Valeria Cisternas (born 1 December 1986), better known by her stage name Tomasa Del Real, is a Chilean singer, composer, and

reggaetón Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

artist. She is regarded as a pioneer of

Neoperreo Neoperreo is a subgenre of reggaeton with some degree of popularity in Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Chile. Among the most prominent acts of the scene are Tomasa del Real from Chile and Ms Nina from Argentina Argentina (), officially the ...

, a social-media-inspired offshoot of reggaetón, and is referred to as "La Reina del Neoperreo", Spanish for "the queen of Neoperreo").

Early life

Tomasa was born in Iquique, Chile on 1 December 1986 to an upper-class family. She studied design in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Chile. Kids at school used to tease her by calling her Tomasa, but she eventually took to the name because it sounded androgynous. She said that she feels like "a man but very much a woman".

Musical career

During her time working in Iquique as a tattoo artist, Tomasa's mother bought her a laptop. She would record herself singing and rapping with the

Photo Booth A photo booth is a vending machine or modern kiosk that contains an automated, usually coin-operated, camera and film processor. Today, the vast majority of photo booths are digital. History The patent for the first automated photography ma ...

application and began uploading these videos to Facebook and YouTube. At this time, she would tour the continent giving tattoos to people. It was on these tours where she began performing reggaetón at DIY parties. Her customers worldwide knew about her love for reggaetón. Tattoo customers would invite her to record in their home studios. In 2015, due to growing success and demand as a performer, Del Real closed her tattoo shop, as she no longer had the time to tend to it. Del Real released her first album ''Bien y Mal'' in March 2016. Many of her earliest songs were included on the album, leading critics to note that despite its DIY spirit, many songs have become some of the best examples for the genre. Tomasa is a self-described "reggaetón nerd" and researches the genre daily. Her album ''Bellaca del Año'' was released on 18 May 2018 via

Nacional Records Nacional Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It is home to numerous artists including Manu Chao, Grammy-nominated Mexican electronica group Nortec Collective, Colombian rock band Aterciopelados, Argentine rock ...

. Her album ''TDR'' was released on 31 May 2019.

Discography

Albums * ''Bien y Mal'' (2016) * ''Bellaca del Año'' (2018) * ''TDR'' (2019)

References

External links

Official Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Real, Tomasa Living people 1986 births Latin music songwriters 21st-century Chilean women singers Chilean women rappers Chilean pop singers Neoperreo musicians