‘Sad Cumbia’ seems like a contradiction in terms. Cumbia is all upbeat and lively rhythms, evoking feelings of joy and is great for dancing. But sad cumbia is a real thing too, thanks to Mexican stars Eslabon Armado and Danny Lux. Now, pushing it forward into a much larger mainstream is Estevia, a California-born, 21-year-old woman who has developed her inborn talent for 10 years. She is upending the cumbia genre and producing music whose popularity is exploding.
When she was 11 years old, Estevia won the La Academia Kids musical contest, singing mariachi for the first time in her life. She simply stunned the judges with the quality and maturity of her voice. From there she took off like a rocket.
The 11-year-old voice that astonished the judges went on to develop a YouTube following, a successful cumbia song release, “Canela”, collaborations with Eslabon Armado and Danny Lux, a hit 2023 album “Cumbialicious,” a knock’em-dead performance at SXSW’s closing party, and opening for and collaborating with Christian Nodal.
Now a rising Gen Z Cumbia Pop Star, Estivia has made it crystal clear why her career has moved so far so fast with her latest single release, “Corazón Tatuado” from Nice Life Records.
“Corazón Tatuado” combines cumbia, pop and the emotions you hear from regional music in Mexico. She can make you dance to a broken heart – and keep humming the chorus for days. “Corazón Tatuado” showcases her amazing voice in spades, but also her creative genius and attention to detail. The cumbia beat is just right but with accordion accents, and a percussion and bassline combination that is at once difficult and masterful, especially with an ethereal intro and soaring vocal notes.
Some people compare her to Selena, and there are some parallels. Like Selena, Estevie was recognized at a young age. And like Selena, Estevie’s career is a family affair – her mother sews her costumes and does her hair, her brother is the manager, and her dad handles the technology of her performances. But comparing her to the legendary Tejano singer, I think it misses the point, especially the artistry of “Corazón Tatuado” and its uniqueness.
Selena was of her time and is still revered and streamed. And she was a revolutionary in the Tejano world. Estevie goes further; she is of her time, but also of the future. She is revolutionary, but in more than cumbia. Her influence extends to norteño, Musica Mexicana, and English-speaking pop audiences. Her album Cumbialicious is indeed revolutionary as it crosses so many borders — genre, gender, tradition. You can’t listen to “Miami” or “Mona Lisa” from the album and not realize you are in uncharted – and very pleasant – territory.
“Corazón Tatuado” is of the future because it is riding the crest of a tsunami of regional-turned-mainstream Mexican music in the US and Latin markets. She is the right person at the right time with the right music, “Corazón Tatuado”. The song’s unique blend of traditional cumbia with modern takes on pop music crosses culture, language and musical genre boundaries that are crumbling already thanks to the likes of Peso Pluma, Adriana Ross, Nancy Sanchez, The Warning, Renee and other Latin artists that are roaring past the regional and genre-boundaries of Mexican and Latin music and bringing millions of listeners with them.
On “Corazón Tatuado” her sultry and then urgent vocals smoothly move to and past a lover’s memory that remains tattooed into her heart. She is singing to you, opening her heart and her past to you so you understand the joy and the sadness that she is so capable of blending together in an earworm. She truly makes you dance to heartbreak.
