Yelena Rodriguez aims to motivate others through inspirational music
Award-winning singer-songwriter and Latin Grammy member Yelena Rodriguez had already been crowned Latin Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards when a car accident inspired her to reconsider her aspirations and sound.
“I always had these dreams of being this big artist and wanting to be successful. Now I’m just surrendering all that to God and letting him just be the CEO of everything,” Rodriguez said. She was baptized last year at Grace Church, a Christian church in the town of Avon, about 20 miles south of Boston. Now she is transitioning to making more faith-based music in the Christian genre.
“Life can flash before your eyes, causing you to rethink things,” said Rodriguez, who graduated from Boston’s Emmanuel College and continues to make the Greater Boston area her musical headquarters.
Her most recent performance was at the 5th Annual Boston While Black Family Reunion in the city’s Seaport neighborhood in late July. At the Lynn Music Festival in June, she performed an unreleased song inspired by her faith and received good feedback from the audience. “A lot of people afterwards were telling me, ‘I’m in the same place when it comes to my relationship with God,’” she said.
As a domestic violence survivor who is known to be resilient and has overcome personal challenges, Rodriguez’s 2024 song “La Rosa” was about alignment, letting go of what no longer serves you, and recognizing your worth and strength. You can hear the bravery in her voice throughout the song, her lyrics expressing the importance of self-transformation and healing. Letting go of the past led to her redirecting her musical path and finding purpose through setbacks. Now, she embraces her spiritual journey and new chapter as a Latine Christian artist who wants to make a positive influence through her artistry.
With new songs in the works, today, her musical mission is to inspire people to have hope.
Could you share details about your upbringing? What are your cultural origins?
My dad is Cuban, originally from Santiago de Cuba. My mother is Dominican and originally from Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. I was born in Boston, but most of my childhood I spent in Florida. I lived in Orlando for a year, moved down to Cape Coral, and spent time around there, also in Miami. And then I moved back to Boston when I was about 12 years old. Ever since then, I’ve been in Massachusetts.
What kind of impact do you want to make in the community, in the Latin industry and in the Christian genre as well?
I want to make sure that I’m being a good representation of my faith, and what I’m creating is helping others. Whether it’s uplifting them, helping them through whatever they’re going through, or bringing them closer to their faith in God. At the end of day, it’s helping them realize there is hope and no reason why they should give up.
Can you talk to us a little bit about your faith and how it is intersected with your singing career?
I’m not letting my needs of wanting to be successful drive me. I’m just letting God drive me now.
Do you have a supportive network? Who is in your network that helps you produce your music and keep going, keep it sustainable?
I do have a producer that I work with, thankfully; I didn’t have him before. His name is Fred. I also have my fiancé, who helps me out a lot when it comes to giving certain advice and reminders. Because it’s not an easy industry, and he helps me stay grounded. And then I have my parents, who support me a lot with my career.
What was the turning point when your parents began supporting your music career?
I think for them it was when I started to get recognized, you know? And they’re like, ‘Oh, okay, this works; you’re on a good path. Okay, keep going.’
Being a domestic violence survivor and having overcome difficult moments in your life, would you ever be a mental health advocate or a motivational speaker in the future?
I mean, I’d love to. I’ve always had the desire to do a TED Talk on my life one day, even about the industry and how I was able to come out of what I went through in the past related to traumas and domestic violence.
When do you plan on releasing your anticipated new single?
I would like to release at least one single before the end of this year. If it is in God’s will, it depends on his timing. Just continue on working through the creative process and taking things step by step.
This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
– Story by Chabelli Hernandez, also known as Latina Bohemian
– Copy edited by Samantha Gonzalez and Kami Waller
1 Response
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I love this, beautifully done. Thank you so much for the opportunity and for interviewing me!