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# Hoping for a traffic jam
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/hoping-for-a-traffic-jam/
- Published: 2007-03-09T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:12:52.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Entertainment, Mid-City, #archive-import

*SM songbird hopes Net can be a stepping stone*

MID-CITY While most Santa Monicans are trying to avoid traffic, Yolanda Ruiz is doing everything in her power to create it... Internet traffic, that is.

The indie singer/songwriter is finding herself in the fight of her creative life, competing against nearly 2,000 other unsigned artists in the Music Nation competition, an online, music-video contest to land a recording contract with Epic Records.

Ruiz, who makes her home in Santa Monica, was the nation’s choice in the pop category thanks to her catchy single “Loca” (http://pop.musicnation.com/v428), featuring vocalist Jabu from LA’s Ozomatli. The song combines pop melodies and Latin grooves in an ode to living wild.

With her sound now available to millions, it is up to Ruiz to spread the word and lobby for votes as she heads into the quarterfinals.

“It’s a weird place to be telling people to vote for me, but everyone has been so supportive, everyone is really excited and they all keep asking me how it’s going,” Ruiz said from her home near Wilshire Boulevard and 12th Street. “It’s really cute.”

Ruiz, who cites influences such as Gloria Estefan, Patsy Cline, and Whitney Houston, said she will continue to campaign on social networking sites like MySpace.com, and is planning to hit radio stations in her home-town of San Jose, where she has been performing publicly since she was 7.

“Competition is in my blood,” Ruiz said. “I’m a fighter. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come around often and when it does, you’ve got to go for it.”

Since joining the competition, the Mexican-American beauty has seen her popularity soar, as fans from across the country have caught on to her sound.

“It’s been amazing to see the number of people who have contacted me to tell me they like my music,” she said.“Since the first day I signed up, I noticed a huge jump in the number of people checking out my site (www.yolandaruiz.com).”

It was traffic of another kind that brought Ruiz to Santa Monica. After moving to Los Angeles roughly four years ago to pursue her career in music, she hooked up with a producer with a studio in downtown Santa Monica. As an artist, inspiration comes and goes, and Ruiz felt that when an idea struck, she needed to be close to the studio to get it out, so she moved.

“I love it here,” said Ruiz, who writes many of her tunes at the old Newsroom Cafe. “The weather is so beautiful and you don’t have to drive anywhere, which is nice.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/030907-03_01.jpg)

(Photo: Photo courtesy)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/030907-03_02.jpg)

(Photo: Photo courtesy)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 9, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/030907.pdf?ref=smdp.com)