Singer and songwriter Jewel has once again recalled one of the most unusual and dangerous episodes of her youth, a real-life experience in Mexico that, over time, would end up influencing one of the most emblematic songs of her career: “You were meant for me”.
During her participation in the Not Alone Summit, held in November in Las Vegas, the artist shared details of this experience in a recent interview. Jewel, who has placed six albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, explained that the event occurred in the summer of 1994, when she was just 20 years old and traveling through Mexico with her longtime collaborator, Steve Poltz.
From creative retreat to drug bust
At the time, the two were taking a creative break while writing music and touring coastal areas of the country.
What started out as a quiet retreat soon turned into a high-risk situation.
While on a remote beach in Baja California, they were approached by armed men in uniform, who identified themselves as Mexican federal police.
Seemingly casually, Jewel and Poltz asked the officers if they knew of any nearby whale-watching sites.
The response was unexpected: they were invited to board a small boat.
Once at sea, the agents revealed that they were in the middle of an active drug bust.
“They said, ‘We’re on a drug bust,'” Jewel recalled.
When he asked if the situation was dangerous, the answer was straightforward and blunt: “Yes.”
The singer recounted that she later realized that the wooden bench where she was sitting also served as a compartment for automatic weapons.
During the operation, officers chased a suspicious vessel and discovered large quantities of marijuana hidden under rocks along the coast.
From fear to the inspiration of a musical classic
They said. 'We're in the middle of a drug raid'
Jewel
Despite the gravity of the moment, Jewel recalled experiencing a mixture of disbelief and nervous humor.
The main fear was that she would be unjustly arrested or imprisoned.
“I was really paranoid that we were going to end up in a prison in Tijuana,” she confessed.
Images of the incident, including a photograph in which Jewel is shown holding a rifle alongside the officers, circulated years later on the internet, becoming a cultural curiosity of the 1990s.
After the episode, Jewel and Poltz stayed in Mexico for a while longer and continued composing.
From that stage was born “You were meant for me”, released in 1995 as part of her debut album Pieces of you, a song that today remains one of the most recognized of her repertoire.
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com.
