Since her arrival a little over two years ago, Estevie has become a prominent voice amongst a new generation of Latin artists to step into the limelight. Her debut EP Cumbialicious ardently reimagines the soul-wrenching beauty of regional Mexican styles with melodically luxuriant and hypnotic pop sleekness.
When we first discovered Estevie last summer, we were immediately and hopelessly charmed by her sound: luscious but tender vocals bee-lining between the vigorous rhythms that pulsed on tracks like “Santee” and “miami.” The latter has a lively insatiable rhythm that begs to be turned up loud and proud. And when the bass hits, aye! Can you feel it pulse through your blood?
Estevie followed up those singles with the thrilling cumbia anthem “el paso” (feat. Cuco), and a few months later, she was back with a collaboration alongside Erre for “Cuéntame.” More recently, she was recruited by Ramona for their heartsick new single “Desde Que Te Ví” — proving her radiant vocals to be in growing demand.
The first chance fans had to see her live came in the fall of 2023 when she visited San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles on her first headlining tour. After a spectacular finale at El Cid, she ended the year with a slot at the Indio International Tamale Festival, performing alongside Son Rompe Pera and Tropa Magica. This past spring she hit the road again for a tour across Texas that confirmed the Mexicano diaspora stretching from the West Coast to the Southwest is eager for a national revival of Latin pop.
It’s no surprise then that Estevie has idolized Selena from a young age — especially now that she is blazing the same paths as the Tejano icon. Bedazzled in sequins, fringe chaps, and a different vaquera hat every time she appears onstage, her live shows embrace similar cultural pageantry. And the inextinguishable center of these festive celebrations of cumbia, norteña, and banda — replete with thrilling accordions, simmering güiros, and thrumming percussion — are Estevie’s smoldering, vaulting vocals. Her impassioned Selena-like vocals are especially felt in the heartwarming love ballad “como Yo.”
Punctuating her profound presence as a rising musical and cultural force, Christian Nodal invited her onstage at SXSW earlier this year to cover the famous bolero “Sabor a Mi.” The pair’s emotional duet is a fiery reminder that it’s been far too long since a Latina superstar took the reigns. As we draw toward the year’s halfway point, the Los Angeles-based cumbia phenomenon is poised for another momentous year, with more concerts and new music on the way.
Words: Steven Ward
Visit Estevie on their Instagram and TikTok to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
