Video: Javiera Mena - "Primera Estrella"


Did we get over it yet? No. Mena is still the pop reference that we play in its entirety at least once a week. It must be tough to pick a single when you have a full-caliber album filled with potential hits from the first track to the last one, so it’s best you go with the catchiest number. In this case, it's “Primera Estrella.” Earlier this year, an unofficial version of the video, starring Mena in an exploratory journey to the woods, was uploaded to Vimeo. In it, a couple of extraterrestrial silver-skinned, look-alike individuals searching for the protagonist employ tarot cards to get rid of her buddies, expose her hidden identity, and get her back home with them in an aesthetically inspired Blair Witch Project meets Equinox kind of scenario. The sci-fi influenced clip was premiered in April at Madrid’s Planetario, an ideal venue for the song’s astral nature.

After a long wait of almost four months, director Julia Bande unleashes the definitive version of “Primera Estrella,” a clip that finds the Chilean royal in her most diva-esque performance yet. The video doesn’t get too complicated; it mostly features medium shots of Javiera singing in front of a window that illuminates a white room with a very simple visual composition (some marble animal sculptures to the sides and long stairs in the background), while the popstress shows her best dance moves, along with some wardrobe changes and different hairstyles. Spectral images of two guys with instruments occasionally show up beside her. A few simple visual effects are also utilized, like the division of the screen as a mirror or a delay that multiplies the singer’s body like an echo. We get wonderful extreme close ups of Javiera’s gorgeous eyes frequently, and there’s an unforgettable shot in which she passes an elegantly gloved hand in front of her face, while the song reaches that airy, wind-blowing sound effect. This is a classic Javiera Mena moment, an overwhelming frame of a visionary’s sight.