baelyn

Dance… art… acting… music. You name it, if it’s a type of creative expression, Baelyn adores it. The 26-year-old will tell you she is simply a creative spirit. Currently, she’s channeling her energy into her debut Spanish-language album entitled “Dejate Amar” – which translates to “Let Yourself Be Loved.”Growing up in and around East Los Angeles in a mainly Latin community, Baelyn was immersed in the cultures of Mexico, learning about the regional music, and studying the traditional Folkorico dances.Her artist parents, Ed Forde and Sandra Varos, have a shared passion for Mexican culture, art and music. As a result she grew up watching the creative process at work, surrounded by her parent’s artist friends in a home filled with Mexican art. The pair always encouraged Baelyn to explore her creative spirit. “My dad was always taking me and my mom (who is native to Taos, New Mexico) to Norteno and Tejano music and art festivals,” explains Baelyn. “They supported any kind of artistic expression which allowed me to cultivate my own unique creative heart. They are both such an inspiration to me.”At the age of 4, they enrolled Baelyn in her first dance classes. She took both classical ballet and Folklorico, and by the age of 5 had already performed onstage. Soon she was dancing in the Mexican Posadas (processions) at her church every year at Christmas. By the age of 10 she was studying at Plaza de la Raza under Juanita Lopez and was a member of the folklorico dance troupe who performed at festivals and events all over California.The blonde-haired, blue-eyed young girl was an anomaly on the traditionally Latin stage. “The audience would call me “la guerita” (blondie) and shout out “Viva la guerita” whenever I performed,” she says. “The people embraced me and I never thought of their culture as anything but my own. It has always been a part of my life and a part of who I am.”At 14 Baelyn auditioned for and was accepted at the L.A. County High School for the Performing Arts. She entered as a sophomore, testing out of freshman classes since the school did not offer them. At school she continued her study of dance and, at the same time, began to explore acting as alterative form of creative expression. Today, she has a list of both television and film credits to her name.Baelyn had never considered singing until a few years ago when a friend Jordan Buky introduced her to her current producers, Paul McKenna and Jose Quintana. Her initial idea was to sing Mariachi music, but the pair felt that wasn’t a good fit for her and urged her to consider pop or rock. When she suggested Tejano, they were elated. They dove into the project, searching for songs and songwriters whose music Baelyn could relate to. “It was so important to me that the music and the songs on the album come from my heart and be about the things I believe in.”The final collection of songs on Dejate Amar speak of the belief that one must always seek out love, allow oneself to be loved and most importantly recognize sometimes its necessary to let go of love. They’re about dealing with crisis and pain, and still finding the strength to move forward. Though the words themselves were written to empower women, Baelyn feels that everyone will be able relate to the stories they tell.While many Mexican songwriters contributed to the album, over half the songs were written by the late Luis Silva. One of the most influential songwriters in the history of Tejano music, Silva gave her producers a song he had already written as a “favor”. Once it was recorded, McKenna and Quintana sent it back to him. Silva was so inspired by what he heard, that he gave them another handful of songs that he thought would be complimentary for Baelyn's voice. “I am so grateful to him. I never really got to know him well, but he saw something in me and became my champion. I can only hope my album helps his memory live on.”Baelyn plans to start touring to promote Dejate Amar shortly after its late February release, but don’t expect a high-profile concert tour. A bohemian girl at heart, Baelyn is taking a grassroots approach, starting with appearances at music festivals and small local venues. “I want the songs to be heard for the beauty of the music. Of course I want people to hear the album and for it to be successful, but I always want to be able continue doing the other things I love to do.” As a current resident of Venice Beach, its not hard to figure out what these things are -- riding her bike, surfing, and of course, dancing as often as possible.
Stay tuned for new videos coming soon!
To place a banner on your page, copy
and paste the code below into your profile.