For some, pop culture is a form of entertainment. For Estefania Pessoa, known as @HelloTefi, it is a form of community.
“I actually enjoyed the way other people talked about pop culture with each other,” the TikTok author told Teen Vogue via Zoom. Tefi is respected as a resident of the platform expert in everything related to pop culture. Iconic celebrity couples you’ve completely forgotten, Tefi gladly stores his wealth of knowledge.
It’s wisdom that comes from a preference for networking and acceptance: think about how a fandom brings other people together. “music, fashion, celebrities and movies,” he says. So, looking to get good grades, [. . . ] I started building relationships with other people at a very young age, talking about other people like Britney Spears. “
Tefi, 31, was born and raised in Miami and comes from a circle of Colombian and Brazilian relatives. Talking to her, it’s as if we’ve known each other for years: there’s a circle of familiar power in our conversation, as if I’m casually catching up on the life of a distant cousin. She is aware of this power, which she attributes to her parents.
“My mom and dad were marketers in their own way,” she says. where youArray. . I don’t know, the feeling [that] everyone can be just a circle of relatives is a power I grew up with.
Tefi moved to New York when she was in her early twenties and worked several odd jobs at a time she calls the “stable” peak era of her life. “I was never hired because I was so smart at my job. It’s because they put me in positions where it caught my attention because it’s easy for me to make other people feel comfortable,” says Tefi. “So if there was a really nasty consumer who wasn’t actually satisfied with the study. They said, “You have to greet him at the door. And I was like, “What do you think I’m going to do?That’s precisely what I did. “
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While it locates several multi-party videos that analyze random celebrity topics on Tefi’s account, it’s not the only content that’s localized; he also likes to give fraternal recommendations and words of encouragement to those in need. Tefi approaches her content creation with respect, authenticity and love, frankly sharing her own reports with her audience to let them know she’s been there too. Naturally, this earned her the name “TikTok’s big sister,” a comment she finds “hilarious. “
“My brother is six years younger than me and my sister two years younger than me,” she says. “I’ve never been asked for advice in my life, not once. “Despite what his brothers might think, Tefi has won the listening of 1. 5 million people. “There are some things I needed to hear as a teenager that I would like you to hear from me, because I have good intentions. Do you know what I mean?”
Growing up, Tefi used pop culture as a way to bond with her family. Her first pop culture touchstone, though not yet alive, was Princess Diana’s wedding, through Mariah Carey’s wedding in 1993.
“When Mariah Carey married Tommy Mottola at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the 5th, [she wore] an accurate reproduction of Diana’s dress,” she says. “People talked about it all the time and my family, like all Latino families, we adored Princess Diana. We call her our princess.
Princess Diana, affectionately known around the world as the “people’s princess,” has had a special effect on communities of color that many can resonate with. Sometimes, while browsing TikTok, I come across videos of other people of color. sharing how Princess Diana’s death devastated their mothers. One of my earliest memories of formative years was seeing my Samoan mother cry when she passed away. It was a big challenge in our circle of relatives when it happened, and the same thing is happening to Tefi.
“It was already one thing I saw the way my circle of relatives talked about her,” she says. “The agreement that we enjoyed it brought us closer. “
Princess Diana isn’t her family’s only pop culture focal point. For Tefi, “there’s nothing like” talking about the development of Colombian pop culture, so American pop culture allowed her and her mother to bond with Diana Ross or the latest blockbuster. American pop culture is the most recognizable form of media in the world, Tefi also knows how vital representation is to the Latinx network and hopes to see more accurate representations on screen in the near future. “I think the first time I saw Latinos on TV and in the movies, we were still like this damn story,” he says.
The media relies on stereotypical tropes to paint the Latinx network. Tefi would see the way other people communicate about Latinx from those representations: “Crossing the border was a big deal. The maid, the most productive friend, the user who hides, the user with all the possibilities opposite her. These tropes were confusing to Tefi, who saw his network as strong and resilient, rather than what is regularly shown on the screen. He has some stars he admires like Rosie Perez, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Lopez. , other people, he says, “have never represented a stereotype for me. They were just other people who were like me and who are also Americans. . . There is this concept of pride and loyalty, but also of perseverance. “
Tefi’s love of pop culture goes back to the community. It’s a special delight when you have the opportunity to exchange opinions about your favorite movie, TV show, or song with someone who can also appreciate the little main points and anecdotes as much as Yes. Tefi says she enjoyed watching Pop Up Video on VH1, because, “Otherwise, how could I have known that Mariah Carey was 4 hours behind for the music video?”
Historically, we have fed on the media through what was at our disposal at the time: television, magazines, movies. We enjoyed what the media told us to love and carried what the media told us to use. In recent years, we’ve noticed a replacement in the pop culture landscape. We now have unlimited access to endless information, allowing us to explore our interests, find new music, or even enjoy a hobby.
“There were safe things that everyone did as a society,” Says Tefi. “Everyone did the same things, everyone enjoyed the same things and the same music. where we all begin to diversify into our own niches.
It is desirable to see the update and how far it has come since the 90s and early 2000s. We live in the age of influencer content creator, where it’s more accessible to notice or create your own art to give to the world. In recent years, pop culture has necessarily reshaped into TikTok culture which, in a way, is almost refreshing: now there is something for everyone and the possibility that more will feel seen.
“OG niches are cheerleaders, nerds, geeks, athletes. These were the only genuine niches of American culture that other people had access to. Now we have WitchTok, CeramicTok, MathTok, you know what I mean, she says. “We all have those other crackpot umbrellas in everything I feel about telling other people who we were, we use our interests to speak for us. And it has become a language.
This language has created a giant audience for Tefi on TikTok. Her vivacious personality and storytelling ability recently earned her an animated gig in MTV’s new game show series “Merch Masters,” which feels like a full moment for the woman who was once obsessed with MTV. Daily.
“I think I see myself at 13, 14 in my room reading J14 or Teen People and Teen Vogue,” she says, “and reading about those other people and absorbing them. . . I think going in at 32 [like], ‘Damn, I probably wouldn’t do it. ‘”
As we move through the era of the content creator, this is an exciting time for Tefi’s career. But no matter where your trail takes you, one thing is for sure: you’ll never have trouble finding a community.
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