I learnt about Queen of Hearts from a Rolling Stone Australia feature. But at first, I thought the magazine writer got the story wrong.
The article’s headline stated: “Meet Queen of Hearts: Melbourne’s All-Women Mariachi Band”. To my knowledge, mariachis are typical music ensembles from Mexico, not Australia. On top of that, women aren’t their usual members.
But the latter part of the headline clarified my doubts. Queen of Hearts are definitely “shaking up tradition”. And because my background also combines the Australian and Hispanic worlds, I reached out to the ladies to find out more about their trailblazing project.
PART 225 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE
While prepping for the interview with Queen of Hearts (QoH), I fired up streaming platforms to check out the band’s releases so far.
Funnily, one of the first songs that caught my eye was “Thunderstruck”. And like you right now, I wondered whether it had anything to do with AC/DC’s banger from 1990. So I pressed play and… Indeed, it’s an unconventional arrangement of the song every Aussie knows by heart in its original version.
But it’s not just any rendition.
If Queen of Hearts were to appear on triple J’s “Like A Version” in the future, I’d suggest it as their cover song choice. Because their creative, exotic rhythm-flavoured version of “Thunderstruck” is the essence of what the Melbourne-based 5-piece stands for. This all-female ensemble wants to be the bridge between the Australian and Hispanic traditions by seamlessly blending them into a catchy sound with a unique twist.
QoH’s original musical fusion has everything to do with the members’ backgrounds. The band is “a collective of strong, creative women whose collaboration celebrates cultural roots, sisterhood, and the power of original music and female voices.” They are the first and (so far) the only outfit of this type empowering women in the Land Down Under.
The current members represent four different countries: Australia, Canada, Chile and Colombia. They are Elizabeth Obando (songwriting, vocals, vihuela and bass), Bonnie Smith (songwriting, vocals and guitar), Rose Kavanagh (songwriting, vocals and violin), Sarah Camm (trumpet and backing vocals) and Vanessa Estrada (percussion, vocals and vihuela).
The core five are occasionally joined for their live performances by Charlie Winterflood, who plays double bass and U bass.
When I catch up on Zoom with Bonnie and Elizabeth, we kick off the chat by revisiting the band’s origin story.
“I always wanted to be a musician,” recounts Elizabeth. “I had been performing since a very young age. Not professionally, but singing and playing instruments. But I couldn’t be a musician in my country because of our financial situation. So I was forced to study different stuff.”
Her story will surely resonate with many other artists who didn’t grow up in the Land Down Under but ended up in Australia for other reasons.
“I love working with women because we don’t have the same opportunities as men.”
Elizabeth Obando, QoH founder
When Elizabeth came to Melbourne, she saw the opportunity to make her artistic dreams come true. In fact, the first thing she did, approximately two weeks after arriving in Australia, was to play a gig. And since everyone knows everyone in the capital of Victoria, she has been involved in many different projects from the get-go, meeting a lot of incredible musicians.
She also noticed a different trend. Passionate about salsa, Elizabeth found herself as the only female bass player in that particular scene. Very few bands had women at the helm at all.
“So, to answer your question, this is how Queen of Hearts was born,” she explains. “I love working with women because we don’t have the same opportunities as men. I wanted to do something with the talented female musicians I’ve come to know in Melbourne over the years.”
She’d also previously heard of an all-female mariachi band from New York called Flor de Toloache. And even though she’s from Colombia, she’s familiar with that typically Mexican style. Her mother was really into the ranchera music, so Elizabeth was always surrounded by the mariachi rhythms. She even bought a small vihuela (Spanish pronunciation: [viˈwela]) – a stringed musical instrument, similar to the guitar, that gives the mariachi music its distinct sound.
Set on the idea to form a mariachi band with women only, she slowly started sussing things out, gigging around Melbourne and playing ranchera music. “We didn’t get paid well at the beginning,” she recalls. “It was just an idea that had to be developed. But I knew it was something new, unusual and interesting.”
She approached Bonnie with the proposal to join her future ensemble. She considered her “an amazing singer,” but wasn’t sure if Bonnie would accept the invitation because her humble mariachi project was in its very bare, initial stage. Luckily, the Australian-Canadian vocalist and guitarist liked the idea. And that’s when the band was properly born.
