January 2009
The Songbird Sings and Soars
by Cindy Bellinger
Phone to one ear while packing an overnight bag, this scurrying around, making every second count certainly flavors the life of Ernestine Romero. The day following the interview, she was off to San Antonio, Texas to record her sixth CD. Since age three, Romero has wanted to sing; and even though she works in administration for the State and is earning a degree in business, singing is her life. Her passion. The thing she most wants to do. She recently turned 21.
Her father played drums in a band and her mother sang. Growing up around music captured Romero’s entire being. Today, her career is a family project. Her father, now retired from the band, is her director. Her sister designs CD covers and her web site. Her mother makes her costumes, photographs all her gigs, does promotions, books her appearances, and tends to any behind-the-scene work that is necessary to move her daughter along.
Where does Romero want to go? Without missing a beat, she says, “I want to land a recording contract with a big label.”
The type of music that Romero likes is Tejano, a mix of Spanish and Texan sounds and rhythm. For years her idol was Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, dubbed the “Queen of Tejano,” who was murdered in 1995. As a Latina artist, Romero feels a deep connection to this music genre and was voted one of Tejano’s Top Twenty Up and Coming Artists.
Romero lives in Pojoaque and remembers her first “gig” at a Valentine’s dance at her school. She was only eight-years-old but belted out those songs with amazing power. Soon she was singing at weddings, fiestas, and fund-raisers. She’s performed throughout the United States and makes several appearances in Mexico each year.
By the time Romero lands that major recording contract, she’ll be ready—with plenty of music she co-writes, with stage personality, with experience for winning many awards. Twice she won the Teen Singing Competitions held in Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV. The awards for best singer and best bilingual songs keep coming. Last October she won the 2008 People’s Choice Female Vocalist of the Year in New Mexico.
She remembers being 11, all dressed up, wearing heels. She hopped up on the coffee table and told her father she was ready and wasn’t afraid.
Soon afterwards, with the help of her parents, she recorded her first CD. Ever since, she’s recorded a new CD every two years.
During a music gala in San Antonio, TX several years ago, she sang with a few bands and caught the eye of a producer. “He said he liked my voice and asked if I wanted to record an album,” she says. This current one is her second with the same producer. The CD was completed last month, before Christmas.
Romero will hit the road to promote her music and herself. She’ll travel with her father and drop in at radio stations, TV stations, and do more interviews wherever she can. She sums up her life easily: “I love doing what I’m doing.”
For booking information, call 505-455-3319.
If you know anyone who’d make a good profile for this column—including yourself—let us know at sespinoza@enchantment.coop.
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