latin music

Here’s a hot take: South by Southwest is a Latin music festival.

When the De Los team headed to Austin, Texas, in 2024 to cover the event for the first time, approximately 60 acts that fell under the expansive Latin music genre umbrella had been invited to perform. Two years later, that number has more than doubled, with more than 150 Latin music acts featured at the iconic festival, now in its 40th year.

“Latin music has seen incredible growth at SXSW in recent years, reflecting its rise across the global music industry,” said Evelyn Gómez Rivera, associate programmer for Latin music. “2026 is shaping up to be our biggest year for the genre in over a decade, with several major labels showcasing their newest and most exciting Latin talent here.”

Ahead of the festival, which kicks off Thursday, the De Los team has assembled a list of acts that have caught our attention. And before you blow up our inboxes asking why the big acts (Fuerza Regida and Junior H are also slated to perform) weren’t included, keep in mind that what makes SXSW unique is that it’s a chance for attendees to see the next big thing before they blow up. In that spirit of discovery, our list is made up of acts you might not have heard of.

Big Soto

“Terminé siendo rapero cuando quería ser doctor,” Gustavo Rafael Guerrero Soto, better known as Big Soto, confesses in his pandemic-era collaborative session with Argentine mega-producer Bizarrap. It’s safe to say that he made the right career move. The 29-year-old from Venezuela (he now lives in Mexico) is signed to Rimas Entertainment and has been at the forefront of the Latin trap movement. — Fidel Martinez

Mariangela

Mexican-born singer Mariangela started off as a tender pop darling when she first uploaded covers to her YouTube channel in 2019, drawing inspiration from indie-pop singers like Carla Morrison and Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval before releasing her alt-pop debut album “Sensible” under Sony Music Latin in 2024. Now the Texas-based artist is taking her musical stylings in a new direction, drawing from her Monterrey roots with the release of her latest “Cuando Una Mujer,” a cumbia norteña about fierce female empowerment. — Andrea Flores

Esty

First-generation Dominican American singer Esty doesn’t like to be boxed in. From one track to the next, she’ll shift from a mix of dembow and alternative rock to bachata and pop, as seen in her recent single “V3n3n0,” from her upcoming album, “Domi Star.” — Cat Cardenas

Marilina Bertoldi

De Los contributor Ernesto Lechner is 100% responsible for this entry — he included the avant-garde alt rocker from Buenos Aires in his 2025 list of indie artists who deserved to win a Latin Grammy, calling her “the resident hurricane of Argentine rock, blessed with a corrosive sense of the absurd, a knack for pop-punk melodies, and attitude to spare.” How could you not want to see that? — FM

Ruido Selecto

Hailing from Medellín, Colombia, Ruido Selecto drives forward the Caribbean rhythms of cumbia, salsa, electronic dub and Afro-diasporic styles that have been traditionally transmitted through Picós, hand-painted sound systems popular throughout the country’s coast. His hybrid mixes also include elements of sonideros, most audible in tracks like “Lo Que Esconde.” I’m fascinated by his attention to detail in his project “Los 14 Cañonazos Bailables,” where he created experimental and contemporary tropical mixes using archives from Discos Fuentes, a Cartagena record label largely responsible for disseminating 1960s Caribbean sound across the coast of Colombia. — AF

Delilah

The Mexican American singer got her start in mariachi, eventually learning piano, guitar, violin and vihuela. At just 17 years old, her impressive vocals and ability to mix traditional and contemporary Mexican music have already gotten the attention of artists like Becky G and Iván Cornejo. — CC

Danny Felix

Among the biggest feathers in Danny Felix’s hat is being the producer behind the “Soy el Diablo (Remix),” a Natanael Cano track that also doubled as Bad Bunny’s first venture into the world of música mexicana. The Phoenix-based multihyphenate (in addition to producing, he is also a multiinstrumentalist and singer) has played a major role in shaping the current sound of corridos tumbados and will be repping the subgenre in Austin. — FM

60 Juno

Originating from Merced, Calif., this Central Valley post-punk band radiates a hazy, dreamlike sound, so much that one of their most popular tracks is titled “zzz.” While 60 Juno initially began as a solo project led by Jericho Tejeda in his bedroom during the pandemic, it has now expanded to include three additional members from Whittier, Calif. There’s a bit of everything in this band, mellowed surf-rock wading into punk territory that can be heard in songs like the upbeat “Enjoy the Sunset” and their most popular, hypnotic track to date, “J Song.” — AF

RIA

Before she stepped into the spotlight, Ria was writing songs for other artists. Now, she’s combining her knack for emotional lyricism with her soulful voice, recently opening for Tito Double P in Mexico, and breaking out with her recent single, “Pagana.” — CC

Sebaxxss

Sebaxxss is the on-tour DJ for Feid, the pop reggaeton singer and fellow Colombian. I’m interested to see how his set translates into a smaller, more intimate venue. — FM

