Quack, Quack

R&B singer Raquel Serenil's first stab at show business was a Star Search audition at age 11. When that didn't work out, she started making the rounds here in her hometown, Houston. At 14, she tried to start a Latino version of Destiny's Child called Kloud 9. When 18 girls came -- and left -- in the first year, Serenil decided to go solo. Four years later, with her first CD almost completed, illness forced her to shelve everything for a year. That CD was never released. Now 20, Serenil has almost finished recording another CD. She talked to us in the Houston Press offices, with her mom, Elaine Gracia, acting as chaperone/PR rep/support system/manager.

Houston Press: You have a big female following, does that surprise you?

Raquel Serenil: I do get a lot of love from the ladies, but I have my share of male fans.

At one of my very first shows, I actually had two lesbians in the front row and they were going like, 'Woooohooohooo!' (laughs) But I love all people, so it was fine.

HP: You've played all over Texas, I know. And you did a big tour of Mexico, right?

Serenil: I did, with the Italian soccer team, and that was pretty cool. [At each game] I sang the Italian national anthem, then I did the half-time show. Because I sang the anthem in Italian and then did the half-time show, some in English and some in Spanish with mariachis, they never knew what I was. Was I Italian singing mariachi? Was I a Mexican singing Italian? They were all confused. (laughs)

HP: What was it like traveling around with the Italian soccer team?

Serenil: It was fun! Every guy on the soccer team is super-famous so it was like traveling with 40 Brad Pitts or something.

HP: You had to shelve the first CD you recorded. Why was that?

Serenil: Somehow I had broken my nose and it had healed crooked (laughs), so they had to break my nose and reset it. That changed everything, my voice, my breathing, everything, so I started over on the album.

HP: Getting your nose fixed changed your voice that much? How?

Serenil: It changed everything, and for a while there I sounded like I was tone deaf because I couldn't make my voice do what it used to do. It was horrible. I had to relearn everything. At one point we didn't think I was ever going to sing again and my mom was like, "It's okay, Raquel, you can still be a teacher, mija. It's okay." I was like, "Nooooooooo! I want to sing again!" So I started vocal lessons and then after three months, I was sounding better. Now it's all good.

HP: But wait, you don't know how you broke your nose? When or how or anything?

Serenil: I think it was just before the Thanksgiving Day Parade two years ago. I was going to perform in the parade. I was so excited, I was just running around and I ran into a door. It made me cry, but I didn't think it broke my nose. Maybe that was it.

Or it could have been some other time I don't even remember.

HP: You run into doors a lot, do you?

Serenil: Yeah, actually, I do. People laugh at me because I'm so clumsy. When I was in Mexico with the soccer team, I was getting on the bus at this one stop and there were like a thousand people there, everyone was screaming my name, and I was waving at them and then boom, I fell. My dress flew over my head. I was just, splat, out there. Everyone was, "Raquel! Raquel! Raqu-ooooooh!" (laughs) But I bounced up and they clapped for me, like, "Oh, look, she can walk!" I told my mom later, "Thank God I wore some pretty panties!"

HP: Who do you think you sound like?

Serenil: I get a lot of comparisons to Christina Aguilera, but I like to say that I have my own sound. Being that I live here in Houston and this is such a diverse community, I've taken hip-hop, pop, Latin, R&B, everything and I've put it all together. I sound like me.

HP: What's your favorite thing about being on the road?

Serenil: I have a blast when we go on the road, I love to talk and sing along with the radio. After a while everyone is like, "Shut up! It's already been ten hours, be quiet, please!" But I just keep going. On tour, sometimes you get just a couple of hours of sleep a night, which, of course, makes me even more hyper (laughs), and that makes me talk even more! I'm okay with it, but I think I make everyone else tired.

HP: How many guys have you picked up with the line, "Hi, I'm a singer?"