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Karol G made history at Coachella on Sunday night, becoming the first Latin woman to headline the festival in its nearly 30-year existence. The Colombian pop star made her performance not only a celebration of this feat, but as a pivotal movement for all Latin female artists.
“I am Carolina Giraldo from Medellin, Colombia, and today I am the first Latina woman to headline Coachella,” she declared during her set. “And I’m very happy and very proud about this, but at the same time, it feels late. It’s been 27 years of this festival going on…Before me, there were so many great Latino artists that gave me the opportunity.”
In a nod to those who came before her, Karol G opened her performance in a cave, where a series of paintings illustrated the story of a “free, untamed woman” who surrenders her voice to the pressures of assimilation. Only once her “divine feminine intuition” grows and she learns to use that voice does she ascend into a goddess symbolizing all women.
This theme of liberation and reverence for the female divine echoed throughout Karol G’s set: the majority of her backing performers were women, from the dancers to the mariachi band. She was also joined by fellow Latin stars Becky G and Mariah Angeliq, and performed a cover of Gloria Estefan’s “Mi Tierra.”
As she foreshadowed in the days leading up to her Coachella performance, Karol G also used the platform to speak out against the assailing of immigrations under the Trump administration.
“This about my Latinos who have been struggling in this country lately. We stand for them, I stand for my Latina community. I’m proud because this brings out the best of us, unity, resilience, a strong spirit. We don’t do this because we want to take everyone out, we do this because we want everyone to feel welcome to our culture, to our music. I want everyone to feel proud of where you come from. Please don’t feel scared, feel proud. Raise your flag.”
Karol G’s Coachella Setlist:
LATINA FOREVA
Un gatito me llamó
OKI DOKI
Tá OK (Remix)
EL MAKINON (with Mariah Angeliq)
S91
Tropicoqueta
Papasito
Ese Hombre Es Malo
MAMIII (with Becky G)
GATÚBELA
Después de ti (with Greg Gonzalez)
Bandida entrenada
OJOS FERRARI
Pam pam / Saoco (with Wisin)
Mayor Que Yo / Rakata (with Wisin)
Ivonny bonita
TQG
AMARGURA
Mi tierra
Tusa
Si antes te hubiera conocido
PROVENZA
English (US) · 