Diles que no me maten

Diles que no me maten is an experimental, psychedelic rock band from Mexico City named after the famous short story by Mexican author Juan Rulfo about a man who pleads for his life after being captured for killing his neighbor decades earlier. If listeners didn’t know any better, they would think this band started in the late 1980s during the rise of homegrown rock, with its untouched vocals in songs like “Outro.” Tracks like “El Circo” sound like a gentle birth, while “(Radio Sonora Edit)” presents itself as a ghostly acoustic jazz ballad. — AF

Eydrey

Since competing on Netflix’s Latin music competition show, “La Firma,” in 2023, Eydrey has landed a record deal and released a steady stream of R&B, Mexican and reggaeton-infused tracks. Her borderland upbringing in El Paso has also shaped her Spanglish lyrics. — CC

Lena Dardelet

Hailing from Cabarete, Dominican Republic — the same beach resort town is home to the Bachata Academy, the only bachata school in the world — Lena Dardelet fuses pop with various Caribbean genres, including— yep, you guessed it — bachata. — FM

Mosmo

Signed with Rimas Entertainment, Hermosillo singer Mosmo is bringing his own crooning element to the corrido world. The rising singer first came into the spotlight in 2022 on Netflix’s “La Firma,” a competition looking to find the next Latin urban music star. Mosmo’s raw, drawled vocals can be heard in the romantic bélico “Modo B” and the agonizing “Terapia” that implores a past lover for their return. Mosmo also incorporates elements of trap and reggaeton in songs like “Dimensiones,” as well as pop in the bilingual track “Siempre Tú.” — AF

Selines

Inspired by artists like Natalia Lafourcade, singer-songwriter Selines’ guitar-based songs draw on the traditions of boleros, classical music and jazz, bringing a warm nostalgia and romance to her sound. — CC

For the third year in a row, De Los, the Latino-centric vertical of the Los Angeles Times, will be returning to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and things are a little different this time around. While the music portion of the festival has typically been given its own weekend to shine, in 2026, it’ll be “folded into” a week-long event alongside film, TV and interactive programming.

But despite these changes, one thing is clear: After a banner year for Latin music at SXSW in 2025, it seems like everyone’s doubled down in 2026, with the festival welcoming a historic number of Latin artists to Austin. That includes the De Los showcase.

If our 2024 event was more of an intimate kickback, 2025 was an all-out party. Thanks to energetic sets from acts like trap corrido pioneers Arsenal Efectivo and the clashing cumbia punk stylings of Sultanes del Yonke, the crowd was up on their feet dancing, twirling and even forming a mosh pit at one point — all into the early hours of the morning. We hope to bring those same vibes back to SXSW this year.

If you’re in Austin for the festival, join us at Mala Fama, located at 422 E. 6th St., Austin, on Sunday, March 15 starting at 8 p.m. As always, the festival is a great opportunity to discover new artists and exciting new sounds, so whether or not you’ll be joining us in Texas, we hope this lineup might inspire you to find a new favorite artist, song or band.

Here’s who’s playing at the 2026 De Los showcase.

Hermanos Espinoza

With their South Texas upbringing (Puro 956!), it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this duo’s Norteño sound has plenty of Tejano flair too. Hailing from Edinburg, brothers Joel and Leonel Espinoza broke out not long after making their debut in 2022, when their song “Prueba de Fuego” hit more than 100 million streams. Their lively, accordion-rich music feels classic enough to be right at home on the playlist for your next carne asada.

Noteworthy track: “Dios por Delante”

Vanita Leo

Music is in Vanita Leo’s DNA. Born and raised in San Antonio, the singer’s father and aunt are both Tejano musicians who inspired Leo to take up the family mantle and put her own spin on the genre. With a love for the old-school sound of the 1990s, Leo manages to weave together her flirty, unserious humor with vintage romance, writing songs that’ll either validate your heartbreak over a bad ex or have you ready to dance it off and forget they ever existed.

Noteworthy track: “Caballito”

Tropa Magica

The second sibling duo on our lineup, Tropa Magica is the brainchild of brothers David and Rene Pacheco. Their signature sound, much like the East L.A. neighborhood they grew up in, is a melting pot of influences, combining old-school cumbias, ’90s grunge, and psychedelic rock into something completely unique to them. Since coming onto the scene in 2018, the band has gotten the stamp of approval from established acts like Bomba Estéreo, Los Tigres Del Norte and Chicano Batman.

Noteworthy track: “Ojos de Lágrimas”

Eddy

This is set to be Eddy’s year. Born Eduardo Hernández Payán, Eddy first made waves when he was discovered by corridos singer-songwriter Diego Millán (Calle 24) and signed to his Ondeados Mafia label. Last year, he built up a reputation for being an artist to watch in the Regional Mexican space thanks to collaborations with Gabito Ballesteros and Ed Maverick. Now, Eddy is prepping for the release of his debut album, “Náufrago,” later this month.

Noteworthy track: “Ultimo Cigarro”

Nezza

Many of you might know Nezza from her viral moment last summer, when she went viral for singing the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium — her form of protest against the immigration raids that had been taking place all over L.A. But just take a listen to the Dominican-Colombian singer’s original music, and you’ll see that she’s much more than a viral moment. With her Spanglish lyrics, soulful vocals and glittery production, Nezza has her sights set on international pop stardom.

Noteworthy track: “Tasty”