Colombian Canadian artist Lido Pimienta has released the new song ‘Talento’, offering a further preview of her forthcoming album ‘Caribenya’, due on July 17.
by Paul Cashmere
Lido Pimienta has unveiled ‘Talento’, the latest track from her upcoming album Caribenya, scheduled for release on July 17. The Barranquilla-born, Toronto-based musician, composer and visual artist describes the song as a reflection on self-doubt and personal shortcomings, arriving as the second major preview of a record that continues her exploration of Afro-Indigenous Colombian traditions, electronic music and orchestral composition.
The release of ‘Talento’ marks the next chapter in a period of significant artistic expansion for Pimienta. Since emerging as one of Canada’s most distinctive contemporary voices, she has moved between experimental pop, traditional Colombian forms, television, visual art and large-scale composition projects. The new album arrives at a point where those various disciplines appear to converge, bringing together elements of her electronic work, classical influences and Caribbean musical heritage.
According to Pimienta, ‘Talento’ carries a dual meaning. While the title translates directly to “talent”, it also references Caribbean slang associated with being slow or sluggish. In the song, she examines her own insecurities and attempts to reconcile perceived personal flaws. Musically, the track blends ambient textures with tropical influences, continuing the expansive sonic approach that has characterised her recent work.
Caribenya follows a creative period that included 2025’s La Belleza, an orchestral work that drew on Gregorian chant traditions and classical composition. That project emerged from Pimienta’s ballet score Lux Aeterna, created in collaboration with choreographer Andrea Miller. The work marked a historic milestone when Pimienta became the first woman of colour to compose music for the New York City Ballet.
The new album combines those orchestral ambitions with the electronic and Afro-Colombian foundations heard throughout her catalogue. Pimienta has described Caribenya as a synthesis of the lush symphonic elements explored on La Belleza and the electro-cumbia framework that shaped her acclaimed 2020 album Miss Colombia.
The project also incorporates ambient melodies, pop songwriting and dembow rhythms while maintaining the political and cultural themes that have long informed her work.
Among the collaborators on the album are Mexican cumbia collective Turbo Sonidero and Arrabalero of Grupo Jejeje. Together they contribute to a record rooted in Caribbean identity while embracing a broad range of contemporary influences.
The album title itself reflects that intersection of ideas. Caribenya combines the words “Caribe” and “Enya”, referencing both Caribbean culture and the Irish singer whose music has become an unlikely source of inspiration for Pimienta. She has spoken openly about listening to Enya while writing and has cited the artist’s independence and distance from celebrity culture as qualities she admires.
Pimienta first gained international attention with her self-produced 2016 album La Papessa, which won the 2017 Polaris Music Prize, Canada’s most prestigious juried music award. The victory established her as a major force within Canadian music and helped introduce audiences to a style that blended cumbia, bullerengue, synth-pop and electronic production.
Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, Pimienta later relocated to Canada, initially settling in London, Ontario before moving to Toronto. Her work frequently addresses issues of race, gender, colonialism, identity and motherhood, themes that also extend into her practice as a visual artist and curator.
Her profile continued to grow through collaborations with The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, and with the release of Miss Colombia in 2020. That album earned nominations for both the Grammy Awards and Latin Grammy Awards and explored questions of beauty, national identity and cultural representation through the lens of a highly publicised pageant controversy in Colombia.
Outside music, Pimienta expanded into television with Lido TV, a CBC series that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022. The program combined documentary, interviews, comedy and performance while examining subjects including feminism, privilege and colonialism.
The arrival of Caribenya suggests another significant evolution in Pimienta’s career. While her previous work often confronted complex social and political themes, the new material appears to place a greater emphasis on community, celebration and the restorative power of music. Even so, the underlying concerns that have shaped her catalogue remain present.
With ‘Talento’ now available alongside its accompanying video, attention turns to the full release of Caribenya on July 17, when listeners will hear the complete scope of a project that brings together the many strands of Pimienta’s artistic journey.
Tracklisting: Caribenya
Arrúllame
Tóxica
Libélula
Talento
Así Nací
Hoy Por Tí
Marea
No Me Quiero Ir
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