San Antonio original Vanita Leo is ready for the limelight, and Rolling Stone seems to agree. Credit: Anisha Patil
Rolling Stone magazine included San Antonio cumbia artist Vanita Leo on its list of the Best Latin Songs of 2025, capping off a meteoric year for the up-and-coming singer.
The track in question is Leo’s “La Cumbia Wepa,” a standalone single released in April ahead of her fall EP Cumbiamente.
“Cumbia is experiencing a revival, and Vanita Leo has emerged as one of its most promising voices,” Rolling Stone’s Tomás Mier wrote of the single. “On standout ‘La Cumbia Wepa,’ which didn’t appear on her excellent EP Cumbiamente, Leo’s vocals glide over the sonidito rhythms of Mexico City cumbia before a playful rap verse aimed at Cupid, who ‘fucked up once again.’ The Alan Vega-produced track captures her embrace of freedom after a failed romance: ‘Un corazón roto, se cura con otro!’ Leo’s mix of classic cumbia, experimental delivery and a Tejano touch makes the San Antonio-born singer’s ‘La Cumbia Wepa’ a standout.”
Leo’s track comes in at number 35 on the list of the 50 best Latin and Spanish language songs of the year.
This isn’t the first time Rolling Stone has taken notice of Leo. In fact, the magazine has featured four of her tracks this year alone. Leo has been a frequent flyer in its recurring rundown of “Songs You Need to Know,” where she is listed alongside pop megastars like Lizzo and Halsey. Other than “La Cumbia Wepa,” tracks of Leo’s the magazine has featured include “Primer Lugar,” “Cabalitto,” and “Putazos Al Corazón.”
But Rolling Stone isn’t the only national publication taking notice. Billboard has also given nods to Leo, explaining in a 2024 article “why [she] should be on your radar”:
“While the Tejano music scene has seen the rise of acts like Grupo Frontera and the enduring legacy of icons like Intocable, the presence of female Tejana artists has been notably scarce since the days of Selena on a mainstream level. Yet, emerging from San Antonio, Texas, with roots tracing back to Mazatlán, Sinaloa, is Vanita Leo, a promising singer who jumped on our radar via social media.”
The Selena comparisons are easy and abundant with Leo, and for good reason. Leo doesn’t mind the Selena comparisons one bit.
“Being mentioned alongside Selena is an honor I don’t take lightly,” Leo told the Current. “I see her influence as something that lives within the culture and continues to evolve through new voices shaped by different generations, experiences, challenges, and victories. I’m proud to be part of that ongoing story, bringing my own perspective while staying rooted in the same values of authenticity and community.”
But Leo is entirely her own entity, and with a decidedly more edgy chola flavor.
For Leo, everything about her presentation is about unapologetically celebrating her heritage. As she posted as text over a video selfie on Instagram displaying large hoop earrings, braids and spit curls, “Fashion is political and yes, cumbia is political.”
Here’s to seeing what the new year will bring for San Antonio’s cumbia-pop princess.
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This isn’t the first time the national magazine has given a nod to the homegrown cumbia princess this year.