“We’re creating something completely new out of it. There’s this kind of garden of music coming out of [the mariachi] tradition.”
“It was destiny”, Elizabeth says with conviction. “And now, Bonnie and I are both the band’s managers. It’s overwhelming at times doing everything, but we are a good team.”
At the beginning of their mariachi adventure, they tried to stick to tradition. But after a while, they focused on shaping their own aesthetic.
“It’s important to note that we are mariachi-inspired,” Bonnie clarifies when I ask about their genre. This means the “seed of their music” stems from the Mexican ranchera style. But they frequently add unconventional elements to it.
In their songs, you’ll hear different Latin American rhythms, like the Colombian cumbia. They also make references to styles from other parts of the globe, i.e. folk, American blues or festejo, which belongs to the Afro-Peruvian tradition. There are even hints of pop music here and there.
Apart from that, Queen of Hearts use instruments not normally associated with the Mexican tradition, like the maracas (a type of rattle), bass and percussion. Lastly, they sing in both Spanish and English, which is also a novelty for their genre.
“We’re creating something completely new out of it. There’s this kind of garden of music coming out of that tradition,” Elizabeth sums up the band’s signature sound. One thing is for sure, though. The powerful female ensemble never fails to captivate audiences with their four-part vocal harmonies and intricate arrangements.
I ask about the ratio of original compositions compared to covers. “I’d say it’s 80% to 20%,” Bonnie estimates. Elizabeth chimes in almost immediately. “Yeah, but even when we take on some classics, for example ‘Volver, Volver’, that is on the new album, we play that song our way, too.” [“Volver, Volver” is a popular Mexican ranchera song about love from the 70s, covered numerous times by Spanish-speaking artists.]
Traditional songs from Latin America are not the only ones the band covers in their own, unique way. Apart from the already mentioned “Thunderstruck”, they have also recorded a mariachi-inspired version of “I Touch Myself”. It is another quintessentially Australian song from the 90s, originally performed by the Divinyls.
I wonder how they approach re-imagining those popular Aussie rock anthems. It must be tricky not to lose their recognisable parts, but also make them a whole new thing.
“Everyone is contributing to it in their own, unique way,” Bonnie assures me. “I guess it’s just an organic thing for us. We’re taking something very familiar and trying to make it into an acoustic version first. Then, we’re adding the sort of mariachi-ish vocal vibe and an interesting arrangement, and we just make it ours. It can be time-consuming because we rehearse it a lot to get the harmonies right, to know which elements come where, etc. And that’s how it ultimately comes to life.”
They apply a similar process to all their songwriting. Usually, Bonnie, Elizabeth or Rose bring an idea with a “roadmap” to the table. They’ll have some basic violin and trumpet parts, and the melody and chords will be worked out. The whole band will then play that first version, and the song will evolve from there.
Elizabeth calls it “a welcoming space”. Like in a democratic process, modifications and other ideas are always welcome because the first version might not always be the best one.
Next, I can’t help but ask about their intriguing outfits. I sense that they’re an essential part of the Queen of Hearts’ image, adding to the sensory experience.
The ladies admit that audiences are fascinated by their exotic look. And it also helps the band get into their “characters” on stage.
But that image you see today has also changed over time. Back in the days when they used to do more corporate gigs and were often asked to dress like mariachis, they wore the heavy “poblanos” hats on stage. “But we soon realised it wasn’t really us,” Bonnie explains. “Because we’re not a typical mariachi band.”
Eventually, they settled on a more feminine style, with beautiful rose crowns and a combination of black, red and white garments. They also try to mix things up a little on the wardrobe front. Often, one of the members will pitch an idea for something to wear, and if the rest like it, they’ll get the same elements in the same place to create that matching look they sport at their live performances.
That brings me to the topic of touring. From their website, I gather they’ve been pretty much everywhere in Australia. “Except for Adelaide,” Bonnie corrects me. “We’d love to play at WOMADelaide in the future.”
