Cristina Hinojosa’s stage name is La Fabulosa. It’s a reference to her bloodline—she’s the daughter of the late Juan Hinojosa, drummer for the famed conjunto band Los Fabulosos Cuatro—but that’s where the fatherly influence ends. While Juan was out on the road and rarely at home, Cristina took private lessons, played drums in churches, and joined a Tejano band called Grupo Excito by the time she was in high school. “He never held out a drumstick to me,” she says. “I did it on my own.”

That fiery, independent streak has driven Cristina Hinojosa over the course of her career. It drove her to learn the fundamentals of Tejano from the considerably older men of Grupo Excito all those years ago. It drove her to make an overnight road trip to a studio in Big Spring to arrange and record her entry video for the Hit Like a Girl online drumming competition, in which she was a finalist in 2013. It also drove her to work with several San Antonio musicians, such as Cacy Savala, Mike Torres III, and most notably six-time Grammy nominee and 2017 Tejano Music Awards Entertainer of the Year Stefani Montiel. Hinojosa has served as Montiel’s drummer for six years now.

Hinojosa says she’s been offered other gigs, but she’s too happy being in Montiel’s band to give it up. In fact, it’s more of a close-knit community than a band. Montiel’s husband, Gabriel Zavala, is the musical director, and Montiel’s sister, Sasha Sullivan, is a backing vocalist in the band. In addition, Hinojosa’s cousin, Ariel Hinojosa, recently came on as the bassist. “They’re my family,” she says. “It’s not like gigs with other bands where you’re there to get paid and leave.”

Cristina Hinojosa, Hit Like a Girl Entry (2013)

Hinojosa is well-versed in both Montiel’s modern Tejano sound as well as being one of only a handful of drummers who knows her way around the vintage orquestra style. She’s a tremendous jazz drummer (an area where she excelled at UTSA) and has been known to rock out to some emo and pop-punk. Hinojosa’s diverse drumming background has made her a popular instructor. She teaches private lessons in addition to pitching in as the assistant band director at Antonian College Preparatory High School in San Antonio.

With afternoons devoted to Antonian, weekends booked for Stefani Montiel, and mornings and evenings dedicated to her two real estate jobs, Hinojosa is as busy as ever, but she’d never give you any indication that it’s too much to handle. “I wasn’t raised in the ‘musician’ household,” she says. “I was raised in the ‘you go to work, make money, and pay the bills’ household,’ and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

On UTSA

A native of Boling, southwest of Houston, Cristina Hinojosa studied music at the University of Houston before transferring to UTSA in 2011. She made the jump because she sought more one-on-one time with instructors, and she wanted to study with former percussion lecturer Graeme Francis. She credits Francis for remolding her entire approach to drumming. Hinojosa fulfilled her jazz certification and received a jazz ensemble award at UTSA in 2014. “I credit UTSA a lot for my playing, even at this point,” she says. “My jazz studies don’t necessarily correspond with the kind of music I play now, but my chops do.”

On Her Favorite Drummers

Dennis Chambers: “He’s a famous studio drummer who plays with Santana quite often. I used to watch his instructional videos growing up. As I’ve gotten older, he still tops my list.”

Cora Coleman-Dunham: “She’s been with Prince and Beyoncé, and I actually got to take a private lesson from her. It was the best two hours of my life. I think I learned more in two hours with her than I did from years of being on the road. She is incredibly knowledgeable.”

Sheila E.: “Sheila E. is a queen. She’s probably the most famous female drummer of all-time. She was Prince’s drummer, but she’s had her own successful career.”