Mario Domm poses with his family for the first time, and confesses: “I have changed”

Mario Domm is undoubtedly one of the most talented musicians in Mexico. The incredible composer and performer has traveled the world and won countless prizes with his band Camila . He knows what professional success is at the highest level. But this forty-four-year-old musician confesses that the pandemic has changed him.

The artist spoke exclusively, and for the first time, with HOLA! USA , by opening the doors of his California home and posed like never before with his wife, Alejandra Calleros , and their two charming children, Anja and Enya .

Don’t miss the behind the scene of this beautiful photoshoot:

Mario, your house has a very special energy. What overcame you about this house when you saw it for the first time? I bought this house before meeting my wife, Alejandra. I only knew one word of English, “thank you.” I came to Los Angeles fleeing from the paparazzi. I could no longer live in Mexico, but now I’m very grateful that I made that decision that I would have never made had that not happened. When I entered this house for the first time, something very interesting happened to me. I saw a shadow in the hallway. I saw the shadow of a child crossed from one room to another ... I had not finished seeing the house. I had not even seen the study, but when I saw that I told the person who was showing me the place: “This is my house. Let’s buy it.” “You have to make an offer,” he told me. “Well, let’s do it.” “But you didn’t see the entire house,” he replied. “It doesn’t matter. This is my home.”

“When I write songs, I feel that they are songs that have already been written, by me or by someone else, and I only remember them again. I write them, but somewhere they already exist. I feel that prescient things happen to me and I accept them.”

Let’s say you saw a ghost. For others, that little detail would not have convinced them to buy ... I did not feel that it was a ghost, but more of a premonition, I felt beautiful – the singer clarifies. Years later, I saw my son Anja cross in exactly the same place, from the bathroom to there, and I said, wow, that’s exactly what I saw. I even took a picture of it! This is what happens to me sometimes in life. When I write songs, I feel that they are songs that have already been written, by me or by someone else, and I only remember them again. I write them, but somewhere they already exist. I feel that prescient things happen to me and I accept them. This house is a blessing because it is a sanctuary for me, with a beautiful view from the terrace. When I arrived here, I clearly felt that life was giving me an opportunity to really inspire myself, to rest a little, I connected with this place immediately.

“I want to live this period in peace, because for some reason this came and I want to learn the lesson so that it does not repeat itself.”

How did you finally decide to settle in the US? I made the decision in Madrid. I was at the airport, lying on the floor. I put my guitar on the floor, something I never do, and I covered myself with my guitar case, because it was freezing cold. I was exhausted and I thought to myself: I have an incredible house in Los Angeles, I have a house in Acapulco. And I’m lying on the floor of an airport. Then I said to myself: I’m done, we finished, I finished the tour and then I moved here. Life went on. You formed this beautiful family and continued working like crazy. With a huge sold out tour and the second show, the pandemic hit and then you were forced to lock yourself at home for the first time in years. How has that experience been for you? I feel like the last twenty years of my life have been preparing me for these two. I was almost always absent. I did not go to weddings. I did not go to baptisms. I did not go to parties. I was with my friends for a short time. I always lived focused and this virus forced me to stop. At first, my inertia was the opposite, to start composing more, but in recent months I have decided to stop and listen and live happily. What I feel is the latest pull of this pandemic. I want to live it in peace, because for some reason this came and I want to learn the lesson so that it does not repeat itself.

“... the pandemic made us all equal, in the face of a disease, we are all equal.”

Has the pandemic made you a better artist? It has made me a better human being. It has made me a better person. In what sense? Losing the privileges of fame for a few months has done me very well. It has grounded me. It is something for which I am grateful. What are some other things that you have learned lately? Tolerance with others. I was not used to living together so much. I changed the air every three days and had many privileges. The privileges that I had as an artist vanished overnight. As I was saying before, I liked that. In addition, the pandemic made us all equal, in the face of a disease, we are all equal.

“I love you are words that we repeat here a lot and suddenly one approaches and says: Dad, I love you. And I love it. When their mother and I kiss them, they know how to show us affection in return.”

You felt like a more normal person, correct? All my life, fame has made me feel uncomfortable, he confesses with humility, and I like this readjustment, because suddenly I have felt like an ordinary person with a divine job. I go and sing, but it is over and I am just a normal guy. What has been the most difficult for you during this unprecedented time? It has cost me a lot to be so active and suddenly, to be passive: the opposite of my personality. I have to admit that being a one hundred percent present dad is tiring. At the same time, my children are amazing. Alejandra is divine… I feel as if the four of us have been given an opportunity to strengthen our ties as a family. Before the quarantine, I had been working with a lot of drive, simply because it was what I had to do ... Without a doubt, this entire experience will help me a lot when it comes to asking myself in the future: where am I going and why. I am going to prioritize much better from now on, my trips, my commitments ... I am at a time where I respect my time. I have set limits and the truth is, I am very afraid of not wanting to travel soon due to the fact of losing my family, losing moments with my children ... Now it will hurt much more than before. I am also grateful that the pandemic caught me at a good time, in a beautiful place, with a beautiful woman and two fantastic children. As an artist, I feel that all this is going to help me a lot for the new professional stage that comes with Camila, which is coming along very strong …

“I’m a present dad and I’m a strict dad. I believe a lot in details and excellence, so I think my children have to be detailed oriented people. They are both sensitive types and I try to make sure that art is always around them, feeding their souls.”