I also think it would be the perfect place to showcase their craft. But how do the Australian audiences receive them in general? Is the country ready to embrace such a different musical tradition?
Both ladies agree it’s perfect timing for their project. According to Elizabeth, Australia has become “very multicultural”, and Queen of Hearts are contributing to opening a lot of doors in their communities.
Singing in both Spanish and English has been a game-changer for the band. Latin American expats support them, longing for a connection with their roots, because the band acknowledges tradition. But the Hispanic fans also embrace and respect QoH’s original approach to classics.
On the other hand, an average Aussie is not very familiar with the mariachi culture. So they’re mesmerised by the band’s performances and watching something so fresh and innovative.
That is also because “Australia is not a country with a long-standing tradition”, Bonnie states. She gives an amusing yet accurate example: “What’s a typical Australian dish? Vegemite on toast?” She doesn’t consider it a drawback, though. Because that way, Queen of Hearts can fill a niche and have the freedom to create something new, “like a new genre altogether.”
Hence, they’ve been warmly received by punters at the many music events they’ve appeared at in recent years. Both Bonnie and Elizabeth quote the National Folk Fest in Canberra as one of their favourite shows. The audience engagement was exceptional in the nation’s capital. Having received a standing ovation, the band felt truly appreciated there.
Aside from playing packed-out places, the ensemble also frequently sells out merch. This is another indication of the strong interest in their craft. Elizabeth tells me that at that gig in Canberra, a fan even purchased her private tote bag with the band’s branding.
However, the best part is that they’d never expected that craziness. Still, it’s “been a beautiful thing to see our transition,” Elizabeth says proudly. And it doesn’t matter that none of the band members are from Mexico. And it no longer bothers them that other, more traditional male mariachi bands are not their biggest fans, either. “I think we now have our own identity,” she summarises.
“We’re not a typical mariachi band. But now, we have our own identity.”
All that hard work has already paid off on various other fronts, too. Queen of Hearts are gradually becoming more recognisable Australia-wide. Just recently, they were approached to take part in a promo gig for the Mexican Cholula hot sauce.
Two other acts were also there: a rising singer-songwriter, Lotte Gallagher, and the charismatic indie pop duo, Client Liaison. That rather unusual band matching was the perfect opportunity for QoH to reach different types of audiences. Thanks to that appearance, they also scored the Rolling Stone feature I found them through. And that sort of exposure can never be underestimated.
They’re currently looking at doing some showcase festivals to take their music to global audiences. They’ve applied to SXSW in Sydney and are waiting to hear back from the organisers. Europe, Canada, and Asia are all on their radar. “And Mexico,” Bonnie throws the country that inspired them to the mix. “Even if it’s just for a retreat, we need to go to Mexico one day.”
Lastly, we talk about their new record.
Queen of Hearts have just released their second LP, Divina, which they describe as “a bold, heartfelt celebration of feminine power, resilience, and joy.” The nine songs on the album are inspired by real-life experiences and the everyday stories that connect them as women — a reflection of friendship, resilience, and the deep sisterhood that unites the band.
Sonically speaking, the record weaves together their diverse influences into a sound that is both timeless and refreshingly original. Traditional songs, reimagined with a bold, contemporary twist, are accompanied by original compositions. From soulful ballads to high-energy instrumentals, the record takes listeners on a genre-crossing journey filled with lush vocal harmonies, rhythmic fire, and heartfelt storytelling that Queen of Hearts have become known for.
To wrap up our chat, I joke that Queen of Hearts should invite one of the popular Latin American artists, like the Colombian Karol G, to do a collab soon. She’s been selling out stadiums all over the world, popularising songs with Spanish lyrics and familiarising global audiences with rhythms from her side of the world. That is kind of what they’re trying to do on a smaller scale in Australia.
On that note, Bonnie tells me they’re playing a live show back home to launch the new album soon. So if you’re in Melbourne on Sunday, May 25th, Queen of Hearts would love to see you in the Brunswick Ballroom for this special night.
After all, you have to start somewhere. Even if it’s not at the arena or stadium level just yet.
You can get tickets to the upcoming Queen of Hearts show on the Moshtix website.
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