(V)eronique Log · Artistically Speaking
(V)eronique Log: Happy 10 Year Anniversary to Encantadora!
By Veronique Medrano · 5 min read
Ten years ago today I had just graduated from college and spent an entire year working on my debut album that would launch 10 years of stories and adventures on the road. I thought at 18 years old that the journey to becoming a professional singer would be easy. College taught me different. There was a lot of training and rejection and creative growth within just living.
Music has been a means for me to engage with a force that has no name. It has provided a sense of safety to express and explore the human condition in a way that has brought me closer to the spirit of creation. I have shared stories of love, pain, forgiveness, longing and so much more.
Where It All Began
I first started this album in December of 2012, on what was supposed to be my last semester of college. As life would have it, I needed one more class to complete my degree. So it would be a year of school, graduating, and figuring out life after college before I finally finished the album and put it out into the world. I was nervous to say the least.
When I first released the album the concept didn’t land well at first — I had to redo the artwork three months after the CDs were printed. A lot of investment to reinvest. It was a learning moment that bruised the ego, but taught me so much about being adaptable in the music industry.
“Nothing was ‘perfect’ in my journey, and the trials and struggles I endured were brutal. But my art was out there — and to be here to continue to make art is something I wish to celebrate.”
Finding My Creative Voice
I didn’t start songwriting right away. I didn’t trust my voice or my writing. I came from poetry and fiction, then journalism. For the first album I only wrote one song, “TekJano Jam” — my fun way to celebrate the gay clubs and their acceptance of my creativity. From that album onwards I was writing music in Spanish and just allowed myself to express in song.
I wanted a creative career where I could look back at the risks I took and be proud of them. So what if I had to change my album cover, or if I had an entirely animated music video that had never been done in Tejano? I did it. I’ve gone from thinking I would never write creatively to writing a comic book, poetry, and so much music in those first days in the studio.
If I could impart anything to anyone in music and the arts it is simply this: in 10 years I can look on the past proudly because it put me exactly where I am today. With songs and stories and friendships and my impact on the industry that came with simply growing up and finding my creative voice. I hope you find yours too.
Puro Amor, Puro Besos, Puro Tejano — Veronique
Written By
Veronique Medrano
Singer-songwriter, writer, and archivist out of Brownsville, Texas.