Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melina Aguilar Leon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Melina, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I started Te Quiero Mosh after working and interning for a few music labels and companies. I used to run the social media accounts for them and often would have the chance to briefly hang out with some of the artists whenever there were live events or if they would stop by the office. After almost every interaction with the talent, I always felt a sense of “Oh! I wish I had asked them about this project” or “I really enjoyed their last release, I should have talked to them about it!” and I always felt I could relate to them more that my peers at work. It was after discovering a local radio station that I thought about creating a show where I could play music I loved and pick artists’ brain while documenting it too.

I don’t think I would have done anything differently to “speed up” the process as now in hindsight I can see that everything happened gracefully as it was suppose to. When I started TQM*sh, I had just graduated from a big university where I felt really alone and it was also when the 2017 elections were going on and I witnessed a lot of racism on campus. During this time, I heavily reminisced on some of the programming I grew up watching as a kid particularly music programs that were on MTVtrés and LATV that embraced the Latin American culture and communities. I missed it so much that I sought out working for places that supported Latino artists and eventually went full-circle and started creating content that highlights POC artists and members of my community that look like me and are often time over-looked or considered “niche”.

Melina, 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?

At the core, I operate from what “little Melina” would love to see or know. I used to play guitar when I was little up until I got too noisey for the apartment my family was living and even though it is something I wish I would have never let go of, my love for music has never let go of me. Also, by nature I am very curious and love to ask a million questions which really helps when interviewing folks and getting to know them better.

Most recently, what inspires me is my Dad’s passing. There’s so many things that I wish I would have asked him and gatherings where I wish I had taken more picture of and documented them. It has also obviously reminded me that our time here will eventually come to an end and I want to do my part in documenting as much of the music scene and my peers as much as I can. Even if all my footage and archives are never considered intellectual or used for research, I want my show to be a glimpse of the fun times that were had, the friendships that were made, the musical projects, the shows, and most importantly that our community thrived despite all the adversities.

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

I’m still figuring this out myself. It’s something I think I’ll always be working on but I don’t let it be a driving force behind what I do. Of course I would love to have way more engagement and whatnot but I’m confident that my content reaches who it’s suppose to reach and at the right time. I’ve always made better connection face-to-face especially since most of my content is filmed in-person therefore I try to focus more on having a genuine and good interview and hope that it translates well when shared on social media. My advice for tose starting out would be to just keep posting and not focus on the likes. I remember one time stressing out about some interviews I was doing for my friends from The Citie, they were throwing a small event and I was going to interview some folks that were in attendance. I was really nervous about doing interviews and setting up a booth and I jokingly expressed to them over the phone that if the interviews flopped I wasn’t going to set up a booth for their future events. I’ll never forget the silence on the other end of the line and then my friend Jona saying, ” …Melina, flops are inevitable, I’m putting you down for our next two events”. Flops are inevitable! That was such brilliant advice that I wish I had learned sooner and that I try to remember when a post I share does in fact flop. Oh well!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I love, love, love, looking up old videos on YouTube of MTV, LATV, and shows like Control and No Manches. These were shows that were always playing in the background of my childhood and have died down with the rise of smartphones and social media. I also love rewatching music videos from Latin alternative artists that were big when I was little. Julieta Venegas’s music videos capture this nostalgia for me that I can’t put to words but definitely take me back to when my sister and I would watch TV together as kids. I like to believe that my video interviews emulate even a fraction of what those shows made me feel growing up and not just cause I use analog gear to record them.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tequieromosh/
• Other: Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/tequieromosh/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6fnoAblLdpNBLMp8xFyp34?si=f282e30277ee4b34 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/te-quiero-m-sh/id1612922388

Image Credits
Courtesy of Te Quiero Mosh.