El Paso’s Iris Lopez Made Music With Latin Grammy Award Winner Before They Got Big

Every morning, El Paso wakes up with Iris Lopez. But before she was a radio personality, a community leader, and my favorite cohost, she had a whole other dream and the pipes to back it up.

On air today, Iris and I talked about what people went to college for versus what they actually ended up doing with their lives. And Iris had an answer that I knew but that I didn't know the full extent of. She went to school chasing two dreams: becoming a famous singer and a music teacher. Then one day, watching the legendary Estella Casas on TV, something clicked. She wanted to be in news. The rest is El Paso radio history.

She Was Not Just Singing in the Shower

Here is the part that really has me floored. Iris did not just dabble in music. She actually recorded and produced tracks with none other than Gabe Esparza, a Latin Grammy Award-winning producer right here out of El Paso. Long before the two began their romantic journey together, they were just two people in the Sun City chasing their dreams side by side. That is genuinely one of the most El Paso love stories I have ever heard.

And the music? It is good. Like, really good. Iris has a powerful voice and now you can hear it for yourself because she has an active Soundcloud with her music still up and available to stream.

A Dream That Became Something Even Bigger

Iris may not have ended up in a recording studio full time, but she never stopped showing up for her community. She is the founder of Mija Yes You Can, an organization dedicated to supporting and empowering young women all across the borderland. The girl who once wanted to inspire through music now inspires through everything she does.

Both she and Gabe have built successful careers making their original dreams come true, just in ways neither of them probably expected back then. And honestly? That is the most relatable thing I have heard all week.

Go Listen Right Now

Take a trip down Iris Lopez's memory lane and hear the voice that almost took her in a completely different direction.

• Listen: Iris Lopez on Soundcloud
• Learn more about her work: Mija Yes You Can