Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 marks Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. As a Hispanic woman, I especially appreciate the time to empower such marginalized groups. Even with the end of the month, we should still appreciate and support Hispanic artists.
As an individual who also heavily relies on Indie/Alternative music to function, I have noticed Hispanic artists in this genre are hard to come by. Because of this, I thought what is a better time than now to highlight some of the best emerging Spanish indie artists. Below are some of my favorites, and some I hope you can add to your Spotify playlist.
- The aces
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This band, originally from Utah, features Cristal Ramirez, Alisa Ramirez, McKenna Petty, and Katie Henderson. They have been together for many years as their band started when they were just in middle school. They released their sophomore album, “Under My Influence” in July of 2020, and continuously have shown to produce irresistible sounds including a song in Spanish called, “The Last One”.
Some other favorites of mine are from their debut album, “When My Heart Felt Volcanic”. These are called “Stay”, “Lovin’ is Bible”, and “Just Like That”.
- Luna luna
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Luna Luna is a relatively new band, having first released in 2017. They have been working hard, having produced three albums already. Their dreamy synth-pop vibes are great for any fall day. They’re from Dallas, Texas and their founding member, Kavvi, in particular, is from Colombia! With their lyrics that you cannot get out of your head, I highly recommend them for your next jam sesh.
The song below is my personal favorite, but other great songs to check out are “For You”, “Feel It Now”, and “Commitment”.
- Sofia ValdÉs
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Sofia Valdés is a new and upcoming artist from Panama. At just 20 years old, she is making her mark with quite the fluid mix of English and Spanish in her songs. I linked one of my favorites below. Emotional and true, she lays the groundwork for a promising career.
- The marĂŤAS
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The MarĂas is a band from California. Their Puerto Rican lead singer, MarĂa Zardoya, sings airy and sweet, especially in the popular track linked below. They just released their first album, “Cinema”, and it is definitely worth a listen with songs that remind me of waves and billowing palm trees in the summer.
- BOy Pablo
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Boy Pablo, stylized “boy pablo”, first went viral in 2018 with their release of “Everytime”, which you might know. Their lead singer, Nicolas Muñoz, is from Chile. He and his bandmates truly top the bedroom pop scene in my opinion. With love songs and just plain fun songs you can’t help but move to, they are one of my all-time favorites forever.
I would particularly recommend “Losing You”, “Feeling Lonely”, and “Sick Feeling”.
Take a quick listen, and I hope you come to love these artists like I do. In months like these, it is important to do what you can to support these communities. After all, despite arguments saying we are all the same, we really are not. The point of diversity and inclusion is not to silence our differences but instead, empower and uplift us to learn and grow.