iamthewest

‘I want people to know me for the good that I do in my life’

#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.

Amanda Lopez Sept. 1, 2023 From the print edition
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Amanda Lopez/High Country News

DZAKI SUKARNO
Country music artist
Las Cruces, New Mexico
(photographed in Nashville, TN) 

It’s definitely been very different, being an Asian country singer, because there’s not many of us. But it’s not going to deter me from pushing. I want to be able to sell out shows across the country, and also bring music to my hometown. There are a ton of underrepresented musicians in smaller communities who don’t get to see the light of day, so if I can bring something back, that’d be one of my biggest dreams. I want people to know me for the good that I do in my life. I’m not an artist that is here to chase after the fame or the fortune. I want to bring back traditional country music, when it still had heart and soul and was honest and a way of life. And show others I’m not just an Asian country singer from Las Cruces, New Mexico; I am me.

Amanda Lopez is a commercial and editorial photographer based in Denver, Colorado. She is passionate about working on stories that highlight underrepresented communities.

We welcome reader letters. Email High Country News at [email protected] or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.

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