We recently connected with René Villa and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, René thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I guess being a musical artist is an act of risk-taking in itself – you really have to put yourself out there in a public way, be vulnerable & think positively that people might actually like you & your work. You could be a sensation or a flunk!

My attitude to risk & the taking of it is simple, even if it is definitely easier said than done – just go for it! just do it!…nobody wants to live a life of regrets and in most cases, you have nothing to lose but everything to gain.

What I think defines risk-taking, and from my own experience, is that it is always harder to take a chance & put your head above the parapet if you have had bad experiences, faced challenges or had to deal with rejection in the past – this type of risk-taking is the essence of personal development in my opinion; it comes from learning from your mistakes & believing in your abilities, it’s powerful stuff & usually requires you to go through an internal process.

At the end of the day, you can’t release your music unless you first take the risk to record it & publish it to an audience for their enjoyment & crucially, their scrutiny – without risk, there is no reward in this business.

René, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Costa Rican singer songwriter who launched my first studio album “Rawr” in 2021 – it featured a collection of songs that introduced me as an artist to a wide audience of listeners.

I’m from the popular beach town of Playa Samara and I am no stranger to writing, recording & performing music and have been doing so since I was 16 years old.

I was fortunate to get my first glimpse of the world of a recording artist when I appeared in the video of Tica star Debi Nova’s “Amor” back in 2013 – back then I started from scratch as “Shory Flores”.

When the pandemic hit Costa Rica in 2020,I had a pseudo-name, “Jay Flores” & I teamed up with Alan Shephard to work on an exciting collaboration “A Tu Lado” for his “The Right Time” album.

Bilingual since I was a child, I pen & perform a range of music in the dance, pop & Latin genres – in both English & Spanish.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media can be both a stormcloud and a blessing for any artist – but with a positive mindset, it can be utilized proactively to shine a spotlight on you as an artist & generate a loyal base of fans while catching the attention of an engaged audience.

I realised very early on, not only the importance – but the critical nature – of social media to grow myself as an artist. An artist is nothing without a followership & fans and social media is a revolutionary tool to reach them in every part of the planet.

I amassed 11k followers on Instagram in 2019 & my Facebook tally as of December 2022 is 47k – I also have 12k followers on TikTok.

The secret, which is not so secret, is simple – consistency & authenticity.

You need to actively promote yourself with creative but original content as regularly as possible; videos, reels, stories & photos.

I also try to publicly respond to comments that fans have taken the time to post – this not only helps promote the content further but is a vital means of engagement with those that have supported me every step of the way on my creative journey.

Without social media, I would have no fans – without my fans, I am nothing.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Like most Latinos, I grew up in a big family with lots of siblings & cousins – family is everything to us, the rock on which we stand.

The matriarch of my family was my abuelita – a strong, formidable, proud, fun & good humoured woman with a heart of gold; she bounded us together.

She held us together in the bad times & lifted us to good & better times – her advice was unrivaled by anybody & her energy was infectious; she liked to love, to laugh and she had an insatiable zest for life.

Life can be very cruel, and the price we so often pay for love is loss – our Granny suddenly left us to go on life’s next great adventure in 2020.

It left a big hole in our lives, we all still have a long way to go before we can fit into her boots – but we are determined to make her proud & to make her smile down on us from above.

I am the resilient person I am today because of her love, mentorship & support – she always valued, encouraged & nurtured the talents of her grandkids & for that, I could not be more grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.renevilla.co.uk
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renexvilla
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReneVillaMusic
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/renexvilla
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@renevilla