Estani joyfully blends today’s music with her grandmother’s heritage
Last week I recommended Estani’s single, “My Luck Has Changed” (Mi Suerte Ha Cambiado), from her recent album Tú De Mí Te Acordarás (You Will Remember Me), following up on a recommendation in 2022 of her songs “Mr. Personalify” and “I Sometimes Wish”. I am usually very picky about accordion-driven regional Mexican music, Conjunto. It can get on your nerves with a constant polka beat and the accordion coming forward without good rational music intent – it is sort of here because it has to be. “Mi suerte ha cambiado”, is different. It flows smoothly, but retains the dance floor beat, and integrates a very well-played accordion both as an accent and as a solo. It is a joy.
But that is what Estani Frizzell does. Known to fans simply as Estani, she is a rare artistic spirit whose work bridges generations and genres with irresistible warmth, soulful expression, and listenability in English and Spanish.
Raised in a Mexican-American family, Estani has woven her grandmother Rosita Lopez’s legacy as a Conjunto and Bolero singer into every song. Abuela Lopez was a Conjunto music pioneer who significantly influenced Estani’s career and that of other Mexican -American singers, pioneering the female presence at the head of Conjunto bands during the 1960s and 1970s.
Estani was born into this musical family in San Antonio, Texas, and her household exposed her to Latin music genres through her grandmother’s favorites and her work frequently honors her grandmother and Latino roots. Her latest creative project, Tú De Mí Te Acordarás blends nostalgia with contemporary Latin flavors and jazz-pop sensibility for audiences craving both tradition and fresh storytelling. You can hear this in spades as she shifts from the Spanish Conjunto dance ballad “Mi Suerte Ha Cambiado” to the English-language pop song with a Conjunto beat, “Tell Me Why”. She gets it.
She released Tú De Mí Te Acordarás, in July as a moving tribute to her grandmother, Rosita Lopez, and all the resilient Mexican-American women who inspired her own journey. The album isn’t just a nostalgic look back, but a vibrant collaboration with the Grammy-winning legends Los Texmaniacs, infusing classic Conjunto sounds—think button accordion and 12-string bajo sexto—with Estani’s signature modern twist. “Mi Suerte Ha Cambiado” won Best Latin Traditional at the 2025 Hollywood Independent Music Awards: a stunning recognition for a song that reimagines a 50-year-old family heirloom into something timeless and magnetic.
But Estani’s appeal goes far beyond her musical roots. Whether headlining at major festivals like Montreal Jazz Fest, collaborating on English- and Spanish-language tracks, or mentoring the next wave of creative talent, she exudes authentic charisma and approachability. Her style marries the evocative storytelling of classic conjunto with contemporary hooks and harmonies. It’s this ease of crossing boundaries, the essence of Music Sin Fronteras, that makes Estani’s sound so universally appealing, whether she’s performing solo or leading Ascension Vocals through a set drenched in neo-soul and vintage jazz vibes. And she even produced a children’s book, Introducing Sai The Peacock: The Unique Beak, illustrated by her daughter Sophia.
She produces music that feels both personal and profoundly communal. The result is that the Tú De Mí Te Acordarás invites fans into the joys and struggles of cultural heritage, the thrill of artistic evolution, and the unbreakable ties of family—a testament to a career built on passion, authenticity, and love for the richness of Mexican-American songcraft. All the while, keeping people dancing.
Patrick O’Heffernan
