Camila Fernández, Chiquis, Lupita Infante & Majo Aguilar on their legacies: “The new regional Mexican generation is female”

Four powerful women who have built on the legacy of their family names — Camila Fernández, Chiquis Rivera, Lupita Infante and Majo Aguilar — sat down together Wednesday (October 16) at Billboard Latin Music Week 2024 and talked about how they overcame and assumed their march to leadership roles in local Mexican music.

Moderated by Luana Pagani, founder of Fairwinds, and introduced by Smirnoff Ice, the artists discussed during The Legacies panel how they take their famous family names and transcend their own sounds.

Here are the best quotes from the panel:

Camila Fernandez:”[Our ancestors] inherit us in affection, and [fans tell me]“You remind me so much of your grandfather [Vicente Fernández]'. I have been working for 10 years for my hands. My grandfather used to say that success comes from hard work, not luck. It's a mantra. You should always have this thought. Exceed people's expectations of you. Honor the family you come from. to continue to elevate Mexico.”

“I have to start from scratch to know [about being in the spotlight]; to earn it, that it is not my whim. Yes, I can do it! I put a fresh spin on mariachi for the new generations. Dressed as a chara and singing mariachi. My tour is called La Fernández.”

Chiquis: “From the beginning I wanted to make a mark in my career. I want to do it with a lot of love. I am proud to be Jenni Rivera's daughter. She [did everything] with ovaries. He said, “If you don't open this door for me, I'll go out the window, but I'll go in.” The first time I went on stage was when I was 10 years old at a competition my grandfather did [Pedro Rivera] had. “I want to do this.” An album of corridos. It was in 2012 that I said, “I want to try it.” And I sang “La Chacalosa” [by Jenni Rivera] and won second place. Let them say what they say… I'm very proud of what we've been able to do, but even more proud of how I feel as a woman of my gender. We are stronger together.”

Lupita Infante: “It's a big responsibility [the inheritance]. In the end it is the audience that decides if you will continue this career. I will never stop being [Pedro Infante’s] grandchild. I feel like I grew up away from the industry, from show business. My dad [Pedro Infante Jr.] he died in 2009. My grandfather is long gone. And there I came close [to music]. Connection to Mexico. I'm from Los Angeles.”

“For those of us who deal with the mariachi genre, it's something very beautiful, very traditional and it's hard to leave, because you want to represent the genre. I am also a producer. Change some elements and find and search for that sound that I still have and that I respect mariachi.”

Major Aguilar: “I had made it clear for a long time that I wanted to go forward, not to the side. Of course it helps [being the granddaughter of Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre]. It is important to say this, otherwise it would be very unfair not to acknowledge it. That you have that last name that your family has done extremely important things in the industry. I really admire all the girls here. Your mom is Jenni Rivera, you're already Chiquis, you've made it with such a great mother, imagine you're Jenni Rivera's daughter, [Chiquis] you have opened such a way for us. My case is very specific, music chose me and not music. Now I understand why I have this anxiety to sing.”

“I do mariachi with love, not to follow trends. To combine the mariachi instruments with the tumbado form. Mariachi Tumbado it's the name of my album. We have to embrace our genres, now they're on the world charts and we feel very proud.”

Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards airing at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 20, on Telemundo. It will be available simultaneously on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app and in Latin America and the Caribbean via Telemundo Internacional.