Spotlight On: SILVANA ESTRADA

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S SHERO IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

Silvana Estrada was born in Veracruz, Mexico, the daughter of two musicians and luthiers. It goes without saying that she was surrounded by music, and her own journey as a musician started at the piano, then she picked up the violin and viola. But the spark was truly lit in her teens when she discovered jazz singers like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan, and her passion for jazz and singing brought her to study in a nearby university conservatory program while she was still in high school. Then, she enrolled full-time. But soon Silvana would start to feel pulled towards her roots and the folk music traditions she was raised on while she began writing her own songs on the Venezuelan stringed instrument, the cuatro. A chance meeting with renowned guitarist Charlie Hunter resulted in her first recordings, a collaborative album called Lo Sagrado, and soon after, Silvana moved to Mexico City to pursue her solo career, putting out her debut EP Primeras Canciones in 2018. Fast forward to 2022, Silvana Estrada has just released her full length debut on Glassnote Records, called Marchita, and she joins us this week as our SHERO in the Spotlight. 

Our playlist includes new music from Big Thief, SASAMI, Momma, and Lucius, who will be releasing their new album Second Nature next month. 

SHERO BIRTHDAYS: We celebrate the SHERO birthdays of Candi Staton on 3/13 and Nancy Wilson of Heart on 3/16. Plus Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur turns 50 on 3/17!  

This week’s Radio SHERO: Ida Hakkila of Radio Kingston joins us as this week’s Radio SHERO to spin the track “Why We Speak” that features Esperanza Spalding and Q-Tip, from Robert Glasper’s recently released album Black Radio III.