Alerta Pendiente: Pride Month Turned Up
Mis corazones, welcome to Drop 004 of Alerta Pendiente. In honor of Pride Month, this week’s playlist additions are dedicated to queer artists who have helped shape, challenge, and expand the sounds of reggaetón, el movimiento, and the broader Latin music landscape. While conversations around LGBTQ+ visibility in Latin music have grown in recent years, queer artists have always been part of the culture, whether celebrated openly or creating from the margins. For this edition, I wanted to blend the new with the necessary. Some of these records are fresh releases currently pushing the genre forward, while others are songs I believe deserve a second listen—or perhaps a first one altogether. Together, they tell a story of identity, freedom, desire, resilience, and the many ways queer artists continue to leave their mark on the soundtrack of our lives.
Here are four songs I added to the #AlertaPendiente playlist this week. These are records that moved me, challenged me, or simply reminded me why representation matters. Whether you’re discovering a new favorite artist or revisiting a classic through a different lens, I hope these selections inspire you to listen a little deeper and celebrate the voices helping make our culture richer, louder, and more inclusive.
Few songs in Reggaeton’s history have captured queer desire, confidence, and vulnerability quite like Cáscara de Coco. Released by Villano Antillano at a pivotal moment in her career, the record remains one of the strongest examples of lyrical storytelling to emerge from el movimiento in the last decade and arguably one of the greatest songs ever created by a queer artist. Its enduring popularity is reflected in the numbers, with streams continuing to climb years after its release, proving that authenticity resonates far beyond trends. From the opening line, No soy facilita, no soy una cáscara de coco, Villana establishes the song’s thesis: she refuses to be reduced, consumed, or underestimated. Her pen game shines throughout the track, balancing sharp wit, sensuality, and self-awareness with remarkable precision. Every bar feels intentional, revealing layers of personality that reward repeated listens.
The delivery is equally captivating. Drawing inspiration from Nicki Minaj’s animated approach to rap while remaining unmistakably Puerto Rican, Villana bends her cadence to the song’s emotional contours, effortlessly moving between flirtation, swagger, and reflection. It’s a performance that demonstrates not only technical skill but a deep understanding of character and storytelling. Like much of Villano Antillano’s catalog, Cáscara de Coco functions as a cultural time capsule. The song preserves a specific moment in queer Caribbean expression, documenting an experience that has often been overlooked within mainstream Reggaeton narratives. Yet rather than positioning queerness as an exception, Villana centers it as part of the fabric of el movimiento itself. That ability to transform personal experiences into records that feel both intimate and universal is what separates Villano Antillano from her peers. Cáscara de Coco is more than a standout track; it’s a landmark recording that captures a different facet of the queer essence of artistry in Reggaeton in a way only Villana can.
Nikael’s Ma’Rika is a breath of fresh air in a genre that can sometimes feel trapped by its own formulas. Clever from the very beginning, the song’s title plays on the double entendre of más rica and marika, immediately signaling the wit and personality that make the record so memorable. Rather than relying on trends, Nikael leans into his own perspective, delivering a track that feels playful, confident, and unmistakably original. What makes Ma’Rika stand out is its energy. The record bursts from the speakers with a sense of freedom that feels increasingly rare in today’s Reggaeton landscape. Every element works together to create something vibrant and refreshing, offering listeners a sound that feels familiar enough to fit within el movimiento while still pushing against its boundaries. It’s the kind of creative risk-taking that only Nikael could pull off. As a young emerging artist with plenty left to prove, Nikael is already showing remarkable instincts when it comes to song selection and artistic identity. While his catalog continues to grow, Ma’Rika shines brighter than the rest, serving as a statement piece that highlights both his charisma and his creative vision. If his releases so far are any indication, he’s off to an impressive start and positioning himself as one of the artists worth watching closely.