Twenty-four hours with the children at home is without a doubt a challenge… What have you learned from them? That they only think about playing and that when I lose my patience, they are just playing and having fun. I have definitely learned to be more patient. What is the most important thing that you want your children to learn from you? Love. I love you are words that we repeat here a lot and suddenly one approaches and says: Dad, I love you. And I love it. When their mother and I kiss them, they know how to show us affection in return.

Who are Anja and Enya most like? Both of them are the perfect combination of both. I think the little one, Enya, looks a little more like her mother and Anja like me. He’s very musical and he loves drums. The little one loves to build. They are two very creative little people, like their parents. They have been artists from day one. With what values are you educating them? I‘m a present dad and I’m a strict dad. I believe a lot in details and excellence, so I think my children have to be detailed oriented people. They are both sensitive types and I try to make sure that art is always around them, feeding their souls. I have always wanted to instill music in my children. I had no vices growing up because I was never idle, thanks to music. I would like them to continue to be fun over time and I am going to support them in whatever they want to do as professionals. My duty is always to be back there. Yes, I want my children to be an example, so I am trying to be an example for them.

“Alejandra and I are in a very good moment. We are having a good time. We are having fun. The children are already beginning to depend a little less on us and that has given us a little more space ...”

Would you dare to take stock of your marriage with Alejandra? “It’s not bad because, at the moment, it’s the longest relationship of my entire life ...” he says sympathetically. I understand that the quarantine has come to question millions of things to all of us. Faced with so much questioning, this has brought good things out of us and bad things out of us. Without a doubt, Alejandra and I know each other more now, much more. The balance is always with our children. For us there is nothing more important than them. I can even leave my career tomorrow if necessary, all because my children are happy. Alejandra and I are in a very good moment. We are having a good time. We are having fun. The children are already beginning to depend a little less on us and that has given us a little more space - he reconsiders and doubts. “Well, not so much,” - he says, remembering his restless puppies. We are a couple that understands each other’s mistakes, that we are learning from our own mistakes, that we forgive ourselves and that even with that, we continue to admire each other. I married a mature person who is sensitive to music, sensitive to art and a great mom, who is a positive and super happy person. Have you cultivated a new hobby during these months, now that you had time for other things, besides music? “I became good at skiing,” he boasts proudly. I hadn’t skied since I was little and now, I have become a double diamond. I also started kitesurfing. I have already gone out to the open sea, I am happy and active in that sense. As an artist, the quarantine has perhaps given me more perspective. I have had time to listen slowly to what I did in the past and I liked many things, but for the first time there were many things that I did not like. There are things that I will not do again. There are things that I will not repeat. I want to sound different. I want to say things in a different way, although I also want to go back to the simplest thing again. I know that music goes one way, but I’m not someone who likes to follow trends and sound the same, so, taking advantage of the gifts I have as a composer and as a singer, whether they are good or bad, they are unique because they are only mine. I feel that I am in the best moment to exploit my little voice to the maximum, my uniqueness and that of my teammates to make the best team.

What did you miss the most during all these months? The contact with the people, with my fans, the feeling of the music at full volume on stage, in a big place. Seeing people‘s faces when they feel the sound impact for the first time on their chest at the sound of the first note, when they feel the first tap of the drums, I really like that. I miss that very much. What inspires you today? I feel like I have wandered between moments of high and low energy during the quarantine. It is as if we have entered a loop, first you go up and then down. I think the universe is training us for something and in the moments of downturn I think it is teaching us something that we are going to use in the future, so I am taking the lesson as it is. Sometimes I get depressed, but then I wake up the next day and do three songs in one day. I have known myself for a long time. My job is very capricious ... The composition is very strange. You can go a year without making a song and in two months do ten, so I have already learned not to despair, to enjoy my family, to accumulate experiences, to accumulate the desire to say something important again, and put it into songs and go on tour ... There is talk that next year we are going to do a very big tour ... -he says mysteriously.

Alejandra Calleros adores her husband and her children. An artist at heart, she loves music and art, she has worked as a professional dancer, as a make-up artist and as a theater actress. She is a sponge that enjoys life like no other, next to the great artistic spirit that constantly springs from Mario. She put everything aside to follow him and become the best mom to her little ones.

We ask you to define in your own words who Mario Domm is:

“Mario is the free soul that we all want to be, the one who manifests everything and out of conviction, not only because of his dedication and tireless work but he is very passionate and always lives in constant search of spirituality. It has infinite energy. He does not pay attention to anniversaries or important dates, but nevertheless he remembers the smell of your perfume. He does not forget your favorite food and he can just arrive with roses and a serenade on a Monday night.”

And this is what she most admires about him: “The first thing for Mario is being a father. There is nothing more important to him than taking care of, caring for and looking after the well-being of his children.”

Congratulations on this beautiful family that you have forged between the two of you. We are already too eager to hear what is new from Camila!

Credits
Photos: Nunu @nunupictures
Hair: Salvador Salcedo @salsalhair
Makeup: Ale Calleros @bymrsdomm
Video: @nunupictures
Music: Lose My Mind
Musician: ASHUTOSH