THE MAKING OF “TÚ DE MI TE ACORDARÁS”

“This album is like a love letter to my grandmother, my family, to San Antonio, South Texas, and to women in this genre whose voices weren’t always heard but whose stories deserve to be sung,” said Estani.

Legendary Grammy® Winning Conjunto musician/producer Max Baca and the GRAMMY®-winning Conjunto band Los Texmaniacs helped Estani revitalize the old 45s that once belonged to her grandmother, Rosita Lopez. Initially slated to be a four-song EP, the project evolved into a full-length album after Estani uncovered additional never released recordings through extensive research in the La Frontera Foundation affiliated with UCLA Chicano studies. Among the rediscovered tracks were several songs written by Ana R. Ovalle, an underrecognized female Conjunto songwriter who admired Estani’s grandmother so deeply that she composed pieces especially for her. Estani reinterpreted the tracks with fresh arrangements, incorporating accordion, bajo sexto, and her signature expressive vocals, conveying the emotion behind “Tú De Mí Te Acordarás”. The album becomes all the more personal with spoken-word interludes from Estani’s grandmother, now 90, who reflects on her life as a singer and shares the stories behind the songs to bring the project full circle. Each song explores a different facet of the universal theme of love, with the album encompassing longing, heartbreak, and resilience, all tying together to tell a profound story.

Alongside the music, Estani is directing a documentary that explores the roots, rhythms, and relevance of Conjunto music in South Texas, especially the stories of the women who helped shape it. From dance halls to kitchens, from generations past to those emerging now, this film spotlights the pioneers, unsung heroines, and today’s torchbearers of a genre that defines a region and a people. At its heart, the documentary is about preserving tradition while opening space for future voices, distinctively young Latinas, to take the stage.