Before we didn't really see too many people from El Paso appear on television. Back in the 70s there were two that appeared on American Bandstand but that was it. Now more & more people from El Paso make appearances on reality tv & game shows. I wrote about the 3 El Paso American Ninja Warrior contestants before, but now I want to talk about another NBC show: The Voice.

At the time of this writing there have been at least 3 different contestants who represented El Paso on The Voice. With Season 22 premiering on September 19th, I figured we'd look back on all 3 contestants who made it on television & where they are now.

Elia Esparza

The first one to make an appearance was Elia Esparza, appearing on season 11 in 2016. The Spanish pop singer passed her blind audition with her performing the late Selena's Como La Flor. She would be on Team Levine.

She was eliminated during the Battle Round against Ponciano Seoane. But don't worry. Elia is still performing. Since her appearance on the show, she's been constantly recording & releasing songs online. In fact she just put out a new single this week so you know she's not stopping any time soon.

Valerie Ponzio

The next was country singer Valerie Ponzio. She appeared during 2017's Season 12. You might remember her beautiful rendition of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire. That performance would help her join Team Blake.

She might not have won season 12 but she absolutely won the hearts of many fans from being on the show. And she's continued to show her love for El Paso with her single "Just A Bordertown".

Eli Zamora

The latest one that made it on the show was Eli Zamora, who appeared on the show in 2020. At the time he was only 25 years old but he managed to impress the HELL out of Kelly Clarkson with her cover of Juan Gabriel's "Ya Lo Se Que Tu Te Vas". And with that performance, he joined Team Kelly.

Sadly Eli would also be eliminated during his battle against Madeline Consoer while they performed a Ricky Martin song. Still he put up a valiant effort...

He's still recording music; he put out a few singles in 2021 & he's certainly living the celebrity lifestyle (as noted on his Facebook page)

So far we haven't a WINNER from El Paso on The Voice but... with such amazing talent here, I'm sure it won't be long before a see our first winner represent El Paso on national tv.

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