Mexican composer Azalea Báalam in an archive photo in Mexico City. EFE/José Méndez
Latin America is one of the world’s most linguistically diverse regions. Around 560 indigenous languages coexist within its borders, but it is estimated that between 40% and 60% of them are at risk of disappearing. The decline of these languages is driven by intense processes of social, economic, and productive change, as well as increasing urbanization and the migration of indigenous peoples to cities.
In this context, a chorus of new Latin American voices has emerged, reclaiming their linguistic heritage through music. Numerous artists have achieved considerable fame both within and beyond the continent by singing in Indigenous languages. In doing so, they have succeeded in bringing these languages closer to new generations, promoting their revitalization, standardization, and everyday use.
Mayan music.
The Mayan language family, comprising about thirty languages, has approximately 6 million speakers in Guatemala and some 700,000 in Mexico. It also extends throughout Belize, much of Guatemala, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador.
Azalea Báalam is a Mexican artist and producer, born in Jo’ (present-day Mérida, Yucatán) in 1993. She is also the creator of the musical concepts “nahuapop” and “mayapop”, referring to two of the languages in which she composes her songs, Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya.
Her recipe for combating linguistic death is to create a “tag that grabs attention” among young audiences, like the two already mentioned. With these, the singer challenges the hegemony of English and Spanish in the entertainment industry by combining these languages and her Jaina flute, a pre-Hispanic instrument, with pop or K-pop (South Korean pop).
Sara Curruchich, born in 1993 in San Juan Comalapa, Chimaltenango, in a Kaqchikel community in the central highlands of Guatemala, has also brought a Mayan language into the realm of music. Specifically, she sings in Kaqchikel, her native language.
Her musical style blends rock, folk, and traditional Kaqchikel Mayan music. Although she debuted just seven years ago with her album ‘Somos’ (2019), her musical career has led her to a 55-date tour across Spain, France, Chile, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Colombia in 2022, and to be recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the most creative people in Central America that same year.
Quechua rhythms.
The Quechua languages are a set of 44 languages spoken by about 3.8 million people in Peru, around 1.6 million in Bolivia, about 800,000 in Ecuador, and in a minority way in Colombia, Argentina, and Chile.
Lenin Tamayo, a 26-year-old singer from Lima, has revolutionized Peruvian music with his fusion of Quechua and K-pop. The artist created the genre Q-pop (Quechua pop) in 2022, and since then has achieved great success both nationally and internationally. His popularity even led him to tour Asia in 2024, visiting South Korea, India, Thailand, and Vietnam.
This fusion of styles was motivated by his personal history of bullying. During that time, his classmates laughed at and mocked the singer for the way he walked, dressed, and spoke. Then, thanks to the support of his mother and a group of female classmates with whom he listened to K-pop, he decided to break free from that situation, giving rise to the global phenomenon he is today.
Another singer who sings in Quechua is Renata Flores, born in 2001 in Huamanga, Peru. The rapper combines this language with Andean music and urban rhythms like trap. In her lyrics, she celebrates her Indigenous identity and sings about freedom and female empowerment.
Flores grew up surrounded by art and social awareness. She began writing her own songs in her teens, inspired by American singer Nina Simone. Her mother was another major influence, as she was the director of the Surca Cultural Association, which promoted the development of children and young people through art.
The Peruvian artist was recognized by ‘Hola’ magazine as one of the 100 most influential Latin women of 2021. Furthermore, between August and October 2026, the singer will embark on a European tour that will take her to Germany, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, and Norway.
Jesús Aina. EFE REPORTS
