“It wasn’t easy finding a sound that was completely unique and representative of who I am and where I came from†says the proud Texas native. Born and raised in San Antonio TX, Estani has always been acquainted with the melodic ring of the accordeon, the bajo sexto, the ever present keyboards, and the harmonies so familiar with conjunto and tejano.
As a dancer in the Ballet Folklorico de San Antonio for over nine years, Estani immersed herself not only in dance, but in the traditional folklorico music from all the regions of Mexico, and began to familiarize herself with a variety of rhythms, vocal styles, and influences depicting each region. Her dedication and perseverance further contributed to her advancement into the Folklorico de San Antonio tour group which led her to become the youngest dancer at age twelve to travel and perform with the dance company at the Oakland Pavilion in Oakland, CA.
Upon finishing high school, Estani entered into the University of North Texas on a partial scholarship. She worked laboriously on her academics to achieve another goal she had set for herself. By Estani’s sophomore year at UNT, she received a full scholarship to Adelphi University in New York City and transferred on a whim. She graduated magna cum laude, earning her degree in Fine Arts and English by age twenty-one.
Maintaining finances alone proved to be an enormous undertaking in New York. Working as a model for Elite Runway, she also used what she had retained musically throughout the years to her advantage. She began singing cumbias at small nightclubs in New York City. Eventually, Estani began pounding the pavement and going to any musical open call she knew about. This unstoppable ambition landed her two off-broadway shows, one of which happened to be a Jonathan Larson musical (writer of Tony award winning musical “Rentâ€).
Estani moved to Los Angeles after graduating from college and almost instantly began singing with local bands in Los Angeles. Since arriving, Estani has shared the stage with artists such as, Los Tigres del Norte, Ana Barbara, Nydia Rojas, La Mafia, singing duets with Flaco Jimenez,and Son By Four to name a few.
From then on, Estani has relentelessy used what she has been blessed with…conviction, persistence, and faith. Her talents have taken her everywhere, not just vocally, but lyrically as well. Her songs have been picked up by artists in Russia all the way to TV shows in Argentina. She worked with multi-talented singer/songwriter Joan Sebastian for over two years, singing his famous duet, “Oigaâ€. Adding to the list, Estani sang back-up for Laura Pausini appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, fronted the Afro-cuban jazz band Yeska on the Jerry Lewis telethon as well as traveling to perform at the annual Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, worked as a background vocalist for Spanish Singer, Maricela, and recorded two albums for Japan.
Estani’s fluidity of verse and flexibility of style make it easy for her to transcend musical boundaries, writing catchy hooks and melodies almost effortlessly with every thought put on paper. Estani penned every song on her own. It is a tremendous feat for an artist to be able to say they wrote every song on their debut album. She has done just that.
Evolving tejano music is being filled by only a few artists not afraid to take chances. Fortunately, Estani is one of them. Reaching out to loyal fans of traditional tejano music, she touches upon an entirely new fan base looking for that extra something that has finally been found-----Estani.