How Rising Act Reyna Tropical Spun Tragedy Into a Long-Awaited Debut

Reyna Tropical is set to release its first full-length album later this month — despite being a band for nearly eight years. Formed as a duo in 2016, and now the solo project of guitarist and songwriter Fabi Reyna, the act will release the 20-track Malegría via independent label Psychic Hotline this month.

A stunning amalgam of inspirations including guitarist-singer Chavela Vargas and the cultural traditions of Columbia, Puerto Rico and more, Malegría “is something that I really needed to do for myself that’s full of life that I hope will continue far beyond my existence,” says Reyna, 32, who persevered with the band following the passing of its cofounder in 2022. “I hope that people listen to it from beginning to end, at least once. It’s a documentary piece to me.” 

The 45-minute journey that includes spoken interludes between Reyna and collaborators that cover topics such as queer love, connecting and protecting the earth and detangling from the Western concept of “productivity.” 

“All the parts [of the album] have meaning,” says Reyna. “You can go as deep as you want with it or just dance to it and go to the beach with it. I’m excited to hear how it hits people.” 

Foundation

At 9, Fabi Reyna had to fight to play guitar. The summer camp she attended in Austin didn’t want girls playing instruments — but she practiced tirelessly until she mastered the lead guitar for Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and the camp relented. “Music, for me, is always alongside activism and having a purpose,” Reyna says. In 2012, she launched She Shreds Media, an outlet dedicated to women and gender-nonconforming guitarists and bassists. A few years later, at a Red Bull Music Academy event, she met musician Nectali “Sumohair” Diaz, and they formed Reyna Tropical, which combined her expert guitar playing with his production prowess. In 2022, Diaz died in an e-scooter accident, leaving Reyna to continue solo.

Discovery

With only four tracks released, all of which featured Afro Indigenous drum patterns and environmental samples, Reyna Tropical scored a major break in 2018 when Li Saumet of Colombian group Bomba Estéreo asked the duo to join the act on tour. Reyna and Diaz had never played live together — and Reyna had yet to cultivate her commanding stage presence — but they filled the opening slot by improvising and playing beats, some of which inspired the 2019 six-track EP Sol y Lluvia. A steady drip of tantalizing singles ­followed, and Reyna Tropical soon began to sell out domestic and international shows before realizing, as Reyna says, “we hit our capacity of what we could do by ourselves.”

Future

By 2021, labels came calling — but the duo wasn’t ready to sign a deal. After Diaz’s death, Reyna spent a year meeting with one team in particular: Psychic Hotline, an artist-run recording company founded by Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn. On March 29, Reyna Tropical will release its debut album, Malegría (which combines the Spanish words for “bad” and “happiness”), on the label. While the album features familiar Congolese, Peruvian and Colombian rhythms, it also showcases Reyna’s growth. And although she is still getting used to ­performing alone — Reyna Tropical will tour with Portugal. The Man this spring — she’s finding comfort in the unknown. “I’ve opened the doors to be available for anything this album wants to take me into.”

A version of this story originally appeared in the March 2, 2024, issue of Billboard.