We were lucky to catch up with Elsten Torres recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elsten, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

At MFM Plus, we manage artists like Elsten Torres so we need to be on top of social media. We have a team of people that work daily so that all the old and new fans are aware of everything going on within the artist’s day-to-day occurrences,

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’ve been a professional singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer for almost 30 years now. I started learning my craft at a very young age while growing up in NYC. I was born in Habana, Cuba but left at 18 months old with my mother and older brother who was 5 years old at the time. My dad stayed behind due to the fact that he was a political prisoner. Life in NY was almost always surrounded by music. One of my uncles, who was also also a musician, had already left Cuba prior to us and was living close by. Whenever we had family reunions, he’d bring his guitar and his songs. We’d spent many days and nights listening to him and I absorbed all that musical heritage. By the time I was 13, I was already very serious about music and in learning how to play the guitar and how to write songs. By the time I moved to Miami, Florida in my mid twenties I had already played in several different bands in NYC and had even released an indie album titled “Ataque” that was released in Mexico. Once in Miami, I was discovered by the producers, Rodolfo Castillo, Gustavo Menendez and Daniel Barrocas, who at the time had a label “Radio Vox” that they signed me to. From there, after the success of my first single, “Revolucion” (a protest song to help Cuba), I started a Latin Rock band named “Fulano” and subsequently we were signed by BMG/RCA records and I was also signed as a songwriter to Warner Chappell Music Publishing. I fortunately have had an accomplished career in the music industry having had 5 songs on Billboard’s top 10 lists including a #1 song for 5 weeks; I’ve been nominated for 2 GRAMMY awards and I have been awarded two BMI songwriting awards as well. I have released 13 full musical projects the latest being “Nocturno” which was just released in 2022 and I am considered one of the pioneers of the Latin Rock movement in the United States. I have also toured extensively throughout the USA and the world with my music.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal has always been to the best songwriter and musician I can possibly be without competing with anyone but myself. I believe that comparing one’s talents or business goals to someone else’s is a mistake and a slippery slope. Everyone is on their own journey and with their own specific skill sets. We have all been gifted various attributes that other’s may not have or if they do have they will not have them in the same fashion as you do. So I always believe in the motto, “Be yourself everyone else is taken”. Create your own story and path, that’s what will keep you hungry and wanting to reach new heights in your career and want you to accomplish excellence in your business.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

After we had released our second record as a band “Fulano”, we found ourselves at a crossroad. Some of the band members were given a very good opportunity to work with an international artist and they left with this artist. Seeing that my project/business was at the end of it’s cycle, I had to begin thinking of reinventing myself. I sat down and started accessing what other skills I had within my chosen field and asking myself what was next that I wanted to accomplish. I discovered that other opportunities were just waiting for me to take that next step. With the help of my publishing company, Warner Chappell, I made the shift of dedicating my talents to becoming a more versatile songwriter and began writing songs for other artists in the industry. This decision gave my career a new boost and a new source of income. Shortly after, I was placing songs with internationally will known Latin artists from all over the world and getting hit after hit in the mainstream music business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elsten.info
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/elstentorres
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/elstentorres
• Linkedin: @elstentorres
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/elstentorres
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/elstentorresmusic
• Other: tictok: @elstentorres