Bronx native Cecilia Mercado known as “Sessi,” made the leap out west to Los Angeles at 19-years-old hoping to one day be a star.
Now with her third single, “2C” released in the spring, Mercado is fulfilling her dream of becoming a known name in the EDM music scene.
Mercado, 27, was raised in Castle Hill by Eddie and Ivania Mercado. Her mom was an event coordinator and sang in festivals and her father was a music producer. Her first taste of the limelight came at age 5 when she sang at a Puerto Rican Day festival. As she got older her dad began teaching her to sing and write songs.
“I was pretty much involved in music as a little kid,” she told the Bronx Times.
Mercado comes from a hard-working Cuban and Puerto Rican household with a large family. Seeing her mom and dad always hustling, instilled in her the ambition and drive to be successful.
“I grew up with a lot of energy in the house,” she said.
According to Sessi, her parents always taught her to chase her dreams. In high school she began recording songs and performing at venues in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
With a desire to make it big, she left the Bronx And moved to the City of Angels. She knew no one in California, but Mercado never lost hope. She worked various jobs to make ends meet while she focused on her singing. Eventually, she got noticed and found a company to produce her music.
“I did anything and everything to put myself out there,” she said. “I really lived that artist struggle.”
Today, her music career is slowly headed in the right direction having already performed in Europe a few times. She was also named on Billboard: “20 Latina artists to discover before 2020 ends.”
Mercado credits her success to confidence, hard work and her parents.
“If I wasn’t raised by a strong woman and strong man, I wouldn’t have been able to survive,” she said.
