The 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup final came and went on Sun. Aug. 28, with Spain emerging as the victor against Japan, 3-1. But this story isn't about the game per se — it's about the backdrop, both geographical and musical.
First, the game occurred in Costa Rica. Second, the official song, "Vamos Juntas," came courtesy of Costa Rican composer Jorge Castro and vocalist Rebeca Malavassi. The composition's success, and ultimate usage, came as a shock to Castro.
"Everything happened so fast," he tells GRAMMY.com, explaining that the seed of the song was a melody sung by his 6-year-old daughter, Isabella. And at the opening ceremony, Isabella sang it in front of 22,000 people. ("It was very emotional," Castro notes.)
Isabella ended up on the track — and so did lead singer Malavassi, who Jorge calls "one of the best singers in Costa Rica" and perpetually gets work recording jingles. Plus, "Vamos Juntas" features an appearance from the women's choir at Franz Liszt Schule, a German school Isabella attends — which added a fitting sense of momentousness and grandiosity.
Timbale came courtesy of Tony Succar, a GRAMMY-nominated producer who was named Producer Of The Year at the 2019 Latin GRAMMYs and is the governor of the Recording Academy's Florida Chapter.
"I had a dream of working with Tony, because he's one of the best musicians ever," Castro says. And given Succar is a soccer fan, he jumped at the idea of working on "Vamos Juntas" when Castro dropped him a WhatsApp message.
What does it all amount to, beyond the music alone? "It is very important for Costa Rica, because we got very hard with the pandemic and we needed something to have the economy running again," he continues. "And a World Cup from FIFA? There's nothing more that you can ask for — having Costa Rica on the world spot."
Check out the song below, and keep checking GRAMMY.com for more ways the Recording Academy intersects with the global community — and sports lovers everywhere!