Bellakity is the latest offering from Baby Pau, an emerging Puerto Rican artist who continues to carve out a lane entirely her own. At a time when so much of the industry still attempts to dictate what artists should look like, sound like, and represent, Baby Pau stands confidently in her truth. Her artistry is rooted in self acceptance, self celebration, and an unapologetic love for every part of herself. That confidence extends beyond the music and into her visual presentation, creating a powerful synergy between the artist audiences see and the woman they hear on the record. That self assuredness is what makes Bellakity so effective. Her braggadocious bars land with conviction because they feel earned. Baby Pau is not performing confidence for the sake of entertainment. She embodies it. Every lyric feels like an extension of the bold persona she has cultivated, making the song both empowering and undeniably fun.
Sonically, Bellakity offers a refreshing trip hop en español experience that feels distinct from much of today’s Reggaeton landscape. The production provides the perfect backdrop for Baby Pau’s charismatic delivery as she navigates themes of attraction, desirability, and the reality of turning heads, even when those admirers may belong to someone else. There is a mischievous energy running through the record that keeps it engaging from start to finish.
Bold, sexy, daring, and playful, Bellakity feels like a natural evolution of the Baby Pau sound. It is a record that challenges expectations while remaining incredibly accessible, inviting listeners into a world where confidence is celebrated and individuality is the main character. For those who enjoy artists who push buttons, question conventions, and think beyond the binary, Baby Pau is an artist worth paying attention to. If Bellakity is any indication, she is only getting started.
Dizzy Smarp is an emerging queer Nicaraguan artist based in Miami, Florida whose work embodies Afro Latino queer excellence at its most vibrant and unapologetic. Drawing inspiration from the golden era of 2000s Y2K perreo while injecting it with a distinctly contemporary perspective, Dizzy has begun carving out a lane that feels both nostalgic and completely new. His music celebrates the sounds many of us grew up on while making space for the stories, identities, and experiences that have often been left out of Reggaeton’s mainstream narrative.
His EP Papi ChuloOoo <3 is exactly what he describes it as: Reggaekunt. It is playful, confident, irreverent, and deeply rooted in the aesthetics and energy of classic perreo. More importantly, it centers queer joy in a way that feels authentic rather than performative. The project is for the girls, the gworls, and anyone who has ever wanted to see themselves reflected in the culture they love. One of the standout moments from the project is Yasuri Yamilet, a record that taps into a long standing Reggaeton tradition of creating songs around larger than life characters. Throughout the genre’s history, fictional and semi fictional women have become cultural touchstones. From Daddy Yankee’s iconic references to Yamilette to countless lyrical name drops that have entered the collective consciousness of Reggaeton fans, these characters often represent a specific archetype, attitude, or fantasy.
With Yasuri Yamilet, Dizzy Smarp adds his own contribution to that lineage. Yasuri Yamilet is a character of his creation, one who is sharp, sexy, ambitious, and entirely in control of her own destiny. She knows exactly what she wants and has no intention of leaving empty handed. She is confident, calculated, magnetic, and undeniably that girl. Through her, Dizzy reimagines a familiar Reggaeton storytelling device through a queer lens, creating a character that feels both recognizable and refreshingly original. What makes the song particularly exciting is how naturally it fits within the broader history of the genre while simultaneously expanding it. Rather than rejecting Reggaeton’s traditions, Dizzy engages with them, reshaping them to reflect contemporary queer experiences. The result is fun, campy, clever, and culturally significant without ever sacrificing its entertainment value.
As more queer artists continue to stake their claim within el movimiento, voices like Dizzy Smarp’s are becoming increasingly important. He understands the past, respects the foundations, and is unafraid to imagine new possibilities for the future. If Yasuri Yamilet and Papi ChuloOoo <3 are any indication of what’s to come, the self proclaimed king of Reggaekunt has plenty more in store for us. Personally, I cannot wait to see where he takes the genre next.
And of course check out my latest track RUDE. The first of my next project #COAWIBG
