Lido Pimienta’s “Miss Colombia” builds off anger, outdated ideals

Lido Pimienta’s album “Miss Colombia” is an album I have turned to the most since it was released a little less than two years ago.

The Colombian-Canadian singer was fueled by anger, like many Colombian people, after the Miss Universe Pageant mix-up. This album is her taking her country’s crown back.

The album itself is 43 minutes and takes listeners on a trip through Colombia. I do not understand Spanish nor most of what she is saying, but it is still one of my favorite albums of all time. It is impossible to listen to this album and to be in a bad mood.

The album is inspired by the history of Afro-Colombian music with catchy obscure rhythms, trumpets and harmonious flowing vocals.

The album starts with an intro song “Para Transcribir (SOL).” It begins with just her voice singing scales, and slowly trumpets come in and join her. It is a fantastic intro and gets the listener in the right headspace for the rest of the album.

The next part of the album starts strong with the two most popular songs on the album, “Eso Que Tu Haces” and “Nada.”

“Eso Que Tu Haces” starts with a connection from the intro and moves into a punchy refrain with her belting the title of the song.

“Nada” features well-known Colombian singer Li Saumet who is a part of the band Bomba Estereo. This song has more layers than the last song and is the poppiest song on the album.

The only downfall of the album is that the climax takes place in the beginning. The rest of the album is still really good; however, that energy gets transformed to traditional Colombian folk music.

The song “Quiero Que Me Salves” is the rawest track on the album. It includes Pimienta, a group of men and traditional Colombian percussion.

Pimeinta sings back-and-forth with the men with a lot of energy. The song reminds listeners of her traditional musical roots and serves as a breath of fresh air from the highly produced sections of the album.

The following song is “Pelo Cucu,” which is similar to the previous song except Pimeinta is singing back and forth with a group of women with Colombian percussion. The song is much more feminine and calm.

Listening to these two songs takes a little over ten minutes, is very repetitive and takes listeners to a meditative state outside of the songs themselves.

The lyrics of the album encompass Pimeinta’s life as a queer Indigenous woman of color and a single mother. Her desire to escape the eurocentric ideals in Latin America is another central theme of this album.

In their list of the top 50 albums of the year, National Public Radio ranked this album the third-best album of 2020.

The high acclaim this album has gotten is no mistake. It is a masterpiece, unlike anything mainstream pop is flushing out today.

I would rate this album an 8.5/10.