Ever since Elida Reyna Y Avante entered the Tejano music scene in the early 1990s, the fresh, young group with a distinct sound captured the eyes and ears of audiences with an ever-evolving musical style that gained attention from the start and maintained momentum throughout the decades into the present as the two-time Latin Grammy-winning artist keeps churning out the music.
What is the secret to Elida’s longevity in an industry not always welcoming of young, female artists looking for a start?
“I think it’s just passion, just doing what I love,” Elida tells Tejano Nation. “And I think when you love what you do, it just comes so easy.”
That’s not to say that gaining a foothold in the Tejano music industry was an easy task, in fact, Elida almost gave up, she admits. Just when she decided that the next door she would knock on, would be her last, as fate would have it, that door opened for her and so began a successful, long career.
When asked about being a trailblazer for many of the up-and-coming Tejano acts, Elida said it reminds her of her idols when she was young, which included the iconic Laura Canales and of course, the legendary Selena Quintanilla-Perez. “What I bring to the table is experience,” Elida said. “What’s kept me in the game is that I’ve been persistent and passionate and consistent. Consistency is the name of the game for me.”
As often is the case, different standards and higher scrutiny often follow female artists as they age, but Elida has maintained a trendy, sleek image as she elegantly enters her 50s. She shared some of her health and physical regimen.
“I do take care of myself,” she said. “I try to eat well and ‘Do I do it all the time?’ I’m human…I know where I can cheat, but, for the most part, like during the week, I try to eat well. I’m a big salmon eater. I eat a lot of fish and I work out two to three times a week.”
Elida admits that menopause posed a challenge when trying to stay healthy but described the obstacle as “a little difficult, but not impossible.”
Keeping her sound relevant throughout the years, Elida says, has a lot to do with consistently working with a lot of the same songwriters.
“It works for some artists, it doesn’t work for others,” she said. “But I think that that’s what’s been the success of my longevity is that I continue to work with the same (writers and producers,) one of them being my husband (Lalo Reyna), who’s the producer, the arranger. We’ve been collaborating, working on songs together for the past 17 years.”
A tight-knit group of collaborators helps produce what Elida refers to as “the magic” and while she cannot fully explain why or how it works, she did say, “It works because we work well together.”
“I think the secret to our success or how I’ve been able to be in a band is that we’re all just the same and we’re a family unit,” Elida said. “We all just take care of each other. We respect each other.”
Many of Avante’s musicians have more than five-year tenures with the band and when they do decide to leave, Elida said the decision is usually based on family or other priorities and not because of a falling out or any negative feelings.
As was mentioned earlier, Elida Reyna Y Avante consistently produces new music for their fans, such as the six-single EP, slated for a late December release, that includes the cleverly-worded and powerful message to an ex, titled “Cierra Esa Boquita,” in which a calm, cool, and collected Elida strongly urges her ex to keep his mouth shut, or else.
The video features Elida in complete command as she advises her ex to keep quiet if he knows what’s good for him. She said that in addition to a great melody and hook, the message resonates, too. “For all you men out there, just keep your pretty little mouth shut is basically what she’s saying,” Elida said.
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“As soon as we’re done with this project, we’re going to get started on a new project, which will be 12 songs that consist of half mariachi, half Tejano and conjunto, which as you may or may not know, that’s my ‘mole,’ so to speak,” Elida said. “That is where I feel like I shine and I’m so looking forward to this new project.”
Fans can expect the project’s completion sometime during the summer of 2024.
After a major change in her life earlier this year, when she became a born-again Christian on Feb. 11, Elida has seen her perspective and priorities change, along with the fact that she just celebrated the birth last week of her second grandchild.
“So, I didn’t have my first child until I was 29,” Elida said. “And then, my daughter caught up. She had her first baby at 20 years old.”
Elida said that becoming a grandparent is just as special as everyone describes it to be.
As she reflects on her own motherhood experience, Elida gives a ton of credit to her family, especially her parents, and in-laws, for helping her maintain her music career as a busy mom with children.
When talking about how she’s grown throughout the years, Elida mentions branching out with her Colores Cosmetics line which has done well for her thanks to the help and encouragement of her loyal friends.
“Of course, the music has always been my main focus,” Elida said. “I think as you get older, you start to kind of wonder, what else is out there? What else am I good at? What else can I do?”
A close friend, who works as a digital creator, helped initiate Colores Cosmetics and the highly successful Tequilera Collection. A big sale is coming up soon and interested customers should visit shop.elidareynayavante.com for details.
But Elida doesn’t stop here with her entrepreneurial ventures. She also operates the charming venue, Casa de Reyna, for events from weddings to divorce parties to proposal parties.
But perhaps the activity closest to Elida’s heart is her service to the elderly community of the Rio Grande Valley through her position as Ambassador to Med Team Provider Services, which allows her to serve one of the most vulnerable segments of society — senior citizens.
“The reason I love that so much is the camaraderie that I get to visit with a lot of the senior citizens,” Elida said. “This year, I decided and I prayed to God because this year, I became a born-again Christian and I wanted to give back because of all of the blessings I’ve had in my life.”
Listen to the audio interview with Tejano Nation‘s Sylvia Carrizales and Elida Reyna to hear a more in-depth discussion of Elida’s experience serving the elderly and much more that we chatted about with the longtime Tejano superstar.
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