LIDO PIMIENTA
incorporating tracks done earlier in
South America. Pimienta points out
the humour in the timeline: “It was
like another nine months, right? I
gave birth to my baby, and then
nine months later, I gave birth to
my album.”
Like its predecessor, Miss Colom-
bia is a captivating and compelling
piece of work; however, it’s also
clearly the product of an artist at
a different place in her life – one
with more to say and more certain
of how best to say it. La Papessa
was understated in its brilliance;
Miss Colombia beams it out with
tenacity.
The record is bookended by
different versions of “Para Tran-
scribir” – “SOL” (sun) to open and
“LUNA” (moon) to close. The for-
mer serves as a good reminder
from the outset that, beyond the
meticulous arrangements, diverse
instrumentation, and stellar pro-
duction, it is Pimienta’s entrancing
voice and undeniable presence
anchoring the allure here.
“Eso Que Tu Haces,” the
lead single, is perhaps most em-
blematic of the whole. Rooted in
slow-burning cumbia – a tradition-
al Colombian style fusing African,
Indigenous, and European ele-
ments – and porro – a sub-genre
of cumbia based on a derivative
rhythm – the track borrows ting-
es of so many different styles and
influences that it takes on a co-
lour all to itself. All the while, the
upbeat and floating melody offers
an interesting foil to lyrics about a
troubled relationship.
In fact, much of Miss Colom-
bia’s lyrical content focuses on the
personal and interpersonal. The ti-
tle refers to the 2015 Miss Universe
debacle where host Steve Harvey
erroneously announced Miss Co-
36 C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
lombia as the winner before tak-
ing back her crown, and Pimienta
says that moment spurred plenty
of introspection about identity and
self-worth. On “Pelo Cucu,” for ex-
ample, the singer uses the texture
of her hair as a vehicle to examine
her Afro-Colombian heritage.
It does have its weightier mo-
ments as well, like “Resisto Y Ya,”
about the late-2019 protests in
Colombia in which hundreds of
thousands of citizens took to the
streets in demonstration against
Ivan Duque Marquez’s government.
The album also benefits from a
pair of standout guest features: Li
Samuet, vocalist of beloved Colom-
bian electro-vacilon band Bomba
Estereo, whose captivating voice
intertwines beautifully with Pimien-
ta’s throughout the vibe-heavy
“Nada,” and a more communal af-
fair with the members of traditional
Afro-Colombian collective Sexteto
Tabala.
“They’re my favourite band
in Colombia,” stresses Pimienta
about the latter. “I’ve been a fan
since 13 and it’s always been my
dream to write a song for them,
and here, I made it happen.” The
song, featuring a notably raw and
open-air production style in con-
trast with the rest of the album,
boasts truly infectious rhythms and
an evolving call-and-response that
feels like it could (and should) go
on for days.
“I don’t think I’d be the artist
I am now without collaborating,”
muses Pimienta, who was actually
in Colombia to co-produce some
of Bomba Estereo’s new material
at the time of this interview. “Col-
laborating with others makes you
better; it’s a good practice to stay
fresh and not fall into the traps of
your habits.”
Of course, that goes both
ways. While Pimienta has wel-
comed many other artists into her
creative process over the years,
she’s also lent her talents to re-
alize other people’s projects. No-
tably, two of those higher-profile
spots were on albums that were
also shortlisted for the Polaris
Prize: Shad’s A Short Story About
a War and A Tribe Called Red’s
We Are the Halluci Nation.
“It’s important to be an instru-
ment to somebody else and to
be of service to someone else’s
vision, and then maybe they’ll do
the same for you,” she says. “I just
don’t know any other way to work.”
Owing to its incredibly eclectic
composition, Pimienta’s music isn’t
always conducive to description
using existing labels; it’s the type
that spawns new ones, though
that hasn’t prevented people from
attempting the former.
“The label I continue to see
next to my name is nu-cumbia,
or digi-cumbia, or world music?
I don’t do any of that,” Pimienta
asserts. “In fact, I’m a purist when
it comes to traditional Colombian
music; if you listen to the album,
you hear a little bit of cumbia, por-
ro, and all these specific regional
Colombian sounds. So I thought,
‘Okay, you want to hear cumbia
from me? Let me do it my way.
You want me to be this exotic Co-
lombian whatever character? I’m
gonna be a hyperbole of it, and
I’m gonna run my filter through it,
so they’re going to hear a familiar
sound, but won’t be able to label
it in these same stupid ways.’”
Turns out the plan is working as
expected; at the time of our inter-
view, only “Eso Que Tu Haces” and
“No Pude” had been heard by the
masses, yet Pimienta reports they’re
already getting different kinds of
comments from the critics – “And