Sawt Falasteen - Conexion Divina, the Gen Z band contemporizing 'regional Mexican'

Flash forward and the three young women of Conexion Divina are bringing their unique brand of Mexican-American "regional" music to Coachella, the premier US desert music festival known for showcasing some of the world's best acts.

"It's really amazing to be here... it's an honor," said Liz Trujillo, who recently graduated high school and is now the lead singer of the band bringing a "feminine perspective" and "youthful touch" to sierreno, a style of Mexico's Norteno genre that is mainly played with guitars.

Regional Mexican is a broad term covering many genres developed primarily across rural Mexico and the southwestern United States, from mariachi to Tejano.

And it's expanding on streaming platforms: According to a recent Spotify report, regional Mexican's popularity on the app grew by 56 percent between 2021 and 2022, to 5.6 billion streams globally and 66 million listeners outside of Mexico.

Sierreno has become a favorite of younger artists, from Conexion Divina to acts like Yahritza y Su Esencia and DannyLux, who also played Coachella.

The subgenre is marked by acoustic guitar and bass along with the smaller, higher-pitched requinto guitar.

And in true Gen Z form, the youth revitalizing the style are infusing it with melancholy, yearning and, perhaps most importantly, inclusivity.

"Our industry is very male-dominated," said Trujillo, with her bandmates Ashlee Valenzuela, 23, and Sandra Calixto, 20, nodding along as they spoke to AFP backstage following their set.

"We're representing Latinos, Mexicanos, LGBTQ, we're representing our generation, which is a lot of responsibility," said Valenzuela. "But we're taking care of it."

- 'Open more doors' -

The bandmates "represent different types of femininity," as they put it, with a diversity of gender identities and a boldly pro-woman message.

Their name takes inspiration from the famous Vicente Fernandez song, "Mujeres Divinas" -- heavenly women.

It's also connected to their happenstance meeting: Through Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, the three women who were not long ago living in different US states -- Trujillo in California, Valenzuela in Arizona and Calixto in Texas -- relocated to Los Angeles, where Trujillo was already based, to make music.

"I never thought I was gonna do it professionally," laughed Trujillo. "I was still in school. I was like, 'What the hell, you know, like, we got a Sony deal?'"

The trio's debut album of ballads -- "Tres Mundos," meaning "Three Worlds" -- came out just days ago, as Coachella kicked off, and features their first single, "Odio."

The group performed that track during their festival set to hundreds of cheering fans young and old.

"We were a little nervous because we weren't expecting so many people," said Valenzuela. "We kind of filled it up."

Among the fan favorites was a cover of "Como La Flor," the 1992 classic by the late Selena Quintanilla, "The Queen of Tejano" who dominated the early 1990s.

The three friends and bandmates get giddy at the mere mention of Selena, popularly known by her first name, who has inspired legions of artists that followed her, including them.

So what's next for Conexion Divina?

"I hope we get nominated for a Grammy and I hope we win it," said Calixto with a confident smile.

Valenzuela agreed, before adding another goal: "I hope we get big, so we can represent, and open more doors for everybody else."

E.AbuRizq--SF-PST