How a musician from southside Chicago has been able to make an impact in the music world.
From the buzzing streets of the South Side to the personal brick-lined stage of Schubas Tavern, when Victor Internet took the stage, they proved that the heart of Chicago has no boundary lines.
Born to a mariachi dad and a mom that had a singing group in both the U.S. and Mexico, it seemed like Victor Internet, also known as Victor Cervantes, was destined for creativity from a young age.
“I feel like I always had a thing for the stage, because I grew up singing in the church,” Victor said. “But besides that, I don’t know. I never really felt like I would end up making music, like I always thought I would be a part of someone else’s project or someone else’s vision.”
While Victor may consider their beginnings in the music world as “kind of easy,” it took a lot of hard work and patience to get where they are today.
Victor made their debut on SoundCloud in 2017 with their first single, “Reason,” that garnered around 515,000 streams. He released music on the platform at a time when it was just starting, so there were no expectations as to what could happen for a musician.
From there, he released one of his most popular songs to date, “Tinder Song,” that amassed 60 million streams and connected with fans on a deeper level.
While at first it was hard to navigate the fans and music, hearing about the impact they had on listeners made Victor hope that they could continue to provide an outlet.
“A lot of people that came to me were like, you helped me come out, and you helped me be honest about who I am … and to me, that was just the song I wrote, but for people to tell me that, I mean, that was a shock,” Victor said.
But it was also through their family upbringing and attending an arts high school that Victor was able to experiment across a multitude of genres.
Emily Pantoja, a fan and friend of Victor’s, detailed the genuine passion that he brings to their music, not only for the aesthetic but for an actual love of the world.
“I enjoy that his music is so different from traditional Latino music,” Pantoja said. “I think he brings a certain vibe that kind of mixes with what our generation is bringing to music currently but with his touch, of course.”
Whether they’re reggaeton or jazz musicians, being surrounded by creative people helps them discover the type of artist they want to be. It’s also why they love artists unafraid to experiment, like Prince and Stevie Wonder.
Much like Prince’s silky voice and Wonder’s trailblazing ways in the R&B world, Victor was a part of a new genre that took over the internet. “Bedroom pop,” as Victor describes it, “is a genre made up of artists that produce, write and arrange music from their bedroom.”
While they consider themselves a “hater” of the term since its beginning due to its trendy outlook, they’ve been able to understand both the community and space it has opened up in the music world.
This space for community is what they want to bring with their next album, “Glitter Pop,” set to be released this year.
Originally created in 2017 as a hashtag, it stuck with Victor as something that people could identify with.
“Around the time I started releasing music, SoundCloud had this feature where you could hashtag your music anything you wanted. One day I was like, glitter pop … and now we have so many genres,” Victor said. “Like we have Dario core, Latin core plug and hyper pop, the list goes on. But I think it’s important for those genres to exist because they build community.”
Traveling from Chile to New York and Los Angeles, there were a lot of factors that went into creating this album. In its entirety, “Glitter Pop” is meant to be a bridge between Latin America and the U.S. and work as a stepping stone to help inspire others to make music.
What began with producing music with an old computer and borrowed microphone at 16 turned into a passionate career filled with a lot of self-discovery.
Being honest about their impatience allowed Victor to realize that it’s okay to stop and smell the roses, truly understanding the art of having trust and patience.
He says, “You want to have your moment, but it takes time. It really does take time. And I’m a big perfectionist, so it’s taken me over two years to work on this album, and now I’m barely starting to release it, but I’m really, really excited for the future.”
Andrea Diaz, a film artist and close friend of Victor, said that she’s seen them become more creative since beginning this journey and is excited to see a Latino artist succeed.
“As a Mexican-American artist in Chicago, it’s so important for musicians like Victor to be expressive about their culture,” Diaz said. “He mixes English and Spanish in his music, which brings people together. Even if you don’t understand the language, you can still feel the emotion and the vibe.”
Many people felt the emotion and vibe that Diaz was talking about when he opened for Latin artist Rubio at Schubas Tavern, on Feb 23. Performing to a sold-out crowd in a pair of red boxing wraps, their star-power was illuminating and radiant for audiences to see.
For now, Victor Internet leaves you with just a simple phrase that can change your life:
“If you want to take some pictures, become a photographer, go take that first picture. You know, like, just show up for yourself. I think those two words helped me this year a lot . . . It’s like, it’s crazy what happens when you show up after so many times. So just show up for yourself.”
Header Image by Diana Torres
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