Three members of former local indie-alt outfit Lost In Limbo have found their way out of Limbo and into the light, reintroducing themselves to the public as LUEME (pronounced Loom).
LUEME keeps the same indie-alt roots the trio brought over from previous projects, while also experimenting with new sounds including disco, 80s pop, techno and house.
Meet the Band
The group is made up of Mariana Aparicio (she/her) who is the band’s singer and songwriter, Caleb Vasquez (he/him) who handles writing along with Aparicio, musical composition and the band’s marketing, and Jeremy Diaz (he/him) who primarily focuses on musical production and arrangement.
Vazquez and Diaz are both RGV born and raised, Vazquez being a McAllen native and Diaz being from Alamo. Meanwhile Aparicio describes her upbringing as being half in Mexico and half in the US, with her time in the states being split between El Paso and McAllen before she settled here officially in 2018.
How LUEME Met
Aparicio and Vazquez met during their senior year of high school, both attending Sharyland Highschool before they both went on to study at UTRGV where Aparicio received her BA in Mass Communications in 2024, and Vazquez currently studies finance.
Vazquez was the bridge that connected everyone. He and Marina attended the same high school but never really interacted, until Vazquez saw Aparicio singing online.
“I knew of her because we were in marching band together, but we had never really spoken,” Vazquez remembered fondly. Eventually after finding her TikTok, Vazquez realized that Mariana was a talented singer and would be the perfect singer for the project he was working on at the time, Lost in Limbo.
Similarly, Vazquez discovered Jeremy after seeing him play bass during a gig.
He remembered, thinking, “Dang, this guy’s really insanely good.” Vazquez and his band at the time had been struggling with bass players and eventually, after their most recent bass player fell through, they reached out to Diaz and realized he was a perfect fit.
How LUEME met Music
Vazquez wasn’t just instrumental in bringing the group’s members together, but he also inspired the other members to take their musical interests further.
While Diaz grew up surrounded by music, with relatives playing instruments at barbecues, eventually becoming one of the relatives playing, the music he played was mostly at church. He didn’t really explore the idea of making his own original music until meeting Caleb.
Aparicio also grew up surrounded by music, but more so in the media she consumed, like “High School Musical” and pretty much anything where characters sang. She was so inspired that she even took performance classes while in Mexico.
However, she only ever really focused on covers of other people’s music; it wasn’t until she met Vazquez that she even considered writing her own songs. She cited him as the one who originally nudged her into it, and she realized that songwriting helped her put different feelings, experiences, perspectives, and stories into words.
Vazquez himself had what he described as an “internal pull” towards music his entire life; he always had a guitar but never took the time to learn to play. Then, during his junior year, he started practicing and playing, and hasn’t looked back since.
Each member, with such distinct musical backgrounds, also means they bring a variety of different inspirations to their music. Aparicio cites The Marías, Madonna, and Djo. Diaz mentioned Pink Floyd, dubstep, R&B, and disco, prioritizing anything with a good bassline. Vazquez also brought up The Marías, Harry Styles, and Jane Remover.
Meet the Music
All of these different musical influences blend together, making some of LUEME’s current singles feel like they are a musical conversation between the members. Yes, the band sticks to their Indie-Alt roots, but they still find ways to bend genres.
Their resurrection track “lazarus” is a perfect example of this. Aparicio’s ethereal vocals resonate over a bass-heavy, funky and mildly haunting beat. Diaz and Vazquez both shared that this is their favorite song LUEME has put out so far.
The genre-bending and experimentation continued on their 3rd single “disco, baila,” a Spanish language disco-inspired track with a fantastic bass line.
Aparicio’s current favorite song is the group’s most recent single “4me,” a hyperpop-inspired club-ready track that plays with Aparicio’s broad vocal register.
Each of their singles shows the trio’s ability to really make songs their own. Of the four singles they’ve released, it never feels like LUEME doing a different genre’s song, it feels like a LUEME song that happens to be a different genre.
LUEME is a shining example of RGV talent, further proof against the idea that the RGV has nothing here.
Check LUEME out on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube!
And make sure to see them live at MXLAN 2026 on Sunday, March 8!
