Fuerza Régida closes out the year with two albums — the anticipated 'Pa Que Hablen' and its surprise companion 'Sigan Hablando' — and talks to Rolling Stone about their next big moves.
But the albums, Ortiz says, are also for Latinos who are into American trap and who might initially feel turned off by the tuba or the string-picking sounds of the requinto. “People just close their minds because they hear the instruments and they think it’s just some Mexican whack shit,” he says. “But they’ve got to sit down and really listen to the lyrics. When they listen, they’re going to understand: It’s the same culture. It’s the same thing, just from a different place.
Aside from the in-person parties that gave the band its start, Ortiz was able to build a massive fanbase online. In the group’s early days, Ortiz spent a lot of his time posting vlogs on YouTube, where he’s approaching one million followers. It helped him connect with fans of Régida’s music, but also with those who identified with his down-to-earth attitude and who enjoyed watching the group’s weed-infused shenanigans online.
The videos also showed a more human side of the singer. He has a close relationship with his parents and sometimes features them in his vlogs, showing moments where he accomplishes the immigrant child dream of giving back to them. In one of his most viral videos, Ortiz surprised his dad with a brand-new Toyota Tacoma “just because” he could.
But over the pandemic, Ortiz decided to drop the camera for a bit and jump back in the studio. He says he had gone almost a year without making new music because of his vlogs. The band started focusing on new work, though they still share videos on TikTok, where they have four million followers combined, and are known to post the occasional peek into their tour life. “We got our feet on the ground and we’re just not going to stop from here. We got the formula already,” Ortiz says.
That drive has also inspired the band to collaborate with artists outside of their genre, including Towers. Ortiz met up with him in Miami after learning that the Puerto Rican singer “fucks with my music.” Before that, the DJ and producer Marshmello welcomed Ortiz to the studio. “We’re trying to do that EDC rave stuff,” Ortiz explains.