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Veronica Vega has worked her whole life to be where she is today, but it wasn't until 2014 that her career truly started to take off. She released the song "Wicked" featuring Pitbull, and the rest is history. Last year she released "Sin Ti" featuring Jencarlos Canela, and this year she is collaborating with Lil Wayne and Farruko. Veronica comes from a very Latin family. Born in Miami, she is Cuban- Venezuelan and after speaking with her for just a few minutes, it's obvious how proud she is of her heritage. I met with her to learn a little bit more about the woman behind the music, and discovered that this gorgeous Latina has a lot to say and is not afraid to say it. She always knew that she wanted to be an artist. "I knew that I wanted to sing from a really young age because I grew up listening to music, watching musical performances, and entertainment-based television," says Veronica. Around 14 years old, she started to take performing more seriously, taking singing lessons. And before she knew it, she was signing a record deal. When she can, Veronica writes her own music, but not all of it. "I'm blessed enough to work with great musicians, writers, and producers who contribute to my process," she says. When she writes her own music, her inspiration comes from the simplest things. "It depends on my mood, or how inspired I am, or what's going on in my life, because sometimes even if I've had a great experience that serves as inspiration, there could be a day that's not motivating me to want to write," she explains. Her career has taken many turns, and she tells us that working with her producer Polow Da Don is the highlight of her career. "He is the person who has been able to teach me about patience, teach me about putting things together vocally, methodically, and production-wise," she says. "But I will say, I am on Billboard for the first time ever," exclaims Veronica. "I am really proud and excited for that, but those things come and go. There are other things that can't be replaced." One place that has always inspired and affected her musicality is her home—Miami. "Growing up in Miami affected me in every way, because everywhere that you go in Miami there is music playing," she explains. "Latinos love to listen to music. We clean on the weekends listening to music, and go to a bodega and people are listening to music. Everything that you do is music-based. Music makes people feel a certain type of emotion, and because we are so passionate as Latinos, I think that all of that has inspired my music and made me love music even more." Veronica is following her passion and making a successful career out it. She is collaborating with various artists and would love to work with Jennifer Lopez next. "There is so much to learn from someone who has acquired so much success throughout the years, and has had so much consistency with her success. Of course, I would have loved to do something with Celia Cruz, because I loved her so much or La Lupe, but unfortunately those women have passed." She would also like to work with Celine Dion. "She is one of my greatest inspirations. Believe it or not, 'My Heart Will Go On' is not my favorite Celine Dion song, it's never the song that I would sing for any auditions. I actually sang 'The Power of Love.'" Veronica is a bilingual artist, and has recorded both in English and Spanish. "I can connect better in Spanish emotionally, but I love listening and doing English things because in my heart I know it's an accomplishment for someone who is Spanish speaking first. I look at it as an accomplishment every time I do it, but in Spanish I am able to evoke the emotion that I want," she explains. "But I like both, they just mean something different to me." Finally, we wanted to know how she stays in such great shape. The short story? A lot of hard work. "There is no secret to being in shape. It's hard work, dedication, and consistency. It doesn't come easy to me, it's not magical; I was never in shape before I started working out." Veronica tries to stay active in any way that she can. Whether it's dancing or running up and down the bleachers of her old high school, she does cardio 45 minutes a day. Staying in shape doesn't come easy to Veronica, in fact, it has been a struggle. "I used to struggle with weight my whole entire life. Since I was a little girl, my birthday wish every year was to be skinny when I grew up. I grew up eating a lot of really bad food. Coming from a Latin family—the more that you eat, the healthier you are. I learned when I got older that that's not necessarily true. Eating a lot in one sitting is not healthy, and watching what you eat is very important." ML For the latest updates on Veronica Vega, visit www.iamveronicavega.com/. Follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/VegaMundo/ and Twitter: www.twitter.com/veronicavega