What will Caribbean waters and Puerto Rican percussion sound like in the years to come? Hija de la isla RaiNao’s Tiny Desk is here to show us. “Soy hija — especialmente, hija del Mar Caribe y de la hermosa tierra que me había nacer, Puerto Rico,” the artist explained, introducing herself: “I am a daughter — above all, a daughter of the Caribbean Sea and of the beautiful land where I was born, Puerto Rico.”
In her recordings, RaiNao leans into reggaeton and electronic beats, sounds viewed widely as the backbone of the current generation of music in Latin America — sometimes begrudgingly, though increasingly with reverence in the age of Bad Bunny. RaiNao’s Tiny Desk performance presents a different, equally significant version of Puerto Rico’s song spine. Built on guiros, timbales and maracas, it’s a rich homage to an island that beats to bomba, plena and salsa alongside reggaeton.
