Elida Reyna talks live DVD, San Antonio move, new venture, COVID life

The excitement from Elida Reyna for the June 26, 2020, premiere of her live medley music video is immediately evident, however as the two-time Latin Grammy winner talks, more somber emotions emerge as she realizes how much she misses her fans, her band, and touring, which stopped since the pandemic hit in March.

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Reyna spoke exclusively with Tejano Nation on June 24 about current music, business, and personal developments in her life.

“We’ve done several live videos, but this one’s special,” Reyna said, as she talks about her performance of the hits, “Prefiero Morir” and “Adicta,” from her September 2019 San Antonio concert filmed for her live DVD due at the year’s end.

“This one is pretty special because we put a lot of time and effort in,” Reyna said. “We cared. We put a lot into production and the lighting and just putting the whole show together. Wardrobe and all of that was really important to us.”

Reyna explains that the attention to detail was why the video wasn’t released earlier.

“That’s why it took us so long to put it out so I’m really excited to share it with all our fans,” Reyna said. “And I really miss them. I really miss seeing them at the shows. I miss talking to them. I miss signing autographs after my show.”

Reyna then goes on to express how she misses her busy touring schedule as well.

“I really miss the traveling,” Reyna said. “I miss my band. I miss all of that.”

Friday’s premiere of the live medley video will be the first of more to come as part of the promotion for the live DVD, according to Reyna, and the initial video actually reveals the start of the show.

“It’s the intro to the new live DVD that we’re going to be releasing probably at the end of the year…and so for now, we’re just going to put out certain songs and then at the end of the year, we’ll put out the entire DVD,” Reyna said.

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The next video in promotion of the live DVD will be Luna Llena,’” she said.

In addition to the live project, Reyna is currently at work on an album of new music.

“We’re working on the next single because the first single was ‘Alas Rotas,’ a brand new song, and so now, we’ll be working on the next single,” Reyna said.

Reyna said she is selective when choosing songs for her albums but “Alas Rotas” stood out for her.

“’Alas Rotas’ was one of those songs that I can’t stop listening to it,” Reyna said. “I can listen to that song over and over and I don’t get tired. That in itself is a sign that it’s going to do well and I think it has for us considering it’s already been on the airwaves for several months.”

A new, follow-up single is in production but a title has not been confirmed.

“We’re working on the music as we speak,” Reyna said. “The entire album is almost done, but again, I just felt like this album needed something and I think we captured it with this new single that we’re working on.”

In addition to all of the activity in her musical life, Reyna’s personal life recently changed dramatically as she sold her home and moved from her beloved Rio Grande Valley to San Antonio. And she wants to make the reason for the move clear for her fans or anyone who may wonder about it.

“Many have been asking, ‘Well, what was the whole move to San Antonio (about), because as you know, I’m a Valley girl and we just recently moved to San Antonio,” Reyna said. “And a lot of people thought that we were moving up there because of music because we were going to probably broaden our horizons in the music industry but to be honest with you, you know I don’t know how much longer I plan to be performing. I love it, I mean with all my heart. But at the same time, one of the main reasons we decided to move up was to concentrate on our new business venture.”

“We’re excited to finally be putting all the pieces together,” Reyna said. “Everything has finally been finalized and like I said, we’ll be posting it on our social media what it is that we’ve been doing, what we’ve been up to these past couple of months.”

Reyna announced June 24 via Facebook that her husband Lalo Reyna is starting a landscaping and pressure washing company, Gypsy Curb Appeal.

Reyna also said the recent pandemic proved eye-opening for her as an entrepreneur.

“COVID taught us a very valuable lesson: You’ve got to have a back-up plan,” Reyna said. “And so luckily, we were already one step ahead and we were already thinking ahead, like ‘What’s next?’”

But Reyna promises that she is by no means, leaving the music world.

“It’s just a way for us to venture out and try other things and see what else we’re good at aside from the music business,” Reyna said.

As if her life weren’t busy enough, Reyna has her own makeup line, “Colores,” which has two lipsticks coming out soon, and manages an event venue, Casa de Reyna in Mercedes, Texas.

Her most important role and one that has been somewhat complicated by her move to San Antonio is that of being a mother to a high school graduate, a college student and a precocious 13-year-old.

“To be honest with you, my two oldest, they’re still here in the Valley,” Reyna said. “My daughter, who just finished up her semester in college and my son just graduated so I’ve been back and forth.”

While Reyna has family in San Antonio, where she was born, she is partial to the Valley.

“My heart is in the Valley, obviously, but you know like they say, ‘Home is where the heart is,’ and right now, I need to be in San Antonio with my husband,” Reyna said.

Together with her husband, Lalo, Reyna has a 13-year-old daughter who has already shown a knack for the entertainment business with dancing, singing and acting skills.

“It excites me when I see what she can do and everybody tells me that she’s just got something special,” Reyna said. “She reminds me a lot of me at that age. So I can see where this could possibly be going for her.”

As Reyna turns back to Friday’s video premiere, she again thinks about how much she loves and misses her fans and the music.

“I can’t wait to premiere this new video and I think that they’re going to love it,” Reyna said. “I don’t know about you, but just watching that little clip made me miss the road and just made me miss the music.

“I can’t wait to share that with everybody and just have them feel that same excitement that we did the day that we recorded it.”

Reyna thinks the video will also get fans longing for the day when they can return to live shows by their favorite artists.

“I think people, after watching this, they’re going to miss being out at the shows,” Reyna said. “Not just our shows, I mean the music in general, just being out there.”

“But for now, we understand we all have to be safe. And we look forward to the day where we can all finally enjoy a show and not have to worry about getting sick,” she added.

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