The Sound of Breakthrough {Lesly Reynaga}

Words Janine Stankus | Photos Eric Morales

Lesly Reynaga grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, surrounded by family and music. Today, she’s a pioneer in her clan for bringing traditional mariachi to the big stage. With a fierce voice, fiery curls, and radiant presence, she imbues her genre with a unique power.

Lesly attributes her musical beginnings to her abuelita. “She pulled out an old song book and taught me to sing a song. And from then forward, at any kind of school function, they would basically volunteer me,” she fondly recalls. Around age 14, Lesly remembers picking up her mother’s guitar and teaching herself to play.

While mariachi music was always a huge presence in her world—part of every holiday, birthday, and special occasion—she also gravitated towards the English-pop icons of her youth. “I was listening to Christina Aguilera religiously,” she remembers. “My sister was in love with all of the boy bands and Britney Spears.”

It wasn’t until moving to the Texas Rio Grande Valley at age 16 that she began connecting with her mariachi roots. Her high school had a mariachi ensemble, and the director encouraged her to join. Later, moving to Austin to study public relations at UT, she found that the university also had a mariachi ensemble. “I think it’s so important that the public education system incorporates some of these opportunities for communities to gather around different styles of music,” she notes, reflecting on her experience.

It was during one of her ensemble’s performances that Lesly met Gavin Garcia who would become her manager and long-time mentor. “Gavin just has this disposition to help artists in underserved genres,” Lesly gushes. “Ten years later, we’re basically like father and daughter.”

Lesly now has two EPs under her belt and a new full length album, Valerosa, released in 2023. The record focuses on themes of personal and national identity. “What I tried to convey was my own life’s journey, as a woman and an immigrant, as a composer, as a writer, and as somebody who’s in love,” she says. Some songs push back against “rhetoric about immigrants having nothing to contribute,” she says, with the record itself standing a glittering testament.

With Valerosa, Lesly also wanted to showcase her cross-cultural influences. She worked with producers Nick Clark, Andrew Schindler, and Nate Villegas to incorporate a pop sensibility and create musical themes that resonate with her lyrics. “I never really got to collaborate as much as I did on Valerosa,” says Lesly. “I found it totally mesmerizing and so cool.”

This past year, 2023, was a year of accolades for Lesly. In August, she played the Lollapalooza festival, where she blazed in red fringe with more than 20 mariachi players and dancers behind her. In September, she was named KUTX’s artist of the month. And she already has plans to record a new album.

Most exciting to Lesly, though, is watching the folkloric music she grew up with assert itself in new forums. “I fell in love with my music a long time ago. I love doing it, but it will be interesting to see how my project gets to play out in a national or international scene.”

Contact
leslyreynaga.com
@leslyreynaga
info@leslyreynaga.com

Rise of the Mariacheras
Lesly reflects on her unique position as a female solo artist in this genre. “Mariachi music has been male dominated from the beginning of its time,” she explains. “Now you see a lot of mariachi groups that are strictly women. That’s pretty much unheard of
in Mexico!”

Repping Diversity
Lesly sings the praises of her long time manager, Gavin Garcia, for championing underrepresented musicians in Austin. Gavin is the founder and executive director of EQ Austin, a non-profit aimed at fostering cultural representation and economic prosperity within Austin’s music and creative sector.