Ivy Queen is preparing to make her Carnegie Hall debut…
The 52-year-old Puerto Rican singer, rapper, songwriter and actress, whose real name is Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez, has been added to the roster for Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos festival.
Ivy Queen, considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre and commonly referred to as the Queen of Reggaeton, will be joined by fellow debutantes Monsieur Periné and Grupo Niche.
They will join Natalia Lafourcade, Cimafunk, Gustavo Dudamel, Quetzal and others for the concert series.
Nuestros Sonidos — which kicks off on October 8 with the festive Opening Night Gala featuring Dudamel leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic and concludes with Cimafunk and La Tribu on May 22, 2025 — will see the three newly announced performers make their debut at the prestigious Manhattan venue.
Ivy Queen, who was honored with the Icon Award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music event, earned her name as the Queen of Reggaetón for her formidable contributions to the Puerto Rican genre. With hits such as “Quiero Bailar,” “La Vida Es Así” and more recently, “Toma,” her contributions extend beyond the genre she helped pioneer, making a mark in salsa, hip-hop and bachata. She’s scheduled to perform on November 20 at Stern Auditorium’s Perelman Stage, Carnegie’s main hall, which seats more than 2,800 people.
Meanwhile, Bogota-based group Monsieur Periné has been bringing boleros, swing and indie music to the Latin scene. Their most recent album, Bolero Apocalíptico (2023), earned them a Latin Grammy for best alternative album. They are set to perform at Zankel Hall, a smaller venue that seats about 600 people, on February 22.
Grupo Niche will also make its Carnegie Hall debut on April 17 next year on the Stern Auditorium’s Perelman Stage. Hailing from Cali, Colombia, the legendary group founded by Jairo Varela and Alexis Lozano has kept salsa alive and thriving since the late ’70s, releasing iconic songs such as “Cali Pachanguero,” “Una Aventura” and “Gotas de Lluvia.” A Grammy Award-winning band, they are considered one of the most influential and respected bands in the salsa genre.
Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos celebrates the “vibrant sounds, pioneering rhythms, diverse traditions, and enormous influence of Latin culture in the United States,” says the press release.
For more information, visit the Carnegie Hall website.
“This book tells, vindicates, and denies the urban music industry specifically, about life as a woman in music or in any field. But above all, it aims to be a contribution to continue building equality,” she wrote on Instagram. “I dedicate it to the women who love reggaeton, to those who hate it, to those who want to sing, compose, or produce, to my female colleagues who barely made it and continue to resist […] I also dedicate this to my male colleagues and the artists who inspired me,” she adds, admitting that thoughts of writing her own novel began four years ago.
