“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 Conjunto musician and producer Max Baca and the GRAMMY-winning
conjunto band 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 archives. 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.
