Lido Pimienta

Lido Pimienta is a Colombian-Canadian musician, singer and visual artist, born in Barranquilla in 1986 and currently based in Toronto. Her work weaves together Afro-Colombian and indigenous sounds, such as cumbia and bullerengue, with elements of synthpop, electronics and symphonic orchestration, creating a deeply personal and experimental musical language.

After her debut album “Color” (2010), she achieved international recognition with “La Papessa” (2016), a self-produced work that earned her the Polaris Music Prize in 2017, making her the first artist to win with an album not in English or French. In 2020 she released “Miss Colombia“, an album reflecting on her roots and national identity, its title inspired by events such as the mistaken crowning of Miss Universe and by the English-language pun on missing (“miss”) her home country.

In 2025 she presented “La Belleza“, an orchestral work in nine movements created with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín and Canadian composer Owen Pallett. This album blends indigenous chants, symphonic brass and Caribbean rhythms. In 2026 its “pop” counterpart is released: “Caribenya”.
Besides music, Pimienta is also active in the visual arts and television. In 2022 she created Lido TV, a variety show aired on CBC Gem that combines sketches, music and interviews to tackle social issues such as feminism, colonialism and identity.