¡Viva la Mujer! Music Picks Celebrating And Empowering Latinx Women

Rocío Santos of Domingos En Vocalo shares some of her favorite selections from women across the Latin-American world.

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Pahua – Caramelo

Mexico City’s Paulina Sotomayor is an extraordinarily gifted musician, DJ and producer. A few years ago, she performed with her band Sotomayor at the smallest stage at Chicago’s Ruido Fest where she enchanted the crowd! With her present solo project Pahua, she creates a balsamic cosmos of electro-folkloric soundscapes with contemplative lyrics that paint a canvas of the feminine energy. “Caramelo” is a highlight of her debut EP Ofrenda (Nacional Records) that will get you moving, and in tune with the soul.

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Renee Goust – Diosa

You have to dance to this feminist bolero-disco-esque hymn that celebrates our beauty, our voice and our spirit. NY-based singer-songwriter Renee Goust opens a new music chapter with her latest collaborative single “Diosa” featuring established Latin-American rappers Audry Funk (NY/México) and Rebecca Lane (Guatemala). Renee takes her neo-folk sound to another level with a more complex production incorporating a wide range of instruments, including percussion and brass (congas, flugabone and tuba) that represent her fronteriza identity. We cannot wait to hear her forthcoming album Resister to be released in late 2021.

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Elisa Carolina MS – Dembows Filosóficos Vol. 2

For Dominican all-round artist Elisa Carolina—published poet, writer, composer and filmmaker—dembow can be quirky and philosophical. Eloquently rapped, Elisa transforms her introspective poetry into fifteen verses on self-discovery, self-control, detachment, and consciousness. Make sure you listen to Elisa, her 2019 self-published three-song EP blending hip-hop, bolero, jazz and Caribbean flow. 

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Carlette Balcazar – Siembra

Hailing from Temuco, the south of Chile, Michigan-based rapper and artisan Carlette Balcazar has planted roots in the music and arts community of Chicago. Through hip-hop, she reflects on her experiences as a womxn, immigrant, mother and sister in her self-published debut album Semilla (2020). In the heartfelt opening track “Siembra,” Carlette juxtaposes the sounds she recorded chopping her homegrown vegetables, as she takes our hand while singing about womxn’s strength and resilience, in a world where gender-violence is still perpetuated every second. She reminds her sisters: “no fue tu culpa / sino la de alguien más” (“it wasn’t your fault, it was somebody else’s.”)

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Domingos En Vocalo features Latin-alternative music + conversaciones with the Latinx community of Chicago and beyond every Sunday from 12-3 pm.

Written by Rocío Santos