Luzmila Carpio (Bolivia)

Ever since she started performing and writing, Luzmilla Carpios songs have been considered symbols for oppressed cultures around the world. The Bolivian singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress of Quechuan origin has spread her ancestral Andean knowledge and music all over the world. As a small child, she learned the daily songs of the Quechua and Aymara indigenous peoples that inhabit the Bolivian Altiplano. She started looking deeper into the cultural and musical ways of the Andes and singing in Quechua, rather than Spanish. As her audience grew, she used her music to rebel against the dominance of western cultural ways over indigenous ones. 

Throughout her collaborations with musicians from various genres, Luzmila Carpio skillfully weaved together indigenous sounds with modern instrumentation. Her new album “Inti Watana- El Retorno del Sol” received critical acclaim and was among Rolling Stone’s best Spanish Language Albums of 2023, where she was described as one of the three living Latin American music legends. The album is accompanied by a full-length documentary with a  world premiere in 2024. Luzmila Carpio is still at the forefront of her craft, delving  into themes that not only resonate with her indigenous heritage but also hold significance for younger generations: cultural identity, female empowerment, environmentalism and spirituality in a rapidly changing world.