Bringing Latin sound to radio-ready country songs, Wisconsin's Alyssia Dominguez deserves Nashville notice

Alyssia Dominguez was working on a Johnny Cash cover for one of her bar gigs when something jumped out at her. 

"I was playing around with it and realized, 'Wait a minute. That bass line is in Tejano music all the time; a lot of polkas sound like this song," said Dominguez, 25, from Dousman. 

Using that bass line, Dominguez crafted a head-turning medley that connects Cash to songs from Tejano band Texas Tornados, accordion player Ramon Ayala and other Latin artists. 

"When I play that, it's cool to watch the reaction from the audience. … No matter what race or whoever is out there, they love it," she said. "They're not expecting that and it's something different, and I'm proud of the fact that I can show this music isn't all that different from country." 

Thanks to blockbuster songs like "Despacito" and "Mi Gente," the Latin music industry grew by 18% in 2018, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. And with a greater push for female representation, and the success this year of the longest chart-topping single of all time, Lil Nas X's country trap banger "Old Town Road," there's a desire for more diverse voices in country music. 

Dominguez wants, and deserves, to be one of those voices, doing something A&R reps in Nashville should be watching very closely: bringing Latin rhythms, and Spanglish lyrics, to radio-friendly original songs. 

"It felt natural putting in the Spanish elements because it's something I grew up with," Dominguez said. "And I thought to myself, there's not anybody in the country music scene representing Hispanics, nobody that looks like me that I can look up to. I was like, 'Man, wouldn't that be cool to open up a new door.' "

Early influences

"I learned from my grandmother. She used to be in a band with my grandfather; they played traditional Mexican music, ranchera and boleros and stuff. She taught me how to play guitar and how to sing. And from there I fell in love with country music. At the time, I was in high school and Taylor Swift was the big one and I was obsessed with her."

Getting started

"I was 15 or 16 when I played my first talent show. I did it to impress a guy, but it didn't work out. I just fell in love with playing out and being on stage and ever since have had the love and the drive to keep going. I remember I would not necessarily do homework, I would play guitar and sing all night. It was all country songs: Taylor Swift, Dixie Chicks, Sara Evans. I was playing all over, wherever I could play, and I am still constantly playing new places." 

Songwriting journey

"When I played, I only knew really by ear; I never really knew how to read music or anything. So I went to (local musician) Keith Pulvermacher to work on playing guitar, and he ended up kind of taking me under his wing. He told me, 'You really should look into doing songwriting. You're going to get a lot further. When you're doing covers, you'll get stuck in a little bit of a rut there.' It just never crossed my mind to write a song, but I'm glad that door opened for me. I released my first album, 'Dance With Me,' in 2016, and I'm looking into making another EP, challenging myself as a writer and working with different songwriters from Nashville." 

Favorite song so far

" 'Otra Vez.' It's basically saying, one more time. It's about a relationship that is fresh and you are having such a great time with that person and you want to hit the rewind button and repeat it all over again. I'm releasing 'Otra Vez' at the end of the month and filmed the music video." 

Future goals

"I have been focused on playing as much as I can in Nashville to further my connections and get my brand out there. One of my biggest goals is to play Mexican Fiesta (in Milwaukee). With the direction of my music now, I'm having fun putting more Spanish lyrics in it. When I first started fusing the two, I wasn't sure about adding Spanish. I didn't know if people will get the message because its not in a language they know. But especially after 'Despacito,' I'm like, 'You know what, when you listen to these songs, you can feel exactly what they're saying.' It's something I learned from my grandmother, too. She told me, 'No matter what you're singing, always sing from the heart, because that's the most important part.' " 

Next local gigs

Dominguez performs at Delafield American Legion Post 196; Vino Etcetera in Oconomowoc Tuesday and Sept. 30; and Blondie Pop in West Bend Sept. 21. For more information, visit alyssiamusic.com. 

Watch two exclusive performances from Dominguez, of new songs "Otra Vez" and "Strong and Tough," at jsonline.com/music. Sound Check appears around the 15th of each month online and in the Journal Sentinel. 

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.