Ivy Queen: Tiny Desk Concert

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an 'El Tiny' takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad.

Stefanie Fernández | October 11, 2023
"La gente tiene la patita del conejo / y yo tengo a Benito completo," Ivy Queen quips, lighting a candle featuring Bad Bunny at an El Tiny altar to reggaeton ("People have the rabbit's foot / I have all of Benito.") Even her jokes flow. Thanks to far more than luck, "La Caballota" has carried and passed the torch since the '90s with an ironclad sense of self and unwavering commitment to the women and femmes she writes for.

And she's done it in no uncertain terms. After a propulsive performance of "La Vida es Así," she soberly says that women are judged no matter what. For a long time, she was the most visible canvas upon which projections of women in reggaeton were placed, and her talent was nurtured from within. "Yo sabía que a mi no había que darmela porque yo la tenía," she later notes. ("I knew that it didn't have to be given to me because I had it.") The road has widened, not without a struggle.

Finally, she addresses the mujeres directly for the song. "Tenemos derecho a ser feliz, tenemos derecho a cambiar, a cuidarnos, a protegernos," she exhorts. ("We have the right to be happy, we have the right to change, to take care of ourselves, to protect ourselves.") "Quiero Bailar," two decades later and literally performed behind a desk, feels as urgent and insurgent now. Or, as she puts it, simply: "Guys, this is for the girls." With Ivy Queen, it always has been.

SET LIST
"Reza por Mi"
"La Vida Es Así"
"Menor Que Yo"
"En Que Fallamos"
"Quiero Bailar"

MUSICIANS
Ivy Queen: lead vocals
Marco Jiménez Santana: violin
Lourdes Naomi Negrón: viola
Javier Tirado: cello
Adriana Lizardi: double bass
Barba Blanca: piano, musical direction
Special thanks to: Sean Christopher Fears, Juan Luis Suárez, Juan Tamez

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Keren Carrión
Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee
Production Assistant: Alanté Serene
Photographer: Estefania Mitre
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Hazel Cills, Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer, Josh Rogosin
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #ivyqueen #nprmusic