English music is a good way to learn English because it helps her with pronunciation and slang, said Adriana Mezo Gastelum, English as a second language and international student.

Mezo Gastelum, from Yucatan, Mexico, has participated in 10 major talent competitions and has had her singing published on CDs. 

Since she was young she has participated in many talent contests for dancing and singing, the majority of which were singing, she said. Singing is her “strong point,” and she loves to sing, she said.

“In my house I’m always singing, too, with my mom or my brothers because they like music too. But my sister is like, ‘Oh, I can’t stand you anymore; you sing the whole day. Just stop,'” Mezo Gastelum said.

Mezo Gastelum said when she graduated from high school, her mother told her she could study to become a singer or she could study international trade and economics. Her mother told her that her family supported her and the decision was hers, but if she wanted to be a singer she needed to “study like a professional singer, not just be famous.”

Mezo Gastelum said she always gets sick – throat problems or a cold – before a performance because she is nervous and anxious.

The most important contest, Peninsula Stars, was three years ago for three states in Mexico, and was on television, she said. The contestants included singers, dancers, actors and comedians, she said.

The contest started with 700 people, with 80 selected for the formal contest. The first round eliminated half the people, Mezo Gastelum said.

She made the top 10 finalists, finishing in fourth place, Mezo Gastelum said.

“But … unfortunately I didn’t (win) the first place, and the prize was a car,” she said. “I remember I wanted that car.”

Another important contest for Mezo Gastelum was when the cultural department for “cultural arts” tried to “reactivate” the traditional music from Yucatan in the youth by hosting a competition for singers, she said.

The contest took place in an auditorium with traditional clothing, Mezo Gastelum said.

The government recorded a CD that included a song from each of the 11 finalists, she said.

Mezo Gastelum said she auditioned for talent competitions, similar to The Voice, in Mexico at the national level, but she did not make it to the finals.

In Mezo Gastelum’s most recent contest, she befriended Luis Sobrino and recorded two songs in a professional studio. In the first song she recorded with him, she sang in the background, and the second song was a duet.

Mezo Gastelum and Sobrino’s duet, Deten El Tiempo, is on YouTube and was played on the radio in Mexico.

Mezo Gastelum still sings and wanted to enroll in choir for this semester, but it had already begun when she arrived.

“Seeing that people are enjoying my performance, it’s like my prize,” Mezo Gastelum said.

She said she is happy to join choir next semester.

“I am singing the whole day.” Mezo Gastelum said. “You can ask my roommate.”

Courtney Condon, freshman biology major and Mezo Gastelum’s suitemate, said she can hear Mezo Gastelum sing from her room, and she sings along during The Voice.

Mezo Gastelum has sung more English songs recently, Condon said.

“(Living with Mezo Gastelum) is always interesting,” Condon said. “She’s very lively and fun, and we love quoting her English errors just because they’re hilarious. She laughs about them; we laugh about them. Makes for a good time.”

Pei Chi (Peggy) Tsai, international student from Providence University in Taiwan and an English major, is Mezo Gastelum’s other suitemate.

She said she likes Mezo Gastelum’s personality, and Mezo Gastelum can dance well.

“I don’t know what she (is) singing,” Tsai said. “The language – I don’t understand, but I like.”

Mezo Gastelum said she likes different types of music, including ranchera with mariachi, a form of Mexican music and pop.

Mezo Gastelum is currently enrolled in the English as a second language program and will begin attending business classes in English next semester.