Lido Pimienta (born 1986) is a Colombian Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence after her 2016 album, '' La Papessa'', won the
Afro-Colombian
Afro-Colombians or African-Colombians ( es, afrocolombianos, links=no) are Colombians of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent ( Blacks, Mulattoes, Pardos, and Zambos).
History
Africans were enslaved in the early 16th Century in Colomb ...
musical styles such as
Cumbia
Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include:
...
synthpop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
and
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...
The Fader
''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes.
It is o ...
'', October 31, 2016.
Early life
Originally from
Barranquilla
Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Co ...
, Colombia,"Lido Pimienta Takes Control" ''
Noisey
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Med ...
'', March 21, 2014. she later immigrated to Canada, settling in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...
, before moving to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, where she is currently based. Her father died when she was six years old.
Career
Pimienta released her debut album, ''Color'', in 2010. The album was produced by Michael Ramey, Pimienta's husband at the time,"Lido Pimienta is done with your ideas of “world music”" ''
Chart Attack
''Chart Attack'' was a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called ''Chart'', it was published from 1991 to 2009. While the web version appears to be available online, the domain is now used as a popular media outle ...
'', January 29, 2017. and was released by Los Angeles based music label KUDETA. After Pimienta and Ramey separated, Pimienta took time to pursue a degree in
art criticism
Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is que ...
, in addition to learning more about music production, before releasing her second album, '' La Papessa'', in 2016. That year, she also collaborated with
A Tribe Called Red
The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, is a Canadian electronic music group who blend instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations music, particularly vocal chan ...
on several tracks for their 2016 album '' We Are the Halluci Nation''.
Following the release of her experimental album ''La Papessa'', which was self-produced by Pimienta, she was awarded the
2017 Polaris Music Prize The 2017 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 18, 2017. which is considered Canada's top juried music award. ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' called her "the future of Canadian
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...
", and dubbed her the "artist of the year".
There was controversy surrounding her performance at the Halifax Pop Explosion music festival on October 19, 2017. Pimienta, as she often does during her concerts, invited the "brown girls to the front" and asked that white people move back. Some white audience members saw the request as racist, and a white volunteer photographer refused to move from her spot near the stage. When the photographer refused to move after repeated requests, Pimienta said, "you're cutting into my set time and you're disrespecting these women, and I don't have time for this". The photographer was removed from the show and the festival organizers later apologized to Pimienta, saying they would increase "anti-oppression and anti-racism training".
In addition to working as a musician, Pimienta is also a visual artist and curator, and her work has been described as exploring "the politics of gender, race, motherhood, identity and the construct of the Canadian landscape in the Latin American"; her work was exhibited in the group exhibition ''FEMINISTRY IS HERE'' at Mercer Union gallery in Toronto.
She later in 2020 released ''Miss Colombia'', her follow up studio album to her award winning album ''La Papessa''. The title was derived from the 2015
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall St ...
beauty pageant incident, which sparked an outrage from the Colombian people. This prompted her to reflect on many things like her Colombian heritage and pride, and caused her to fall into a depression. Many themes and ideas surrounding the album, ''Miss Colombia'', are a reflection on this outrage and depression, as GET IN HER EARS states a "vivid celebration (and criticism) of her Colombian heritage".
Pimienta has announced the launch of a television program titled '' Lido TV''. The show is set to premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
on September 11, 2022. Following its premiere, the show will be available to stream on
CBC Gem
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
beginning September 23, 2022. Press coverage describes ''LIDO TV'' as a variety show that will explore themes that include feminism, colonialism, privilege, beauty, success, and hate. The show's format will include documentary footage, interviews, sketch comedy, and puppetry performances that are hosted, written, and produced by Pimienta.
Personal life
Pimienta identifies as
queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the l ...
Afro-Colombian
Afro-Colombians or African-Colombians ( es, afrocolombianos, links=no) are Colombians of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent ( Blacks, Mulattoes, Pardos, and Zambos).
History
Africans were enslaved in the early 16th Century in Colomb ...
and
Wayuu
The Wayuu (also Wayu, Wayúu, Guajiro, Wahiro) are an Amerindian ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula in northernmost part of Colombia and northwest Venezuela. The Wayuu language is part of the Maipuran (Arawak) language family.
Geography
...
Miss Colombia
Miss Colombia (Formally ''Concurso Nacional de Belleza de Colombia'', English: ''"National Beauty Contest of Colombia"'') is the national beauty pageant organization in Colombia.
The current Miss Colombia is Sofía Osío Luna of Atlánti ...