MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican composer María Leonora prepares for each concert as if she’s gearing up for battle.

Her makeup has a tribal edge. Her clothes are arranged in layers she sheds as the show unfolds. An amulet over her belly button serves as protection.

“I look into the mirror and I sort of go to war,” she said prior to a recent presentation in Mexico City. “I brace myself to walk through the fire and whatever happens happens.”

Her 2025 performances were conceived as chapters connected by a common thread. She called the series “Through All the Fire,” believing that both music and flames carry a powerful renewal quality.

“A fire can burn and destroy,” she said. “But if you make it through, you can be reborn.”

That same idea of heat and renewal is present in the ambience of her s

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