The minute she reaches center stage, it’s like she’s actually living, she’s unstoppable, and best of all, she gets this tingling sensation all throughout her body that’s full of excitement.
Yisel Cabrera, 19, communications major, has been singing since she was eight years old.
“I started singing opera,” Cabrera said.
Opera then turned into mariachi and now she sings pop music.
Cabrera has also been involved in a pilot for a TV show called “Dos y Dos” but says she wants to pursue a career in singing.
“I do enjoy singing most of the time (like) in my car,” Cabrera said.
Cabrera has been asked many times about her thoughts on the red carpet event she attended Friday night at IX Tapa Cantina.
Sharing the red carpet with her friends and family was an amazing experience for Cabrera, because she liked allowing people to get a taste of what she was doing as well as how she feels.
Her first single, “Flashing Lights” was performed live on the Telemundo Channel the same day as the red carpet event.
“It was very interesting writing this song because it’s the first song I’ve written on my own,” Cabrera said.
Cabrera explained that her song is based on her friends and going to the club and having a good time.
“I’m a party girl,” she said. “I thought it was perfect because my friends love to party just as much as I do and I love going to clubs to dance.”
Her cousin, Brian Salazar, 18, business major, had no idea she could sing until one church gathering that they had both gone to together.
“When she and I went to a church event, it was an eye opener for me because I had heard her sing and I thought she was great,” Salazar said.
Going to these events and festivals was also a way for Cabrera to get over her stage fright and build confidence when performing on stage.
“My mom would book me at church events and fairs and that’s when a lot of people noticed me,” Cabrera said.
Cabrera started singing in a group of girls called Bittersweet when she was a freshman in high school that was created by singer and actress, Vanessa Hudgens.
“I was in that group for four years and it wasn’t until my junior year (of high school that) we sort of broke off,” Cabrera said.
However, throughout that time of being in the girl group, she had met her manager, George Salliant, who, when he had the chance, took Cabrera under his wing and has managed her through singing ever since.
Once Salliant had heard Cabrera and her group of girls perform at an event he attended, he was lost for words.
“When the song started, my mouth dropped,” Salliant said. “Everything that they had (from singing to dancing), was a full package.”
Since then, their friendship has flourished and he has helped her really take off in her singing career.
“(During the red carpet performance), I had one of my family friends hug me and just seeing her eyes tear up (from) how proud she was of me gave me a little taste of success,” Cabrera said. “I realized that if I’m this far and I’m making people proud, I can only imagine how much more proud the will be when I can finally say I’ve made it big.”
