We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mauricio Villanueva. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mauricio below.

Hi Mauricio, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

1. I have had always the urge to produce a music performance the way I IMAGINE. In the beginning I did not know how to do it but by joining other musicians projects and bands that I admired I was consciously taking notes of how to deal with it. I am still learning the administration side of it, the finding the venue, musicians, rehearsals spaces, music arrangements, group communication, and focus on the process of final product as well.

2. I wouldn’t change anything knowing what I know now, I am certain that I needed the experience I learned so far to be able to see my plan through.

3. My most essential skill that have helped me to every time surpass my expectations are my ‘Stick to plan A no matter what’ mindset. I am totally committed to not allow into my head any EXIT plan in case of. There’s no space for it and that has made me work on a straight mindset and a so far always ending with a positive result.

4. The only obstacle that I could mention has been the lack of budget to eneble more freedom in the creativity side of the making. A craft I never studied but that on every production I learn more and more about it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

ConSentido Project was born for over 20 years ago while I was living my life in different parts of the world. In order to express my culture I had to adapt and collaborate with musicians and artists from those countries I was living in. It always worked well at the end, I could show my music, my culture and at the same time I was able to know and learn my then colleagues/band mates music and culture. And together a new sound came to live every single time. So much richness in being present.

Time was passing and It’s how I started hearing in my head traditional songs and my own compositions with different instruments, and rhythms from other genres and styles and all was making sense to me. Now, to find out how to make all that fusion growing in my head come to live, I had to develop even more my social skills, better my language skills, and be very clear and specific to my musicians on what I wanted to create, so they knew what they where about to step in to. That always takes its time, and it only evolves by doing it again and again.

ConSentido Project is a bridge creator between cultures through its music, that’s all, and for that I or we would love to grow our community, our fandom, and to let St. Louis people know that definitely during our performances you somehow will feel connected with your own culture while also experiencing new stuff, and making sure you will leave the performance with a huge smile.

VERY IMPORTANT, we look all the time for sponsors that can help us to cover the costs of our rehearsal space, marketing expenses, & fees for the musicians. The Goal os every performances is to create a new journey for the audience to feel connected with. Anyone that feels connected with our goals will be very welcome and be part of our marketing journey all the way till our performance time.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I definitely still have not a huge following on my Social Media, but I certainly have strength the trust of almost every single person that follows me/us and comes to my shows. My strategy has been since the beginning to stay connected with them, keep them aware and updated with our performance dates.

Nothing is personal here, if I I’m interested in you to come to my show, I will make sure you know the date, the place, location, hour, and let you digest the information like a diet, every second or third day on and on. I bother you until you tell me stop, then I change strategy so you keep liking me and let my information in to your daily routine again.

I REPEAT, If I have the interest in you to attend my concert, I will make sure you get the information. My concerts don’t go over the two or three hundred people yet, so it is still a marketing work I can do on my own and people feel the message more personal when it comes from me directly.

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

2 years ago while I was competing at the reality show THE VOICE in Mexico City, for a moment I got overwhelmed and anxiety. Even thou I was one of the most experienced artists in the competition I felt the pressure and fear of after doing so much sacrifice by being away from home, my family, and work, ending my time with a negative outcome.

Two days before my blind audition I got sick, congested and things were getting bad, until my mind kicked in and told me “There’s no plan B here”. Right there I put my self in a state of meditation and focused my goal thinking that there’s always a solution and that there wasn’t an exit from it

My brother was with me those days. He knew a friend Dr. that we could Video call and get some medical help from. I didn’t know if the medicine I was prescribed would work on time, I just kept thinking “There’s no plan B here”.

The medicine worked, but my voice was a bit soar from the congesting self, but I kept thinking “There’s no plan B here”.

I remember the day of the show, my voice was clearing up and I was feeling almost recovered but not 100%, not like for competing on an international world wide singing contest like THE VOICE.

I remember while waiting for my turn, my head or my mind spoke to me again and told me “Hoy me doy el premiso de brillar” ..’Today I allow myself to shine’, after that I felt the power of being present every second along the way till I finished singing on the stage in front of the jury and resulting on two of the coaches turning their chair towards me. That’s when I realize how powerful is to allow yourself be, to do, to shine.

Since then, every thing I do I preach it the same way, and in the end it will succeed.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @consentidoproject
• Youtube: @consentidoprojectoficial

Image Credits

I have the right and permission to share all the images.