BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Some people in the Rio Grande Valley dream of leaving and building a career elsewhere, while others emerge themselves in the culture and do their part in creating a legacy in the area.
Veronique Medrano is a part of the latter group. She’s built an impressive music career in the RGV with her catalog of Banda/Tejano/Conjunto/Country music that’s seen her gain a large following and propelled her to the national stage.
Medrano began her career while she was attending college in Brownsville and Edinburg by playing at venues across the RGV. Soon after graduating, Medrano kicked her career into full gear.
She released her debut album, Encantadora, in 2013. The record features original music written by Medrano in the Tejano style she’s come to be known for through nearly a decade of work.
Songs like “Lloraras” and “Que Dolor” feature dancing bass lines and rhythmic accordion playing that sparks visions of quinceañeras when coupled with Medano’s smooth voice that perfectly matches the music. This record earned her a nomination for Best New Female artist at the 34th Tejano Music Awards in 2014.
Medano followed up her debut with Mi Año Dorado in 2016, continuing her theme of music fit for a pulga.
That pulga theme is no more apparent than on “La Pulga,” the album’s fourth song that tells the story of a day out at the flea markets that are so synonymous with the RGV.
Medrano released a music video to correspond with the song and received a large amount of attention from the recording, which shows her and her bandmates walking and dancing through the 77 Flea Market in Brownsville.
Following this success, she released a cover of Freddy Fender’s “Wasted Days,” which Medrano cites as one of her favorite artists.
“[Freddy Fender] was from the valley. He spoke about the experiences of being a Mexican-American and was both country and Tejano,” said Medrano. “He was bold enough to put out Spanish music in an English market.”
Medrano released another Tejano-infused album, Loteria, in 2018 before venturing into more country-sounding pastures on her latest EP, Crying.
“I’ve been mixing both genres in my live sets for a while now so I was already heading in that direction,” said Medrano. “But I’m not leaving the other genres I play, just adding new music that I want to play.”
This EP and her other successes earned her an invite as a special guest to the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards Show in Las Vegas. She described the moment as one she’ll never forget.
“It was a realization for me that I’m in a different place, I came out on national TV and it’s a different space now,” said Medrano. “I’m really grateful for my team because we’ve knocked on the door now, we’re through to the other side and there’s a lot more to come.”
Medrano got to walk on the national stage among some of the biggest Latin artists in the world and meet with music executives who requested she attend the event.
Now, she’s poised to continue releasing more music and achieving even larger amounts of recognition than what she’s had up to this point.
Medrano sees herself as a trailblazer in the Tejano market by being a bombastic alternatively-dressed woman and hopes to change the mold of what people think about this type of music.
“I do not look like the typical Tejano musician, and when you go into these more popular areas they have a misconception of what you should look like,” said Medrano. “It’s a beautiful thing to be able to change the face of what Tejano and Conjunto music is.”
She credits Tejano legend Selena and multi-genre singer Linda Ronstadt as inspirations she could look up to as a young girl looking to pursue music.
“I always put them up there because they’re two strong women in the music industry and, along with many others, have paved the way for us to get where we are now,” said Medrano.
The Brownsville native notes that while traveling to other locations for tours and awards shows is nice, she intends to keep living in the Rio Grande Valley and help blossom the music scene around her. She notes that other Tejano singers interested in making it big should focus on writing their own music to get their name out there.
Veronique Medrano’s music can be found on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.
She can be followed on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok.
