Diego Loria Eivins, a sophomore at the University of Iowa, is a Hispanic American musician who performs under the name Deggy. Born and raised in Iowa City, he is surrounded by family, friends, and a variety of social circles. He has released an album titled "Domingos + Autotune", in addition to numerous singles. His newest release, “El Eco” will be released on October 24th. Lorias-Eivins explores the ideas of being a musician and artist, juggling his social media, music making, and school obligations while simultaneously building his personal life.
I sat down with him to learn more and to share just a fraction of the challenges he faces. His creative processes and how he has come to create the music he makes today. Being no stranger to the challenges of finding his identity within his culture and heritage, he grew up struggling with the weight of feeling he needed to 'pick a side' between his native culture and his daily surroundings. In high school, many of his friends came from different backgrounds. “I think I'm trying to find what it means to be Mexican American and what it means to be a little of both." Diego emphasized the idea that many people associate one culture with one country, yet Diego acknowledges that his heritage is woven into his life, even though he is not consistently surrounded by it in his daily interactions and communities.
Despite difficulties, finding community has not been impossible. On Sundays, he found comfort in attending a Spanish church and speaking his native language with those around him. Shortly after starting at the University of Iowa, Diego noticed himself becoming increasingly surrounded by others with cultures and heritages similar to his. "I started to blend my own identity every day. I'm speaking Spanish with people, and I'm becoming friends with people from similar backgrounds."
Music has been a prominent part of Diego's life since he was young. He took piano lessons for over eight years and credits his parents for introducing him to artists like Shakira, Paul Simon, and Vampire Weekend during their morning commutes to school. His brother also introduced him to Chicago rap, opening his mind to new ideas for his own musical style. His first memories of creating his own music were in his childhood bedroom with his brother, freestyling over beats from YouTube. "I grew up with a lot of privilege, two really amazing parents, a really awesome, supportive brother, and a whole family that supported me,” he said. “Your music can reflect that."
The summer leading into his junior year of high school was fundamental for Diego and his music. Loria Eivins discovered BandLab, an app that allowed him to record his own music. "That made me get into the process of making music every single day,” he said. When my parents were getting groceries, I would have maybe one hour a day when I was home alone, that's how I started. During high school, some of the songs he had written were passed around between peers. "Some of my classmates would like to share my audio files around the school. That was a cool feeling of people liking my music."
Now he creates his music in FL Studio, a program his brother gifted him to help further his music. Finding inspiration from artists like Bad Bunny, Béele, Los Tigres Del Norte, Kali Uchis, and Vampire Weekend, Loria Eivins started recording nightly. But creating music can be expensive; a small sound pack can run him $600; this doesn't stop Diego from creating his sounds. "For drums and stuff, I'll hit a desk with the microphone, or I'll find sounds at work, and I'll put that on my song," he said.
The creative process of building a new song for Diego does not come from sitting down and deciding it's time to write. He encounters inspiration from his surroundings on campus. When he's out and about, he'll record audio files to incorporate later into a song. "It's when I'm on a walk, or I'll see some cool person, the cool outfit, or I'll be in class, I'll learn some cool things, then I'll make a song about that,” he said. “I think a lot of inspiration for music comes from my classes. I have really cool art classes."
While being a full-time student, Loria Eivins has learned to balance numerous challenges and responsibilities within school and the commitments to more than one job. "It's hard, it's really hard," he said. "I'm seeing big numbers, and I have a lot of success, specifically on Instagram and making music, but I also have to take time to do my homework." Yet he's found a good balance between student life, work life, and his music. Being a student and having a set schedule creates a healthy balance to fuel his creative process. “Going to class, being a student, and having a normal life and schedule that keeps me really grounded, which really inspires me to go back to making music,” Loria Eivins said. “It feels more like a good release."
His social media has gained a lot of attention this year, leading him to discover many new ideas and people while learning to manage having a "double" life. About a year ago, he began posting videos of his day-to-day life. It was shortly after he began posting his music that he started seeing support from others. Gaining followers inspired him to keep going. Music is not the only thing he shares on his platforms. When his primarily English-speaking audience didn’t connect with his Spanish music, Loria Eivins pivoted to teaching Spanish lessons online. “I began in February 2024. By June, I had 5000 followers, and from June to July, I grew from 5000 to 30,000 followers just by teaching Spanish.”
Today, Diego offers Spanish courses for $25 a month. To create these courses, he taught himself to code from YouTube videos so he could build a platform for teaching. Although this isn't directly his music, he's received positive feedback from supporters, sending him messages about their progress in their language learning and how they've come to appreciate Spanish artists more since taking his classes. "I think it's cool to have a big audience in the US of English speakers listening to Spanish music,” Loria Eivins said. He later adds, “I think it's important to show them little bits of culture, then slowly incorporate it into their life. I feel proud to represent Mexican Americans and people who feel between cultures.
Social media has brought Diego Loria Eivins numerous connections, whether from other artists or from fans sharing love. Loria Eivins shared, "There are a lot of cool doors that have been opened for me.” Later adding “companies reach out and ask if I can wear this in my video, that's cool for me,” he said. “I'm pretty young and having companies wanting to advertise through me is a dream."
Deggy, his stage name and Diego, to his family and friends, face a challenge. Finding harmony and balance between the two is difficult. "My mom was talking to me, and she asked if I feel weird, because I have a whole online life, and then my in-person life. I do feel weird trying to blend them." The separation between the two is something he appreciates, but the difficulties are not to be dismissed. "As I've been growing more of a local fan base here in Iowa City and in Iowa, it's been getting harder to keep them separate.” After having talked to his mom, Loria Eivins made the realization to embrace both sides. “I think she was just reminding me to keep that in mind. You know that they're one and the same."
Though he has many responsibilities at work and school, Deggy is planning future releases and creating multiple songs a day. "I want to release something soon. It's just a difficult thing with Spotify,” Loria Eivins explained. “When you release bigger projects, and you're not a well-established artist, it's harder to promote. Whereas a single, it's way easier to promote it because it's one song." This year, he's focusing on a bigger project, Made in America, an album about growing up in the United States. "It explores what culture means to me. There are a few artists I have in mind that I really want to collaborate with on this album."
This year has been fundamental for Deggy and Diego. His growth has connected him to his culture, to those in his community, far and wide, and to himself. "You have to make music about how you feel; there's no reason to be somebody you're not,” Loria Eivins said. “Wherever you're from, as long as you're making music that's straight from your heart."