The 11 Badass Latinas of SXSW 2015 To Watch Out For

By 17 March, 2015

Latinas are badass by nature, but you can see them showcase their talent at SXSW 2015. South by Southwest (SXSW) is a set of music, interactive, and film conferences that occurs annually in Austin, TX, and this year Latinas are most definitely showing off their power in numbers.

Within SXSAmericas, a platform to network, share innovative ideas, and create new partnerships across all creative industries from North America, South America, Spain and Central America, Latinas are taking over the headlines and are targeted in many conference panels. There are panels such as “Hold the Queso: Marketing to Latinas” given that they are currently perceived as the “holy grail of marketers”. Another panel focuses on how Latinas are natural entrepreneurs and focuses on the developing relationship they have with technology. There is even a panel targeting Latina moms in “How Latina Moms Are Raising NextGen Coders”. As Latinas are the growing market of technology, they are also leading headlines at both official and unofficial SXSW music events.

So here are our pick of the badass Latinas to check out at SXSW, those set to redefine the festival with their talent, culture, and creativity (see the bottom of the page for a playlist featuring some of our favourite songs by these artists):

  1. 1. Hailing from the DR, Carolina Camacho (pictured top of page) is presenting her Afro Caribbean and electronic sounds through empowering women in her lyrics.

  2. 2. MPeach, born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, is a an audiovisual artist inspired by Venzuelan folklore and Afro Carribean electro beats, dancehall, dembow and reagge.

  3. 3. Singer-songwriter L.A. native Irene Diaz of Mexican descent is performing this year showcasing her dreamy voice and romantic ballads at this year’s SXSW.

  4. 4. Raquel Sofia is a trilingual Puerto Rican singer who is making her own path after performing alongside with stars such as Juanes and Shakira.

  5. 5. Danay Suarez, from Havana, is a prominent leader in the Cuban underground rap movement where she mixes hip hop, reggae, jazz, and Cuban traditional music in her performances.

  6. 6. Born in Colombia and raised in Virginia, Kali Uchis is described as a “neo-chola” with impeccable style and a melodic voice that will have you swooning over her before you finish her album Por Vida

  7. 7. Snow tha Product is definition of badass. California native of Mexican descent, Snow is a witty hardcore bilingual rapper with banger songs for a party or just riding around in your whip

  8. 8. Karla da Silva hails from a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has a silky voice reminiscent of samba, choro, and American funk influences.

  9. 9. Breakthrough French-Cuban twin sisters Ibeyi are creatively using English, Spanish and Yoruba fusing jazz, Afro-Cuban beats and French influences.

  10. 10. DJ Rat of the Maracuyeah! DJ collective is a Peruvian-descent badass Latina spinner from Washington D.C. Reflecting immigrant experiences, Maracuyeah describe themselves having a Pan-Latin-to-the-Future sound with tropical bass influence.

  11. 11. Bomba Estéreo, a Colombian electro tropical band, headed by Liliana Samuet and will be showcasing at SXSAmericas this year

Last but not least, SXSW is also showcasing a documentary short following a Cubana defying Castro’s ban on female boxing to follow her dreams to become Cuba’s first female boxer in Boxeadora.

Listen to our ‘Badass Latinas’ playlist below:
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