Camila

by Evan C. Gutierrez
Mexican trio Camila made a strong entrance onto the Spanish-speaking pop/rock scene in the summer of 2006. The group is comprised of the previously unknown Samo (voice), Pablo Hurtado (guitar), and industry mainstay Mario Domm (piano, voice, composer, and producer). Domm, having started his songwriting career nearly 15 years before, writing hits for such major-label successes as OV 7, the Sacados, X-Magneto, Giovanni, El Circulo, and Edel Juárez, is undoubtedly the bandmember with a master plan for success. Reyli Barba, Sin Bandera, and Kalimba all have Domm to thank for his hit songs and a winning producer's ear. Those songwriting and production skills, combined with the fresh artistic perspective of Samo and Hurtado, resulted in the release of their 2006 debut record, Todo Cambió. The hit single from that record, "Abrazame," has consistently made waves on Billboard's Latin charts. The group's takeoff was so rapid that the aforementioned single was radio-ready before the bandmembers had even selected a name for themselves. Settling on Camila -- meaning "close to God" -- seemed appropriate thanks to the granting of the group's collective dream. The record was subsequently nominated for Premio lo Nuestro's Revelation of the Year award. Camila have since toured exhaustively throughout Latin America and the States.