Meet Julian Torres of juliantorresoficial.com

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julian Torres.

Julian, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Began singing at the age of 6. My mother says I was in love with my father singing to her whom while she was pregnant with me. I grew up listening to my father sings all of the Tradicional Singers of the Mexican Golden Era like Antonio Aguilar, Miguel Aceves Mejia, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, Javier Solis, Pedro Infante, Vicente Fernandez etc. So, I grew up in love with the music. I was always dressed to the 9 with my Traje de Charro when we would go to Pico Rivera Sports Arena to watch the Charreria. As a kid, I would love singing anything and everywhere. I would sing at School, Church Carnivals, Park festivals, and City events. Then I saw a Mariachi group performing with the majority of its members being kids. I was mesmerized and fell in love immediately.

My father tells me that I went up to him and told him that I knew what I wanted to be in my life, A Mariachi musician. My parents have been very supportive in whatever I decided to do. We were informed to check out Jose L. Hernandez Mariachi program at Music & Art school in Los Angeles. That’s where I began my quest to become a Mariachi musician. One day I was singing in the hallways and one of the instructors came out and wanted to know who was singing because there was a rule that you weren’t supposed to interrupt while class was in session. Everyone pointed at me and the instructor asked me to sing again. She then asked me if I played an instrument. I responded that I was learning how to play the trumpet. She then told me to go with her.

At that time they were creating a Juvenil Mariachi group composed of the most talented kids of the program. I was excited to see kids my age with so much discipline and talent.

Maestra Laura Sobrino was responsible alongside of Jose Luis Salinas to Direct this Show group. I was performing at various venues like Hollywood Bowl, Pasadena Civic Center, San Gabriel Civic Center, a lot of fundraisers, television, restaurants, workshops and museum events. I learned a lot just from watching all of the Worlds Best Mariachi groups and musicians. After being part of that group I moved on to perform in various Mariachi groups and venues. Mariachi Zihuatlan at Camacho’s restaurant in Universal Studios CityWalk, Mariachi Los Toros, Mariachi Monumental de America at La Fonda Restaurant and La Huasteca, and Mariachi Voces De Mexico at Casa Sanchez.

Around almost 4 years ago my mentor Maestra Laura Sobrino passed. She was a huge supporter of mine. She would always ask me when I was going to go solo when I would make my own singing project when I would perform on American Idol when I was going to audition on The Voice and so on. When she passed it ignited me to pursue and return to my original love of singing solo. I approached my friend Susie Garcia of mine at a Christmas fundraiser and asked her about performing in one of her productions. She told me that she had no idea I was a solo singer. She then helped me understand what was needed nowadays. Social media presence, Headshots, Performances and a following. All of which were very helpful. She said that she would keep me in mind for future projects. I began to gather some headshots, send emails and open up some social media accounts.

Around the same time my friend Ernesto Solis, also approached me about what I was doing about my talent as a singer. He asked us to meet up and we went over some goal setting and writing it down to materialize it. That really put a lot in motion. I feel that my mentor was sending me help along the way. Soon after that, I received a call from Susie telling me that she had a St. Patricks event for me. She stated that its something small that it would be a good first step. I agreed and was excited about the show. It would be my first show as a Solo Artist. I performed that day and I felt like I was home!! after that I started to get calls to perform at other events. I was invited to perform at the John Anson Ford Theater for Eastside Luvs Annual ESL event.

Performed a tribute to Juan Gabriel where I performed a 22 song alongside former Juan Gabriel director and an All-Star cast of Musicians and Dancers at La Plaza de Cultura y Arte in Downtown Los Angeles. Around this time I was beginning to record my self-entitled EP Julian Torres Epoca De Oro with producer Andy Abad professor at the Coburn School of Music. My biggest performance was singing in my parents country at Teatro Metropolitan in Ciudad De Mexico. This event showcased some of the best singers from Mexicos and United States. It was such an amazing experience!! I then had my EP release event which was a dream of mine come true. I have been invited to more future events that I’m excited about.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I feel like everything has been a learning experience because it is a different ball game when it’s just you performing for almost 2hrs then to be in a group where you are maybe singing 4 songs at most. Being able to perform at different venues is a matter of getting out there and doing the legwork. Everything from sending emails, creating content for social media, keeping your website current and sending producers your EPK is all that is behind the scenes.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about juliantorresoficial.com – what should we know?
Well, my business has to do with Singing, Songwriting, Producing and Performing. I specialize in singing Mariachi music, Juan Gabriel Tribute and Duets. What I’m most proud of is that we are slowly rising on our own. What sets us apart is our passion to produce the best show possible. Everything from rehearsals to wardrobe.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The quality that is most important is our flexibility in working with what the client wants.

Contact Info:

• Website: juliantorresoficial.com
• Email: juliantorresoficial@gmail.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/juliantorres_oficial
• Facebook: facebook.com/julian.torres.547
• Twitter: twitter.com/juliantoficial

Image Credit:
Richard Briseño, Karla Torres

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