It’s easy for anyone to identify with Chiquis. As part of one of the most influential families in regional Mexican music, she feels proud of her roots and motivated to make her own mark in music. From her personality to her music, keeping traditions while innovating is second nature to her as an artist.
We discussed this and more with Chiquis at the Walmart Backstage Lounge during Billboard Latin Music Week 2024. Running from October 14 to 18 at the Fillmore Miami Beach in Miami, this star-studded lineup featured over 70 artists. And like each year, fans can access content from the Backstage Lounge, where they can find exclusive interviews and live performances.
In these videos, we can see pieces from The Nuevolution Project—a celebration of visionary Latine creatives through a capsule collection of exclusive, only-at-Walmart “bold, style-forward” products—as well as other Latine-led brands and home items you can find at Walmart.
For her Walmart Backstage Lounge performance, Chiquis chose her recent hit, “Que Siga Pasando.” “I’m very excited because I love this song,” says the three-time Billboard Latin Music Awards winner. “Personally, I don’t like to put my name or image with anything that I haven’t used or don’t love, and I absolutely love Walmart. I love that my Latin people love Walmart,” she says about the session.
Speaking about regional Mexican music and the songs she performs, Chiquis points out how her identity and heritage are directly linked to regional Mexican music through blood and upbringing. She remembers that the first song she learned was “La Puerta Negra” by Los Tigres Del Norte, which forever links her memories of music with this style. “It has always been part of my life,” she says.
She continues to explain the importance of this genre. “I love that our music is reaching different audiences [while] keeping the tradition and the culture, but also bringing in different elements while still respecting the sound. I think that’s beautiful. I think that’s what music’s all about. Music is its own language, and you don’t have to understand the lyrics; you just feel it.” Bringing to mind The Nuevolution Project and other efforts by Walmart, which also keep a balance between time-honored artifacts and methods as well as innovations.
For Chiquis—who is currently in the middle of an international tour, including a stop at Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional, fulfilling a dream of hers—“feeling” is perhaps the most important thing. “When writing or choosing songs, I need to [know what it] feels like. If I’m feeling the funk, the public is gonna feel it. For me, it’s super important to tell my story and my experiences because that’s genuine, and that’s what’s authentic. That’s all I know, to be myself.”
Ultimately, what makes Chiquis unique is her ability to keep her roots intact while also searching for something just beyond her grasp. One can say this is the same story as that of Latin American music as a whole; it remains an inspiration that any individual can take and make their own. “I respect what my family has done, and I’m very happy that I’m doing something in the same line, still being música mexicana,” she says. “But it’s important to bring a lot of Chiquis to it. I love that I can express myself through this music. I felt a lot of pressure at the beginning of my career because I didn’t know what direction I wanted to take. I wasn’t as confident as I am now, but I’ve learned not to compare myself to anyone or listen to negativity, just do what feels right in my heart.”
Interview conducted by Remezcla’s Joel Moya and Thatiana Diaz.
