to music, I think we have a really good, mental connection, not like telepathy, but it feels like we know where we want to go in the song … It feels like our energies combine well,” Rodriguez said.

The grand finale of “Mexico Canta Por La Paz y Contra Las Adiciones” airs from Mexico City at 6 p.m. this Sunday, October 5. The competition will be viewable on youtube.com, by searching “Canal 22.”