This Saturday, the air in Miami will vibrate with rhythm and resistance, poetry and pulse. The Miami Beach Bandshell will host Chilean singer-songwriter Pascuala Ilabaca, a force of nature whose voice carries both ancestral memory and contemporary fire. Opening the night is Colombia’s rising songstress La Muchacha, a multidisciplinary artist whose music and message carry the heat of the Andes and the urgency of justice. Together, they offer an evening where traditional Latin American sounds meet the future of song.
Pascuala Ilabaca: Rooted in Movement
Ilabaca, known for her distinctive fusion of Chilean folk with global genres like jazz, rock, and pop, defies easy categorization. Her music is a mirror of her life—a rich mosaic of tradition, rebellion, and deep listening. Raised in the coastal city of Valparaíso and seasoned by years of travel and study (including a formative period in India under master vocalist Pandit Pashupatinath Mishra), Pascuala’s sound is both rooted and expansive.
“The motivation is simply to be faithful to contemporaneity,” she shares. “I grew up surrounded by village fiestas and also discovering the music of Mr. Bungle, Björk, and The Beatles. I assume we are all of that. There is no purism in me in that sense.”
But when it comes to honoring her roots, Pascuala brings a spiritual devotion. “If you admire and love a root enough to research it and genuinely want others to have access to it, you’ve already gone far. If you want to make folk music, you must interview traditional culture bearers, learn from them, and engage with contemporary Indigenous voices.”
This ethic shines in her most recent project, Poética Bailable Vol. 1—a luminous EP that invites listeners to dance and reflect in equal measure. Rooted not only in Chilean tradition but in the broader Latin American diaspora, the album travels across cumbia, bullerengue, timba, and other Afro-Caribbean rhythms.
“The idea is to compile flavorful rhythms so that while we sweat, we listen to powerful poetry, philosophical ideas,”she says. It’s music to move to—mind, body, and soul.
Ilabaca’s band, Fauna, plays an essential role in crafting this sonic tapestry. Together, they have toured the world, adapting each performance to the energy of the space and the people in it. “We create a different setlist depending on whether we’re in a theater, a party, or an intimate space. Then, the chemistry with the audience takes over.” Pascuala often guides this connection by asking questions mid-show: Have you heard of Gabriela Mistral? Have you ever lived in a neighborhood that’s only ever spoken about in bad news?
It’s this spirit of invitation that makes her music unforgettable—not just a concert, but a collective ritual of remembering and reimagining.
As one of the leading voices in contemporary Latin American music, Ilabaca is also deeply committed to supporting women in the industry. Her advice to emerging female artists is both grounded and galvanizing:
“Practice a lot and seek your own language methodically and devotedly. Be clear about what you want to say before diving into the flood of information we face every day. Find your plot. Always have a support team. And support others.”
Looking ahead, Pascuala is dreaming in new dimensions. She’s currently composing a big band album, slated for release in November—a new chapter in her ever-expanding sonic universe. “Stay connected on my socials so you can hear it when it’s ready,” she adds with a wink.
Enter: La Muchacha — the Poet with a Canvas and a Cause
Opening the night is La Muchacha, the Colombian singer-songwriter, poet, and visual artist whose voice is as uncompromising as it is tender. Before she ever released an album, La Muchacha was shaping her world with brushes and ink. A trained plastic artist, she still divides her days between painting, teaching, and performing—never quite leaving one world for the other.
“I go back and forth,” she shares. “There are seasons where I’m completely immersed in music, and others where I return to the visual arts. It’s not a matter of one replacing the other—they are part of the same voice.”
Her songs echo with the stories of the land, of campesino life, and of resistance movements. Rooted in Colombia’s rural and ancestral rhythms, her music is as political as it is poetic. But rather than separating her activism from her art, she uses one to nourish the other.
“For me, music is a way of life. It’s not just about sound—it’s about presence, about naming what hasn’t been named.”
One of her guiding missions is demanding fair pay and equal opportunities for women in music, something she speaks on with clarity and conviction. “This is our North Star,” she says. “We are not just asking to be included—we are building spaces where our voices are central, not peripheral.”
Like Pascuala, La Muchacha is not afraid to take up space in a tradition long dominated by men. And like Pascuala, she sees the audience not as passive listeners, but as collaborators in a shared experience.
“Each theme has its own time. I try to remain attentive to what is asking to be written.”
With guitar in hand and conviction in her chest, she enters the stage not just as an opening act, but as a testament to what Latin America’s new generation of women artists can—and must—be.
Join Pascuala Ilabaca and Fauna this Saturday at the Miami Beach Bandshell for a night that blends folk and fire, ritual and rhythm. With La Muchacha opening the evening, expect more than a concert—this is sure to be a gathering of kindred spirits and revolutionary sound. Presented by FUNDarte, Live Arts Miami, Miami Dade County Auditorium & Rhythm Foundation.
