Rojas Takes Confident Second Step on ‘Florecer’

There are plenty of pitfalls in the world of Latin pop, and the fact that Nydia Rojas, 17, hasn’t stumbled over any in her second album is a feat in itself. “Florecer,” which translates to “blossoming,” is a satisfying collection of mariachi pop, sung with a maturity that belies the singer’s age.

At 16, Rojas became an overnight sensation in the world of mariachi, jumping from East L.A. restaurants to the pop charts with her version of the Blondie hit “The Tide Is High.” On “Florecer,” she takes the marriage of pop and mariachi a step further.

One gets the feeling, though, that her pleasant pitch could serve any genre. Rojas delivers the tunes with enough detached cool to be invitingly sophisticated, but she is also able to translate lyrics of love into powerful, passionate singing, as in “Dime Por Que,” a duet with Arturo Rodriguez, of the group Guardianes del Amor.

The material is highly palatable overall, though at times it falls into silly pastiche (“Quiero Estar Contigo”). As expected, the best songs are the ones composed by two institutions of Mexican pop, Juan Gabriel (the breezy “Di Amame Mas”) and Ana Gabriel (the lushly arranged “Llevame Contigo”).

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).

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* Excerpts from these albums and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: https://www.latimes.com/soundclips