B-Side Guys

Seeds don’t apologize for growing in impossible places. Yilian Cañizares’ “Vamos a Florecer” treats resilience not as loud defiance but as quiet insistence, the kind of strength that manifests in blooming rather than shouting. The Cuban-born violinist and composer, now based in Switzerland, has built a career on dissolving borders between jazz, classical, and Afro-Cuban traditions—and this track from her new album Vitamina Y extends that philosophy into collaboration, bringing Senegalese vocalist Momi Maiga into a conversation about what it means to flourish despite everything working against you.

The production moves with smoothness that never softens into mere prettiness. Cañizares’ violin work carries both technical precision honed through classical training and the emotional immediacy of someone who understands music as life force rather than craft. Maiga’s kora brings what Cañizares describes as a softened feminine presence, creating dialogue rather than decoration. The Afro-Cuban rhythms pulse underneath without overwhelming, providing structure that feels organic rather than imposed.

What makes the track resonate beyond its immediate beauty is its refusal to romanticize struggle. The metaphor of a seed flourishing in adverse conditions acknowledges the harshness of the environment without dwelling in it. This is music about overcoming fear and hate, as Cañizares explains, but it does so by embodying the alternative—offering the sound of what comes after survival, when survival transforms into something that can sustain others.

The track arrives as part of Vitamina Y, an album Cañizares conceived as exactly what the title suggests: vitamin for the soul, music as energy and nourishment. Recorded in Paris with her longtime collaborators—Mozambican bassist Childo Tomas and Cuban percussionist Inor Sotolongo forming the backbone—the project pulls from every corner of Cañizares’ journey from Havana to Caracas to Switzerland. A 2021 Swiss Music Prize recipient and 2024 selection as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Figures in French-speaking Switzerland,’ she’s earned recognition not just for technical prowess but for her ability to make boundary-crossing feel natural rather than forced.

As a UN “Voice of the Oceans” and advocate for education and equality, Cañizares brings those commitments into her music without turning it into message delivery. “Vamos a Florecer” works because it embodies resilience and love rather than merely describing them, offering proof that flowers can grow in deserts—not because conditions are favorable, but because some things refuse to be stopped by circumstances.