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Nuestros Sonidos, Carnegie Hall‘s ambitious season-long celebration of Latin music and culture, got off to a spectacular start on Oct. 8 under the baton of the Venezuelan virtuosic conductor Gustavo Dudamel — Billboard‘s cover star this month — and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Kicking off during Hispanic Heritage Month, the festival boasts an impressive lineup, featuring talents such as Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade, Cuban funk artist Cimafunk, Colombian indie pop band Monsieur Perine, salsa legends Grupo Niche and Chilean jazz virtuoso Claudia Acuña.

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One of the most eagerly awaited highlights of the festival is the Carnegie Hall debut of Ivy Queen, the formidable reggaetón superstar known for her fierce advocacy for women’s empowerment within the male-dominated genre. “Being on this stage allows me to celebrate not only reggaetón but also the essence of what it means to be Latino, our roots, and our global musical influence,” Ivy Queen expresses to Billboard Español. “It is an honor to be part of this representation and to continue taking our music to every corner of the planet.”

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Carnegie Hall’s executive and artistic director Clive Gillinson and Adriaan Fuchs, director of festivals and special projects, articulate that Nuestros Sonidos aims to shine a spotlight on Latin music that has deeply influenced both American culture and the world at large.

“Latin music was something that has had such a huge effect [not just] on American culture, but on culture around the world,” Gillinson notes. “It was something really important to do. We look at who are the greatest experts in the field so that we make sure all the ideas that we’re considering and exploring come from people who are leaders in thinking, knowledge, experience and background.” 

Gustavo Dudamel & Natalia Lafourcade at Carnegie Hall

Fadi Kheir

Fuchs adds, “We work with curatorial councils and advisors who help put these festivals together. They include Latin music experts, ethnomusicologists, cultural and societal experts in terms of how culture in America has developed. In conjunction with them, we decided that we wanted to cover a range of different genres one would expect, such as salsa, reggaetón, Latin jazz, classical music, and so forth. We really wanted to focus on those genres that have played a key role in the American cultural landscape, and in America, particularly.”

As Nuestros Sonidos unfolds throughout the season, it promises a diverse array of Latin musical styles and expressions, inviting audiences to explore the powerful narratives that have shaped the past, present, and future of Latin music.

Read our Q&A with Ivy Queen and Carnegie Hall’s Clive Gillinson and Adriaan Fuchs below:

What inspired Carnegie Hall to launch Nuestros Sonidos, and what do you hope to achieve with this initiative?

Clive Gillinson: We try to look at things that are important issues and areas of culture. Last season, we looked at the Fall of the Weimar Republic: The Fragility of Democracy, because we felt that’s a very major issue in the world today. The year before, we looked at Women in Music, and before that, Afrofuturism. [In 2021], we looked at [Voices of Hope] Artists in Times of Oppression; artists who wrote despite the most horrific circumstances — be it in the Holocaust, slavery, the Soviet Union, and so on. They still wrote things that were about hope and aspiration. 

Latin music was something that has had such a huge effect [not just] on American culture, but on culture around the world. 11 years ago, we did Voices from Latin America, which looked specifically at the music of three Latin American countries. The emphasis was to look at the influences of Latin music on American culture, particularly. We felt it was something really important to do, something that maybe hasn’t been looked at enough in terms of the way people look at culture in America. 

Ivy, as a pioneering figure in reggaetón and an advocate for female empowerment in the music industry, what does it mean for you, on a personal and professional level, to debut at Carnegie Hall with the Nuestros Sonidos series?

Ivy Queen: For me, debuting at such an iconic place as Carnegie Hall represents both a personal and professional validation of the path I have traveled in my career. I have fought to open doors for women in a genre that has historically been dominated by men. Being on that stage not only represents recognition of my years of work and effort but also proves that reggaetón, a music born from the streets, has a legitimate place in the most prestigious spaces in the world. It is an achievement that celebrates the resilience, strength, and talent of all the women who have been part of this movement.

How does Nuestros Sonidos intend to impact the local New York community and the broader Latin music scene?

Gillinson: We want this to be meaningful for devotees, advocates and people who come from the Latin music background so that they feel represented. They feel that their culture is given center stage. To make sure that all of these areas of music also reach people who maybe it has not been their background, and where they trust Carnegie Hall as a curator to take them on a journey of exploration.

Fuchs: New York had such a huge role to play, in terms of Latin music flourishing this country throughout the decade. We wanted to make sure that we have programming that addresses all of that. In putting together the concerts at the Hall, we were very much aware of the Latin communities that exist in New York City: the Puerto Rican community, Colombian community, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cuba, etc. We made sure that we had artists representing those different cultures, musical genres, and styles as part of the festival. 

The range of partners that are involved are the Cuban Cultural Center of New York, the Colombian Film Festival of New York, the Association of Dominican Classical Artists. Then we also have iconic New York institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Center, New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development all participating in this festival. It’s really an exciting citywide celebration of Latin culture.

Ivy, how do you see this opportunity in terms of promoting and celebrating the diversity of Latin music and its impact on the global music scene?

Ivy Queen: This opportunity at Carnegie Hall is an incredible platform to showcase the richness and diversity of Latin music in all its forms. Latin music is not a single genre; it is a universe full of rhythms, cultures, and stories that connect with audiences around the world. Being on this stage allows me to celebrate not only reggaetón but the essence of what it means to be Latino, our roots, and how we have influenced music on a global level. It is an honor to be part of this representation and to continue taking our music to every corner of the planet, demonstrating that Latin music is much more than a passing trend: it is a cultural and artistic force that continues to transform the global music industry.

Are there any particular performances or elements within the series that you’re especially excited about? 

Fuchs: We’re really excited about Ivy Queen on November 20. It was important for us to find a big headlining artist like Ivy Queen to be part of the festival because of the fact that she’s such a trailblazing female artist within the industry. Really in terms of, obviously reggaetón and hip-hop, she stands out as someone who forged her own path and is someone really to be celebrated for her achievements in a very male-dominated field. We wanted to make sure that she appears at Carnegie and as part of Nuestros Sonidos. 

We’re also really excited about Grupo Niche. They’re just an extraordinary ensemble that have pioneered and pushed the envelope in terms of salsa music for so long. It’s exciting to have them at Carnegie Hall for the first time. Monsieur Periné, who will be part of the festival on February 22, are such a funky and interesting group. I’m sure that people are going to be getting up and dancing when they start to play. It’s going to be such a joyful concert. Then the incredible Chilean jazz vocalist, Claudia Acuña, who is bringing a very interesting program. Songs in jazz that have stood the test of time through various decades. It’s a moment for us to celebrate the Latin songbook.