A Musical Begining

So going back to my music... Going back to my upbring.... I was raised around the sounds of tejano music, and everything Spanish. From Vicente Fernandez to Gloria Trevi, I loved it all. My father, a musician taught me to use the tambourine and let me sing into the microphone after him and his band were done practicing. I remember the noise, the music, the pauses, the discussions, the arguments, that led to a more perfected sound. I remember seeing my dad singing in the band at the parties. I always loved the music. Music became my base... my answer too every strange feeling I discovered in my life. Music became my definition. I knew one day my name would be associated with music. As I grow music continues to lead me through my life. Through every stage... all the scarry parts, all the lonely times, all the sad times, all the emotional experiences of life, music has always eased the pain. It is my security, the one thing I could trust and that could never betray me. Music has grown with me and continues to be a passion that always shines through.

It all started in the 8th grade. I was tired of crying. Everytime I saw a Grammy show, or musical performance I would cry... because I wanted to be there, I wanted to be that singer in front of all those people in the sparkly dress by the piano. I was tired of wishing...tired of crying in frustration because I didn't know how I was going to break out of this shell that kept me from taking the leap. Finally I decided to write a song titled "We Gotta Quit Playin' These Games" and soon after I started writing songs, I looked at the booklet of my Britney Spears "Baby One More Time" Album and got the songwriting format: verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus 2 times fade out and sometimes there was a bridge in between the last two choruses plus an additional chorus. I began teaching myself. I began singing with all of my cd's and I learned the high notes and the low notes by just hitting every note with the artist as I sung along. Fortunately I have what people call "the ear" for music. I could eaisily find and pinpoint every note thrown at me. I knew I had something different...I could hear things other people couldn't. I would be listening to a CD and all of a sudden the artist would miss a note, and I could hear it...no one else caught on. I had completed step one: breaking out of the shell.

I then began asking around about how I could record my voice with music,I soon discovered karaoke. I discovered all I needed to do was buy a program for my computer so that I could record my voice, like a mini studio, and then all I needed was music tracks, which I got from karaoke disks. I loaded the track into the program, connected the microphone, and recorded my voice over with the music track. I had accompished something big. I was no longer clueless. I recorded a total of 5 songs on my first ever demo cd consisting of : Emotions, Candy, Blue Moon, Contigo En La Distancia, and Beautiful. I was finally ready, or was I? I did not know how to perform... I needed once again to teach myself to perform.

All I could think of was the mocking of my mother always telling me I can't dance. I felt defeated before I even tried. I had to do it In a way I could teach myself and not let my mom see so I wouldn't be embarrassed. I was always afraid of her criticism. So I set out to create some type of movement for when I sang and performed. I eventually got good at the performing thing. I performed all over the valley. I performed even on bay area telethons. And finally in 2005 I got my first gig in a television show called "Cante Y Gane." It was so exciting. My first big performance. It was a show everyone watched on the spanish channel. I went and conquered. I sang "Contigo En La Distanca" and won the first round. It was surreal. I couldn't even grasp the concept that I had won it all seemed so weird. Here was I a girl who was the shyest thing a couple of years ago and now I am on a TV show and I had just won... I couldn't believe it. For the second round I sang "Toro Relajo" a mariachi classic. However this time I didn't win. I wasn't disappointed. I was still excited because I was going to be on TV! Haha. It was all good fun and a great motivation to keep going and persuing my career. (to be continued)

Backstage in the dressing rooms
on the set of Cante Y Gane.